The Cost of War: the children of Iraq

Starting back with the 1991 Gulf War and Sanctions, many people have been studying the effects of war on children. Thousands of children are killed during the war from violence, diseases, and poor heath care units. Studies show that there was approximately 46,900 excess deaths just in the first eitght months of 1991. Many times when you hear war, you think of only death and violence. The children of Iraq are also effected tremendously mentally. Studies show the children haivng very high anxiety and stress levels along with a never before seen pathological behavior. When asked, nearly 2/3's of the children inside of the Amariyah shelter did not believe they would survive to be an adult. In another study, these numbers are show the following: 50% of children continue to dream about the war, 63% of children find it difficult to concentrate, 66% of children can't sleep at night, and 72% feel sad, or guilt ridden, and need the company of an adult. When asked about their future, 78% of children thought they would lose their family, and 62% didnt' believe they would survive to be an adult. 

Not only that, but in the late 1990's, Iraqi doctors studied an increase number of children diagnosed with cancer. Western evidence found the culprit to be depleted uranium. A 1991 internal document, given by Britain's atomic energy authority to the military, stated that if the DU fired by US tanks during the 1991 war was inhaled, it could potentially cause 500,000 deaths In 2003, San Fransisco Chronical reported from Bahdad that increased deaths in children were comming from cancerous tumors. They continued to report that Iraqi doctors had linked the deaths to exposure to depleted uranium. The Pentagon was quick to release that depleted uranium and increased cancer diagnosis had no relation, although they had no scientific evidence. By January 2002, the Iraqi government informed the United Nations that 1,614,303 Iraqis, including 667,773 children under five, had died from diseases that could not be treated. In late 2003, about 50% of the Iraqi children were suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is much higher now. In 2003, two BMJ psychologists reported that many children deeply feared the war and children as young as 4 could clearly describe the horrors of war. The report said, "Children are fearful, anxious, and depressed about the prospect of armed conflict, and many have nightmares, and 40% do not think that life is worth living."


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