Children at grave risk in Haiti
We’re extremely concerned about children in Haiti who have been separated from their parents. Alone, they’re at risk of abuse and exploitation.
Thursday 14 January 2010
The earthquake hit in the afternoon when many children were in school, and thus separated from their families. Many schools collapsed during the tremors.
Children have been sleeping amongst dead bodies as, in many areas, bodies lie strewn on the ground. “Children are petrified and in danger,” Gareth Owen, Save the Children's director of emergencies, said.
“Many will have been orphaned or are badly injured themselves and in urgent need of medical help”, Owen continued. “Thousands more will have lost all contact with their families and friends and are now struggling to survive alone in the rubble. They are sleeping on their own, trying to cope with the trauma of seeing dead bodies, and will have no idea where to go for help. As well as getting basic supplies in, it’s crucial that children struggling on their own are protected from being crushed by more debris, and are kept safe from abuse on the streets,”
Up to two million children affected
Up to two million children could be affected by the devastating earthquake. Three million people are estimated to have been directly affected, and an average family in the area has at least three children.
“This is not a safe place for children,” Owen said. “We know that the prison has collapsed and lone children are incredibly vulnerable. This is an unbelievably traumatic experience for children. The emotional damage of what they’re going through could last their entire lives.
“Children mimic adults in these sorts of crises,” Owen added. “They see grown-ups scrabbling through the debris looking for bodies, and will try to follow suit. Aside from the damage this is doing to their mental health, it’s putting their safety in danger as buildings will be very unstable and may still collapse.”
Staff still unaccounted for
There is also growing concern for the safety of twenty staff from Save the Children's Haiti team who remain unaccounted for.
What we’re doing
Save the Children’s emergency response teams are on the ground preparing safe spaces for children where they will be properly protected, given space to play and start to get the psychological help they need.
Gareth Owen said: "No generation of Haitian children in a hundred years has experienced this scale of disaster before. We have to act fast to minimise both the physical and psychological damage to them. Our safe spaces will allow children to start talking about the trauma of what they have seen, to spend time with other children, and try to regain some sense of security and calm.”
We’re also preparing distributions of food, clean water and shelter materials.
We have launched a £3 million emergency appeal for emergency supplies in Haiti.
Find out more
Read our Q and A about the Haiti earthquake
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