A World Turned Upside Down: Social Ecological Approaches to Children in War Zones [Paperback]

Neil Boothby (Editor), Allison Strang (Editor), Michael Wessells (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1565492250 | ISBN-13: 978-1565492257 | Publication Date: October 2006

* Authors with wide-ranging experience with children in war zones across the globe
* Looks at the psychology of children’s experiences in conflict in the context of their families and communities

A World Turned Upside Down looks at the experiences of children in war from a psychological and social ecological perspective, offering thoughtful observations and dispelling myths about what results when children grow up in conflict situations.

In contrast to individualized approaches, the volume offers a deeper conceptualization that shows the socially mediated impacts of war. Children exposed to the same traumatic experiences may have different reactions and needs for psychosocial support. Further, psychosocial assistance to war-affected children often occurs not through the provision of therapy by outsiders but via support from insiders.

Each contributor has worked extensively with children in war zones in Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. They refrain from common perceptions of children as victims of war-induced trauma to provide a holistic understanding of children’s experiences. Each helps pinpoint ways to reduce further violence, foster well-being and nurture the kinds of social connections that can liberate children from the pathologies of war so that they can mature into healthy and well-adjusted adults.

Other contributors: Alastair Ager, Cairo Arafat, Catherine Chen, Amy E. Hepburn, Kathleen Kostelny, Siobhán McEvoy-Levy, Susan McKay, Dahab Musleh and Carl Triplehorn

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Neil Boothby is an internationally recognized expert and advocate for children affected by war and displacement. As a senior representative of UNICEF, UNHCR and Save the Children, he has worked for more than 20 years with children in crises in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. As director of the Program on Forced Migration and Health and Professor of Clinical Population and Family Health at the Mailman School, his research focuses on the psychosocial consequences of organized violence on children. He is also the recipient of several awards for his fieldwork, including the Red Cross Humanitarian of the Year Award, for his work with child soldiers, the Mickey Leyland Award, for his work on behalf of uprooted people, the United Nation's Golden Achievement Award, for excellence in social sector activities, and Duke University's Humanitarian Service Award.

Allison Strang is a Research Fellow at the Institute for International Health and Development, Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh. She is a psychologist whose work has spanned the fields of education, training and health - generally focusing on addressing the needs marginalized groups.

Michael Wessells is Senior Child Protection Specialist for the Christian Children’s Fund, Professor of Clinical Population and Family Health at Columbia University in the Program on Forced Migration and Health, and Professor of Psychology at Randolph-Macon College.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

More children than ever before are carrying guns in today's wars. A recent initiative by human rights advocates identified thirty-six countries where children comprise significant percentages of national standing armies, guerrilla groups, or both (Human Rights Watch 2005). But the child soldier is only the most visible manifestation of a much broader concern. Children today also are caught in the ideological struggles that accompany political and ethnic strife. Different sides teach their own solutions to the ills of a given nation, trying to capture the loyalty and imagination of one generation of girls and boys so that a particular vision of "progress," "justice," or "nationhood" will be imbued into succeeding generations. Guerrilla organizers use highly impoverished circumstances to politicize villages and recruit boys and girls to their cause. At the same time, governments often force children from these very same rural zones into national armies. Youth wings of liberation movements and political parties are increasingly being militarized and used to terrorize civilians in a number of nations. The inability to ensure children's neutrality and safety from political strife is a principal cause of refugee flight.

We, the authors and editors of this book, come to these matters not as journalists or human rights advocates, but as psychologists who have spent over two decades working with children in war zones in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe. Over the years we have seen child survivors of political and ethnic conflicts wobble into camps for refugees and displaced persons physically exhausted and thoroughly subdued, speechless, and, it seemed, emotionless--unable or unwilling to cry, to smile, to shout, to laugh, or to show any feelings other than a kind of stoic weariness. Given time and stability we also have seen how remarkably sturdy, self-reliant, and hopeful many of these same children eventually become. In the end we have been struck more by their purposeful striving toward psychological health than we have by the occasional collapse of their minds.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Kumarian Press (October 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565492250
• ISBN-13: 978-1565492257
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #690,180 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Revealing the Vulnerability of Children in World Conflict, October 11, 2009

By 

L. King "Eclectic Reader" (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A World Turned Upside Down: Social Ecological Approaches to Children in War Zones (Paperback)

An excellent series of essays by fieldworkers and program administrators relating to remedial actions towards children caught up in war zones with numerous examples and relevant citations. Areas of conflict discussed include Mozambique, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Uganda and the Congo, the Palestinian Territories, Israel, Bosnia, Cambodia, Columbia, Ireland, Rwanda, and the Sudan, The spectrum of the causes of trauma is well laid out including voluntary separation (parents sending their children to safety), separation from family, loss of parents to abduction and recruitment of child soldiers. In general most of the examples show remarkable resilience on the part of the children - an improvement in the coverage might have been more cautionary notes, as was sounded in the essay "When Former Child Soldiers Grow Up."

One outstanding essay is on the role of family by Alistair Ager and another by Amy Hepburn covers not just conventional families but substitute families such as groups of children bonding together for support and adoptive communities. Susan McKay's essay "Girlhood Stolen" considers the special problems of female children including rape camps, becoming mothers, girls as soldiers and labels of impurity. Neil Boothby's essay (he's one of editors) on the long term impact of being a child soldier reminds us that there are still problems to solve long after the conflict is over and that not only are all victims not mended, some may be the cause of future strife. Michael Wessel's essay "A living wage" points out that reintegration requires that the fhat the child be not only reunited with community, but productively so, and that non victims should not be positioned to be resentful of the special treatment that victims may receive.


The essay "Religion as Resource and Risk" started off poorly (IMHO) by beginning to be an academic polemic against religion in general but changed direction to point out the comforting effect of faith and ritual and their necessary role in reintegration of children back into their local communities..

Since World Peace is unlikely to break out soon these problems will be with us for a long time to come. Overall it is a very good collection with many interesting insights. Recommended on its own merits and as a start point for reading on other issues such as the rehabilitation of children during and after war and issues relating to child soldiers.

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