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January 2023 in Zaporizhia, Ukraine: A child lies on a bed in an air raid shelter while a siren sounds
Photo: Global Images Ukraine / Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
SPIEGEL:
Ms. Ashing, you were recently on the road in Ukraine, including in the areas hardest hit by the war.
How are the kids there?
Ashing:
Many have experienced or seen extreme violence and are mentally distressed.
I met a family who lived for weeks under military occupation in a village near the Belarusian border.
During this time they had neither electricity nor water.
The two oldest boys, 11 and 13 years old, had to walk several kilometers several times a day to fetch water for the family of seven.
Rockets flew over their heads.
One of the boys told of the extreme fear he felt.
He suffers from severe insomnia.
We managed to get him treated by a psychologist.
SPIEGEL:
What else did the family experience under the Russian occupation?
Ashing:
Apparently soldiers kept raiding her house to look for food.
The family hid their remaining groceries, pretending they had nothing either.
The parents were also afraid that their children would be taken away from them because they had heard that this is happening in the occupied territories.
The parents therefore pretended to be a childless household: they hid their children for weeks to protect them.
SPIEGEL:
What do you know about the kidnapping of Ukrainian children to Russia?
Ashing:
I don't think anyone knows the actual number of children kidnapped.
The information and estimates are very different.
Some Ukrainian children came back from Russia.
We are working with the Ukrainian authorities and other aid organizations to help them.
There is also a large number of children in Ukraine who are traveling alone because they have lost or been separated from their loved ones.
Here, too, we try to provide help in cooperation with our partners.
Unfortunately, orphans are often placed in institutions.
We as an organization don't think that's ideal.
We try to reunite children with relatives or place them in a family environment, which has been proven to be best for them.
SPIEGEL:
The Russian side destroyed many schools, but also targeted Ukraine's energy supply.
How is the war affecting children's education?
Ashing:
The education of millions of Ukrainian children and youth has been disrupted.
Even before the war, many could not go to school for two years during the corona pandemic.
Now because of the war, because of flight, destruction and danger of attack
Two million children rely on online education.
However, according to our latest findings, every second child in Ukraine currently only has limited access to digital lessons - for example because families are suffering from power outages and unstable internet connections.
There is an urgent need for action.
We are setting up 100 digital learning centers across the country, i.e. rooms with stable internet and electronic devices.
But that's just a drop in the bucket.
SPIEGEL:
What else is Save the Children doing in Ukraine?
Ashing:
We establish so-called "child-friendly places" or "protection and play areas" to bring the children back a little normality.
This can take place in a tent or in a classroom.
It is about a space where children can play and talk and be supported.
We have toys for the little ones.
You can also paint or dance.
Our supervisors encourage them to show their feelings through play.
The older children work a lot with their hands, drawing or pottery.
This allows them to forget the horrible thoughts and memories for a while and focus on something else entirely.
But we also give them the opportunity to talk about what they have experienced and to exchange ideas.
It can help them to see that other children have had similar experiences.
SPIEGEL:
Do you also work with children who have experienced sexual violence?
Ashing:
In Ukraine, as in any other war, sexual violence against women and children is used as a weapon.
When we come to a country, we first carry out a needs analysis to find out where we are most urgently needed and which acute problems other institutions or organizations do not yet cover.
We will then take care of them.
A special program for victims of sexual violence has not previously been part of the program in Ukraine, but I cannot rule out that this will change in the future.
SPIEGEL:
Do you have access to the areas occupied by Russia?
Ashing:
We are also working with our Ukrainian partners in the occupied territories and near the front, although that is extremely difficult and also dangerous.
But yes, we try to offer the same support there as in the rest of the country.
We understand that all children in Ukraine are at risk of being displaced, physically injured or traumatized.
At least 4.1 million children are in dire need.
The long-term consequences for these children and society will be very severe if we do not act now.
This contribution is part of the Global Society project
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