Highlights Plight of Traumatized Children
GENEVA, MAY 3, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Holy See is lending its support to a U.N. initiative aimed at aiding some 4 million displaced Iraqis, a number that grows by the day.
"The world is witnessing an unprecedented degree of hate and destructiveness in Iraq; this phenomenon concomitantly exerts a widening deadly impact in the entire Middle East region," said Archbishop Silvano Tomasi.
The Holy See's permanent observer to the U.N. offices at Geneva recalled Pope John Paul II's appeal to avoid armed conflict in the area.
"While the consequences of this generalized violence affect the social and economic life of the country, they also are a stark reminder of the passionate appeals of the late Pope John Paul II to avoid 'the tremendous consequences that an international military operation would have for the population of Iraq,'" Archbishop Tomasi said.
"[The Pope] insistently called for negotiations even though he knew well that peace at any price might not be possible," the archbishop recalled.
The consequence of the conflict is "massive uprooting and displacement of the Iraqi population," Archbishop Tomasi added.
"The figures are telling," he continued. "Some 2 million Iraqis currently displaced internally and 2 million others have already fled the country, and between 40,000 and 50,000 are fleeing their homes each month."
Psychological scars
The Holy See representative particularly spoke in defense of children, whom he said are bearing the brunt of the tragedy.
"With the experience of daily violence and, even more tragically, with the killing of family members before their eyes, many children are traumatized and remain without professional care," Archbishop Tomasi lamented.
"Most uprooted Iraqi children wake up in their exile to a daily experience of uncertainty, deprivation, lack of schooling, and to hard labor just to attain the minimal essentials of human survival. One has to wonder how their psychological scars will condition the future," he said.
The archbishop asserted that "this is not the time to look at technical definitions of a refugee," and called for practical measures, including "acceptance of all people fleeing generalized violence, respectful of their human rights and of the principle of non-refoulement, registration for an orderly assistance, provision of appropriate legal documentation."
Archbishop Tomasi referred to "previous but similar crises of massive displacement," saying that the mobilization of the international community "proved effective in providing durable solutions."
"There is a need to match past effectiveness," he said. "While the right to return has to be kept alive for displaced Iraqis, other examples in recent history have demonstrated that the option of resettlement may need to be enhanced, and doors opened by more countries and for greater numbers, so that pressure within the region may be alleviated on a short-term basis."
Still, the prelate called for a "renewed and concerted effort" to make Iraq itself "conducive to a decent and sustainable coexistence among all its citizens."
Code: ZE07050306
Date: 2007-05-03