Dion Schoorman is with World Vision Sri Lanka.  He has just returned from a visit to the Vavuniya district, where World Vision is working in camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Eight year old Aparna looked up at me as I approached, a faraway look in her eyes.  She said a shy “hello” and for a fleeting moment, her face lit up in a beautiful frame of curls.  The next minute she was gone, seeking refuge behind her mother’s skirt, peering at me from her position of “safety.”

Aparna is just one of tens of thousands of innocent children whose lives have been profoundly affected by the 26-year-long conflict in Sri Lanka which now appears to be nearing its end.  Her family is among the internally displaced persons (IDPs) numbering more than 190,000.  These families fled the conflict zone and are now accommodated in camps in northern Sri Lanka.

A visit to the IDP camps strikes a chord in ones’ heart as you see how much the innocent children have suffered.  It is truly saddening to meet the displaced children; they still manage a smile, but the once bright eyes are now glazed over.  They are visibly drained after their countless ordeals over the last few years.

Childhoods stolen

In one corner, I spotted a little two-year old in her mother’s arms and couldn’t resist stretching my hands out to carry her.  As I cradled the sadly malnourished little Sewwandhi in my arms, I struggled to control my emotions.  I thought of my own chubby, energetic two-year-old bundle of mischief at home.

While children in other parts of the country play cricket in almost every street, watch their favourite cartoons on television, ride their bicycles or simply spend time with their playmates, those caught up in the conflict areas have to miss out on the carefree and fun times of childhood.

For these children, their childhood has been whisked away.  In its place, life presents them with many cruel twists of fate.  When the conflict raged, the schools were forced to close leaving thousands of children without access to education, the opportunity to increase their knowledge and to interact with peers.

The cost of war

An additional blow was that most children were deprived of the usual midday meal provided by the schools and as most parents could not afford to feed them, they slowly became more malnourished.

With no schools functioning, children were left idling at home and vulnerable to being abused or forcibly conscripted for the war.  They became child soldiers or child labourers in the hands of unscrupulous individuals.

When the war intensified, so did the conscription.  Even nine-year-olds were not spared, as each family was coerced into parting with at least one member.  Things were so desperate that they prompted equally desperate measures: parents forced young children into marriage in the belief that marriage would pre-empt conscription.

Years of trauma

Adding to the problems of the children was that they had to live in the shadows of a war.  The sound of persistent shelling and gunfire was constantly in the background as a grim reminder of their circumstances.  Many of them are severely distressed after having seen other children and even their own siblings killed or injured.

Children and their families were frequently displaced – some more than ten times in a year, often at short notice.  They were forced to abandon some of their belongings as they shunted from village to village in search of safety, clinging onto small, worn out knapsacks with their most treasured possessions.

UNICEF reports indicate that around 300,000 children have been affected by the 26-year-old conflict.  Of the 70,000 lives lost, more than 10,000 are believed to be children.  Tens of thousands more children have been emotionally and physically scarred.

These children desperately need all the help they can get to heal the terrible scars in their lives. They need love, care, and protection and a renewed hope for a better tomorrow – it is up to us to make this happen.