Aylan Kurdi was a small Syrian boy whose death has triggered a massive global awakening. We cannot ease the anguish of his grieving family, but we can honor his life by saving and protecting other refugee children like him.
Right now, there are more children on the run than at any moment since World War II. Globally, an estimated 30 million children have been forcibly displaced from their homes. The protracted conflict in Aylan's homeland of Syria has left nearly six million children on the run and their numbers are growing by the day. Though called by many names -- refugees, migrants, stateless, internally displaced -- they are children first.
Most of the children who have fled their homes suffer -- and sometimes die - in the shadows, far from the headlines. Like the Honduran boy who suffocates in the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer or the Libyan girl who drowns when the smuggler sinks her boat to avoid capture. Or the Syrian children who are murdered in cold blood, or who succumb to the chronic lack of food, water and medicine.
Conflict is not only killing children, it is stealing their lives in insidious ways. Just to maintain their survival, children often take exploitive jobs, which makes attending school impossible. Isolation, trauma and deprivation syphon life from children, and without intervention, can impose lifelong consequences. Smugglers, traffickers, combatants and extremist groups often prey upon displaced kids, promising them golden futures.
Even if they survive a treacherous journey, refugee children can endure a second phase that is no less punishing. Fear mongers label them as criminals, future-terrorists, freeloaders, even carriers of disease. Few places are welcoming of them, or able to offer the protections they need, with notable exceptions being generous hosts such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.
It is not enough to be moved by or share a heartbreaking photo. We must use our voices to advocate for the world's children, calling upon our governments to immediately implement the following safeguards:
- Safe, child-friendly reception facilities as children arrive, with access to health care, psychosocial support, recreation and schooling.
- More resettlement places and humanitarian visas for children and their families. The processing of asylum cases should be timely, and always focus on the best interests of the children.
- Stronger commitment to resettlement of refugees from countries in conflict to reduce the likelihood that refugees resort to unsafe routes and people smuggling.
- Stepped-up search and rescue operations at sea and on land.
- Speeding up family reunification programs for separated and unaccompanied children.
- Adequate numbers of trained child welfare specialists to care for and counsel children and families.
- Vigorous diplomatic efforts to end conflicts, and to provide the required development and humanitarian support in countries of origin.
In this world, there are few things as painful as the look on the face of a child yearning for the home she used to know, wishing for a way out, desperate for school and the chance to build a stable life.
Children are the source of rejuvenation for our beleaguered world; they should never be in situations where their hopes for their future are reduced to which option is least likely to kill them. All of us who are pained by Aylan's senseless death must take action to prevent his peers from a similar fate.
