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VIDEO: "The day we escaped the war in DR Congo" is part of Euronews "Special Reports for Children in War"
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“I am scared of war”, admits Antoine. After fleeing fighting in Eastern DR Congo last year, the young boy is now back at school. Watch Euronews’ report.
“I’m scared of war, because people can come and kill your father or your mother,” explains Antoine, who has grown up during the war in Eastern DR Congo.
Antoine is among the 2.7 million people who have been internally displaced as a result of more than 20 years of conflict in the large, resource-rich country in Central Africa. The young boy lives in a camp for displaced in Masisi, in the Eastern part of the country. Last year, fighting erupted between ethnic groups in the area. People were forced to flee, and houses and schools were burned down.
Neema primary school, where Antoine goes to school, was one of them. Luckily, thanks to money from the EU Children of Peace initiative, the Norwegian Refugee Council was able to rebuild the school this spring. NRC works to get children in conflict areas back to school, and to create safe spaces where the children can learn and play.
“Masisi is an area with a lot of armed groups. If the children are not going to school, they are in great danger of being recruited by the militia,” says Education Assistant at NRC Masisi, Pierre Mutamba Wang.
School is supposed to give the children an opportunity to escape the conflict. However, for many of the children the memories of former fighting still haunt them. They fear it will happen again.
“Many of the children are traumatized. They may have lost their families or seen people being killed right in front of them. Many of them need special attention,” Wang explains.
About "EU Children of Peace"
Upon winning the Nobel Peace Prize, the European Union allocated the prize money to children affected by conflict and launched its Children of Peace initiative. Through the initiative, ECHO (EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Office) is funding the Norwegian Refugee Council’s work for children affected by the protracted conflict in DR Congo. As part of the project teachers and caretakers, including parents and community volunteers, are being trained to collectively improve the protection of children. NRC is also building safe education spaces, rehabilitating schools and distributing schoolbags to 9000 children.
For more information about the project see: http://www.nrc.no/euchildrenofpeace
