Source:
IRINBAGHDAD, 16 July 2007 (IRIN) - For two months, Obeid Jaafar Khalifa, 52, has been worrying about how he will cope with looking after his deceased brother's four children. Obeid already has six of his own children to look after.
"In total, I have to feed 10 children in addition to my wife and me," said Khalifa, an employee at Iraq's Agriculture Ministry. He took over responsibility for the children when a car bomb killed their parents five months ago.
...
"Families left to care for children who have lost one or both parents are already stressed to the limit, unable to cope with extra burdens. Many of Iraq's skilled social workers have been leaving the country," the report said.
Citing the UN's civilian casualty figures for 2006 which indicate up to 100 civilian deaths per day, UNICEF said: "Thousands, if not tens of thousands, of children will have lost at least one parent. And if violence continues at current levels, even more will lose a parent in 2007."
"Such children will be automatically deprived of their rights and are likely to fall into potentially harmful forms of labour," said Kholoud Nasser Muhssin, a researcher on family and children's affairs affiliated to the University of Baghdad. "Some 60-70 percent of Iraqi children in Iraq are suffering from psychological problems and their future is not bright. Some lost their parents or one of their family members or relatives; others witnessed traumatic events or were subjected to sexual harassment," Muhssin added.
Read more:
http://mobile.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/4ef14e3c0bd5ad74baf903a1b1ad849c.htm