Peace and War 013

13) Children with Loving Parents vs Orphaned Children

Normal Life
In a normal world, the greatest fear of parents is not being able to see their children succeed when they grow up. Parents try to take care of their health and carefully plan their lives, simply to make sure their children will have their hands to hold until they are strong enough to walk on their own. The word “orphan” feels far away, like something from a sad storybook. In real life, parents want to be the strongest shelter, the trusted guide, and the whole world that lovingly protects their children for as long as possible.

Life Changed by War
War cruelly destroys the natural order of life. Millions of children become “orphans” overnight, as bombs and violence take their parents away before their eyes. The entire world that children once depended on suddenly collapses, leaving them standing alone among ruins. The right to be loved and protected is replaced by numbers in refugee camps, or by life as homeless children struggling to find scraps of food to survive. The deepest pain is not only losing someone to care for them, but losing the warmth, guidance, and hope that once filled their hearts. Because of the madness of adults they had nothing to do with, their future becomes dark and uncertain. War does not only take away parents — it steals the hearts, dreams, and hope of the children left behind.

Peace guarantees that every child has a “home” in the loving arms of parents, not in an orphanage.