JRS Ireland World Refugee Day Statement 2014

Refugee children are being denied their right to a childhood in the 21st century.

Civil wars, deepening global inequality and the intensity of natural disasters have forced millions to flee their homes and seek sanctuary in other countries over the past decade.  In the eye of this storm are children.

Forced to flee their homes, they are not just leaving behind their friends, their family and their way of life but all too often their childhood also. Children are forced to grow up too quickly to deal with the harsh reality of becoming refugees. 

The Syrian conflict is widely recognised as the worst refugee crisis in nearly 20 years.  More than 6.5 million Syrians are now internally displaced and over 2.7 million refugees have registered in neighbouring countries. It is estimated that there are more than one million children forcibly displaced in Syria.

Daily life for children in Syria is treacherous.  Recruitment for combat, detention with adults and their use as human shields are just some of the atrocities against children in Syria reported by the United Nations.  The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is on the ground distributing emergency relief to those in greatest need and running educational activities to promote reconciliation and peaceful co-existence. Recently, JRS in Syria was awarded the Pax Christi International Peace Award for 2014 for "the outstanding dedication in providing humanitarian relief to Syrians since 2011”.  In Damascus, Homs, and Aleppo, JRS provides educational and psychosocial support.  Not only important from an educational perspective, such support provides safe-haven for children from the realities of the conflict, even for just a few hours a day.

By their very nature, children constitute some of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees that Ireland and other countries in Europe have committed to re-settling in response to an appeal by the UNHCR to relocate 30,000 of the most at risk refugees.  As part of any resettlement programme in Ireland, the protection of children should always be prioritized.  JRS Ireland has called on the Irish Government to provide international leadership by offering refuge, at a minimum, to 300 Syrian refugees, thereby more than doubling their existing resettlement commitments. 

Syrian children, and families, are not alone in seeking safety and refuge In Ireland. More than 1 in 3 asylum seekers in Direct Provision have been waiting for more than 5 years for a final determination of their claim with their lives on hold. One third of all residents are children, who by their nature, are uniquely vulnerable to the lifelong consequences of growing up in an institutionalised environment. There are practical day to day constraints on family life for children in Direct Provision and they often grow up without ever having seen their parents cook a family meal. Living for prolonged periods is this institutionalised environment is not appropriate for children and can inhibit their healthy growth and development.

We as Irish society have a duty of care to these children living within our communities and by extension Ireland, as a nation of the world, has a duty to the children of Syria.  Forced migration will continue to deny children their right to a childhood unless action is taken to provide them with shelter, hope and a home during their time of need.