Protect and fight for the rights of stateless children

In the field of human rights, we focus a great deal on minority groups, the under-represented and the particularly vulnerable.

There is one segment of the population which is inarguably the most vulnerable and the most under represented in society - they are entirely unable to fend for themselves, to protect themselves, to speak out when their rights are violated or when their lives suffer hardship, simply because they are children.

Saturday, November 20, has been designated as the International Children’s Day, so it is appropriate for us to reflect upon the how the world must look to our youngest citizens.

For many children across the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic has lasted a significant portion of their lives. They have been wearing face masks, been kept indoors and isolated from friends, schoolmates, and extended family for a percentage of their lives equivalent, perhaps, to the amount of time their parents spent in university or even more.

Some have been forced to suspend their educations completely while others have to adapt to distance-learning as classes transitioned to online teaching.

Still others have endured confusing disruptions in their schooling - sometimes attending classes in person with their classmates, only to then again revert to sitting at home in front of the computer screen when COVID-19 restrictions are necessarily tightened.

The impact of the pandemic on children has been considerable, and we may not know the full extent of that impact until years have passed. It is almost a banal remark that these are the formative years in a child’s life but what this means is inestimably important.

Children are adaptable and can very quickly perceive standards of normality; let a child observes a situation repeat just two or three times, and they will register it as a reliable reality and build their concepts of the world around that assumption and adjust their behaviour accordingly.

When those assumptions of normalcy are frequently disrupted, they will form the impression that life in general is unstable and seemingly arbitrary, which in turn will cause them to make adjustments to their personalities and behaviours that acclimate them to insecurity and unpredictability.

This can then develop into neuroses and unhealthy pathologies in later life that undermine their productivity and engagement with the world. Everything that happens to children matters.

That is why the Centre for Human Rights Research and Advocacy (CENTHRA) has been active in supporting the education of stateless children in Malaysia, through fundraising and a variety of other programmes. We have worked to mitigate the instability and potentially bewildering lack of routine and reliability of their learning experience.

These are children who have already been exposed to insecurity and turbulence which most adults could not even imagine. It has been crucial for us to ensure, as much as possible, that the pandemic does not sabotage their futures, not only by depriving them of a consistent education but by inflicting even further disruption and confusion in their lives.

Stateless children are not refugees, they are not foreigners, they are indistinguishable from every other child of every other citizen of Malaysia, and yes, they will grow up here and become adults here. They do not understand why, essentially, paperwork assigns them a more vulnerable status, and I find myself asking “why?” on their behalf as well.

Most of us look back fondly upon our childhoods but that is very much contextualised by everything that transpires throughout adulthood.

We do not remember accurately just how it feels to be literally new to the world, to be unsure of what is safe, what is normal, what is acceptable and proper. We forget what it is like to be surrounded by giants - some indifferent, some strange, some harsh and impatient.

I am constantly in awe at the selfless courage of children, throwing themselves trustingly into a vast world with rules they do not understand and cannot change.

Let us, then, be the giants who protect them, defend them, and make their childhoods as beautiful and nourishing as those we remember.

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* Azril Mohd Amin is the Founder, Centre for Human Rights Research and Advocacy (Centhra)

** The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of Astro AWANI.