Children in War in Croatia

U ovom radu sažeti su podaci praćenja i sustavnog istraživanja stradanja i patnji djece u Hrvatskoj tijekom rata. U prvom dijelu navedeni su i brojčano dokumentirani najčešći izvori stresa kao što je npr. ranjavanje, gubitak članova obitelji, progonstvo, život u zajednici pod stresom i drugo. U drugom dijelu prikazana su empirijska istraživanja praćenja učinaka na psihosocijalni razvoj djece. Istraživanja psihosocijalne prilagodbe i subjektivnog doživljaja stresa djece za vrijeme rata upućuju na to da je njihov psihosocijalni razvoj u opasnosti. Stoga se nalazi ovih istraživanja mogu i moraju koristiti za razvoj programa psihosocijalne pomoći djeci stradalnicima rata u postratnom razdoblju.During the period from 1991 to 1995 children in Croatia faced numerous losses and were exposed to multiple traumatic events which could endanger their development. The following traumatic experiences and losses are particularly distressing (1) Loss of physical capacity – 969 children have been wounded, and another 254 have been killed. Among the injured children 86 are permanently disabled. Extensively torn tissue, deep flesh wounds and severe multiple injuries are typical. (2) Loss of important others – 4273 children lost one parent and 54 child lost both of them. In many cases the children have eyewitnesses violence and death even of their own family members. (3) Exposure to direct artillery shelling – many children have been exposed to immediate danger due to artillery attack for a long period. The study done by UNICEF shows that 27.5 % of displaced children spent in a shelter more than a month, and that many of them (28.6%) experienced staying in shelter without parents or other family members. (4) Displacement – the most numerous victims of war are displaced children. In some periods there where more then 100.000 children who have been displaced. Even now there are 45.448 displaced children and 58.101 refugee children from Bosnia and Herzegovina in Croatia. Displaced children in particular are faced with a whole range of losses – loss of home, loss of natural environment and educational setting, loss of social network, usual patterns of family life, etc. (5) Hindered education opportunities – destruction of educational facilities has directly affected 160.000 children and young people since 128 play-schools, 335 primary schools and 65 secondary schools and dormitories were destroyed or severely damaged. (6) Changes in community – the war had also impacted the whole community. Destructions, forced migration of hundreds of thousands of people, increased unemployment and poverty – all this has led to the distress of whole community and changes in priorities of the social welfare, health and educational system. Regular preventive activities in the filed of juvenile delinquency, child abuse and neglect, alcohol and drug abuse, etc. either disappeared at the community level or had to be significantly reduced