Yasmin Alibhai brown, a famous journalist and author said, "The hardest thing for children in Palestine is the absence of normalcy. They are robbed of the joys of childhood".
A data shows that up to 21000 children in Gaza are missing due to the ongoing genocide in Palestine. And at least 17,000 children are unaccompanied along with around 4000 children being missing under the rubble.
Children are innocent, naive and nice towards all. They have dreams regarding their future ever since childhood. As a child they can't wait to grow up and be adults thinking they they will be able to get more freedom during adulthood. Children like to hangout within their friend group. They play around and have fun.
However in a country called Palestine, children are forced to take care of their younger siblings as they are orphaned during the genocide. A child in Palestine once said, " I want to die and go to heaven since I heard that there are more foods in heaven compared to heaven". Children in Palestine have to bury their own siblings. Some of them have to search for the body parts of their siblings trying to identify them.
According to a data collected on third June of 2024, 3500 Palestinian children are at risk of imminent death due to lack of food. And eleven million children are starving. Most of the helpless children due to health problems.
Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian legislator and activitist said, "The children of Palestine are witnesses to a daily reality that is filled with violence, fear, and trauma. Their rights must be protected and upheld"
Now let's learn about children's rights. The rights of children are protected under various international frameworks, primarily the **United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)**, which was adopted in 1989. This convention outlines the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of children. Here are some key rights included in the CRC:
1.Right to life, survival and development: Children have the right to live and to have their developmental needs met, ensuring overall growth.
2. Right to Non-Discrimination: All children have the right to be treated equally, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic status.
3. Right to Protection from Violence and Abuse: Children should be protected from all forms of physical or mental violence, abuse, neglect, and maltreatment.
4. Right to Education: Children have the right to access quality education and to develop their potential fully.
5. Right to Health and Health Care: Children have the right to the highest attainable standard of health and access to medical care.
6.Right to Participation: Children should have opportunities to express their views freely in all matters affecting them and to be heard.
7. Right to Express Identity: Children have the right to preserve their identity, including their name, nationality, and family relations.
8. Right to Leisure, Play, and Culture:Children should have opportunities for rest, leisure, and cultural activities.
Looking back at the first right of all children, we should compare the lives of other children all around the globe with the children living in Palestine. Firstly, they are killed without any mercy, some are murdered, harassed and some are killed by the bombing. Then they barely have any chance of survival as they are living in Palestine. The second right of children startes that all children need to be treated equally irrespective of their back grounds. While almost all the children in the world live with their family, in a house, go to school, play with their friends and can visit a doctor when they are ill, the children of Palestine can't do any of these things. They have lost almost everything.
While different people play with water or do the viral trend involving water, there are people in Palestine who don't have the access to water. These people get delighted every time they see that it is raining and tries to drink the rainwater by collecting it. The third right of all children states that children have the right to be protected from violence and abuse. Looking back at the angels of Palestine we see that some of them are beaten up idf for speaking up against injustice. And in social media we see children of Palestine having to beg for their lives. They are exhausted of dealing with this when they are innocent.
These children have to beg the people for donations and to not skip the video. Children also have the right to Participation, leisure, play and culture. And the angels living in Palestine can't even do that because of the difficult situation faced by them.
Once the Palestinian people got some food, some children saw that the limited food finished and a child didn't get any. They started to give some of their food to the lonely child. This shows their selflessness and kindness. Despite barely being able to eat they are still trying to help other people.
According to the **UNICEF**, as of 2021, approximately **1 million Palestinian children** (in Gaza and the West Bank) were reported to have mental health concerns as a result of the conflict, and many faced disruptions to their education and basic services.
This data was collected even before the genocide got serious last year. Israel or occupied Palestine broke many laws by committing these genocide. They are : International human rights law, International humanitarian law and they violated the rights of women, children, human and even animals.
I want to give a friendly reminder to everyone that while we are staying at our homes feeling safe, having different kinds of rich food, having our parents and siblings safe with us, being able to go to school and hospitals when needed some people can't afford them or be able to have these. We should be grateful with what we have since this life that we are living right now could be someone else's dream life. The angels of Palestine are deprived of many benefits and some of them die without being able to fulfill their dreams. As a human being we should try to be sympathetic and kind towards them and try to help 'the angles of Palestine' by donating or spreading awareness.