WHERE DO THE CHILDREN PLAY?
VALERIA GERUS
Children play on playgrounds, in parks, and in gardens. Children play at home, in their backyards, and in playrooms. Children play in schools with their classmates and teachers, at home with their parents and siblings, and in kindergarten with their peers and nannies. Children play on abandoned buildings. Children play on ruins where their schools used to be. Children play on the ruins of their houses. Children play in missile craters.
The last four places where children seek amusement
are hauntingly disturbing, marked by the echoes of
destruction that no child should ever have to
endure. Parents do not wish for their children to
play in locations other than designated safe
areas. Yet, nowadays, when kids seek
entertainment, there are no gardens, parks,
or playgrounds available — they are ruined.
Ukraine is at war. My country is at war. Many
other countries all around the world are at war.
Children all around the globe play on craters,
ruins, and abandoned buildings, seeking
entertainment to forget about the horrors around
them, just for a brief moment. I look at all of the
photos and videos of destruction in the news, I read Ukrainian media outlets that report on current events around the world, and I see how people suffer. I see the economy being ruined, lives being destroyed, and buildings becoming rubble.
During the first month of the war, my family and I moved to the central part of Ukraine, in fear that the capital, where we lived, would be the main target. We feared that the bridges would be bombed and that we wouldn’t be able to escape to the right bank of Kyiv. On our way, we heard military jets flying by and missiles being fired. I had a feeling that they were chasing us. But even when we arrived, jets would fly above the house we stayed in
almost every night. My parents told me they were Ukrainian planes patrolling, but I still wonder whether it was indeed patrols, or if they told me that to calm me down.
My classmates who stayed in Kyiv tell me about air raid alerts, school being interrupted because of them, and learning time being wasted while they are hiding in a bomb shelter or underground parking. Their siblings are afraid of the sounds every night. If this is happening in the capital, presumably the most defended part of Ukraine, I can’t imagine the terror people endure in the Eastern part of my country.
There are a lot of international organisations that help children live through this war, such as UNICEF and Save the Children, as well as Ukrainian funds like the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation. These organisations often collaborate with local communities, governments, and other NGOs to provide comprehensive support. They work to create safe spaces for children, offer counselling and mental health services, distribute essential supplies like food, clean water, and medical care, and focus on educational initiatives to help rebuild shattered lives and futures. Their efforts not only address immediate needs but also aim to build resilience among children and communities, helping them recover from the psychological scars of conflict. They help children find hope in the demoralised world we live in.
Children get torn away from their parents, parents torn away from their children. Whether through bombings shattering homes, or the heart-wrenching act of children being snatched away, and taken far from their loved ones by russian occupants – the pain is unbearable. Imagine the terror in a child’s eyes as they’re forcibly separated and the despair of parents watching helplessly as their children are torn away. It’s a gut-wrenching assault on love and safety,
leaving wounds that may never heal. Innocence is shattered
and replaced by fear and unfillable voids.
I don’t want my future kids and grandkids to experience this
‘amusement’ of playing on ruins. I don’t want them
to suffer from trauma after hearing
bombs falling from the sky, or drones
and jets flying right above their heads.
I don’t want them to need these
foundations. I want them to have a
better childhood. I want them to feel
safe and happy.
I want children to play on a playground.
