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Violent television pictures have lasting
psychological impact on youngsters.
Three-year-old Saman Ali wrapped his head in his
father's scarf so that only his eyes showed. "I'm
Zarqawi," he said, as he held a plastic Kalashnikov.
When his father tried to take away the scarf and the
toy rifle, he started crying.
His cousin, two-year-old Zeri Abdullah, also
familiar with the Jordanian militant who heads
al-Qaeda's operations in Iraq, said "Zakawi, the man
with the knife", mispronouncing Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's
name.
Iraqi children are often exposed to images of
graphic violence on TV news programmes and other
shows that feature kidnappings, shootings,
beheadings and the aftermath of explosions.
Experts say that these images are affecting the
behaviour of children and could also have long- term
consequences when they become adults.
Jamal Omer Tofiq, a psychiatrist, said the violence
has two sorts of impact on children - they become
quarrelsome, disobedient and use abusive language;
and later in life they are prone to anger and
violence.
"Children are vulnerable at this age and then the
complexes [they acquire] affect them in adulthood,"
said Tofiq. "The current situation is very dangerous
and has a big impact on children."
This year, thousands of children have already
visited the Kazeewai Sera Education Centre in
Sulaimaniyah, where kids can engage in art, sports
and other therapeutic activities.
Dilsoz Mahmood, the manager of the facility, said
one of her charges, who had watched a good deal of
violence on television, made a statue of a male
corpse during a sculpture session. This child also
quarreled easily with other children and often acted
naughty, Mahmood added.
Twana Wirya, a social worker at the centre, said
another child, who had similarly seen a lot of
violent images on the small screen, became mute and
wouldn't have anything to with other children.
"We are in a country where the most attractive
pieces of news is an explosion, not an invention,"
said Mum Qani, who is in charge of the news segment
at the party-controlled Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
local television station. "We have no choice, as
sometimes we are obliged to broadcast these images.
But we try to do it in a way that minimises the
impact."
Apart from the images of real acts of violence, many
of the best-selling DVDs contain scenes of fighting,
killings and other violence.
"Undoubtedly, many of our children will turn out to
be violent people," said Tofiq.
Rebaz Mahmood is an IWPR trainee in Sulaimaniyah.
www.iwpr.net
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