Displaced Children: The psychological implications

Millions of people across the world have been displaced or live in exile and/or as refugees largely as a consequence of wars, acts of terrorism, and catastrophic natural disasters. Today, more than ever before, cities, villages, and towns in many parts of the world have become battlefields, and children are the ones who get caught in the cross fire. The effects of overwhelming and inescapable stressors are challenging and complex for children whose age and psychological immaturity render them extremely vulnerable. The often intertwined contributions of psychosocial, economic, political, cultural, religious, and community variables have come to be appreciated as confounding factors having an enormous psychological impact. Children may be provided food, shelter, and clothing and have their medical needs attended to, but their emotional and psychological needs go unrecognized and unmet, with dire and monumental long-term consequences.