Iraqi Refugee Children Bear Scars of Violence, Require Classroom Routines to Cope

Iraqi Refugee Children Bear Scars of Violence, Require Classroom Routines to Cope
To: FOREIGN EDITORS

Contact: Rachel Wolff of World Vision, +1-253-815-2072, +1-253-394-2214, rwolff@worldvision.org

AMMAN, Jordan, June 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As some 50,000 Iraqis continue to flee each month to Jordan, Syria and other neighboring states, Iraqi refugee children bear the brunt of one of the world's largest and fastest-growing refugee crises, a new report from World Vision warns. In particular, the Christian humanitarian agency observed psychological distress in many school-aged children.

The report, Trapped! The Disappearing Hopes of Iraqi Refugee Children, finds that 43 percent of children surveyed in Amman, Jordan have witnessed violence in Iraq, and 39 percent say they have lost a loved one through violence.

However, the structured classroom environment is a powerful place where children can find comfort in routine and support to ease the effects of trauma. The report calls for immediate access to education for all 200,000 Iraqi refugee children in Jordan.

"Some of these children have been kidnapped and held for ransom, or witnessed brutal home invasions, suicide bombings and murders. Without access to education, their life as refugees offers them few options. Some work as child laborers, which exposes them to the threat of deportation," said Ashley Clements, World Vision's emergency response advocacy advisor and report author.

About one in four of the Iraqi refugee children World Vision surveyed did not feel safe in their Jordanian homes. This sense of insecurity is due to a combination of factors including traumatic past experiences and the lack of refugee status, which denies them basic rights in the host country including public schooling or access to health care. Even if these children were given refugee status, the already overburdened infrastructure in Jordan would not be able to provide necessary services. Less than 10 percent of Iraqi children in Jordan currently attend school.

"Two months ago the UNHCR Geneva conference called on the international community to address the crisis of the 2 million Iraqi refugees. The response of the nations has been a deafening silence," said Clements.

Editor's Notes:
-- As the world marks World Refugee Day on June 20, the exodus from Iraq is one of the largest and fastest-growing global refugee crises. Some 2.2 million Iraqis have fled their country, and another 2 million are displaced within Iraq, according to the

United Nations.
-- World Vision is working with local partners in Jordan to provide some 20,000 refugees with food, health care, vocational training and educational programs for children who cannot attend school.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. Visit http://www.worldvision.org/press.

SOURCE World Vision