Darya Kasyanova talks about the consequences of war for children

Darya Kasyanova, Head of the Board of the Ukrainian Child Rights Network and Program Director of the SOS Children’s Villages in Ukraine charity organization, spoke to The Telegraph about the trauma and consequences of war for children.

Children from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts have been suffering from the fighting since 2014. In total, more than 17,000 children have been orphaned by the war in Ukraine.

“There were cases when children, after being deported or detained in the occupied territories, were deliberately convinced that their parents had died,” she added.

According to Daria Kasyanova, children orphaned by the war have serious psychological problems and will need support for many years to come.

“Such trauma leaves a deep mark on the psyche – there is a feeling of powerlessness, fear for one’s life, anxiety about new losses, and an instinct to hide one’s true situation in order to survive,” she says.

Daria says that she has met children who have seen their parents die with their own eyes, or who have been left alone next to their loved one’s body for several days. Two of the children she accompanied had to spend three days next to their father’s body until they were rescued.

“Some children, for example, stop talking for several months, completely withdraw into themselves,” says Daria, “And only then do we start working with the child – psychologists, speech therapists, and other specialists help them gradually experience and overcome the trauma.

Read the full text of the commentary and the story of the girl who was returned from deportation on The Telegraph website.