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The right to grow up safe.

Topic 1 :

Discussion:

It makes me feel safe when I’m around people I trust, because I know they know the real me and all my friends and family are always there for me.  

Sherina: For me to feel safe, I need to be with at least one person I know and know I can trust. I also need to have peace of mind that there are no weapons or dangers around me and that the people and environment around me are safe.

I feel safe when I’m with my friends and family because they comfort me and I know them well. I feel the most safe when I’m in my house because I’ve lived there for 11 years and I trust everyone on my street, I also feel safe at school because the Hayden community is very welcoming.

Sherina: The first image that comes to mind when I hear the word ‘safety’ is my house, because I know when I am at home with my family I will always be safe. I also feel very safe at school, because as Mikayla mentioned our school community is very welcoming and inclusive.

Mikayla - I don’t feel safe when I’m with strangers because I don’t really know who they are so I feel very uncomfortable.

Sherina: I agree with Mikayla; I am very uncomfortable around strangers, especially if it is in an unfamiliar environment and especially if there is no one at all there that I know.

Grace: I feel safe in most aspects of my life. At school, at home, in my community etc. The place I live in, and the people I surround myself with make me feel safe. Just like anyone else, I have times of discomfort in certain public situations, but I know that I'll be okay because of the people who can help me. We, here at Hayden, are very fortunate to have such a welcoming community that we are comfortable in.

Lauren: I agree with Grace. At school, I feel very safe because the teachers and students make it a very comfortable environment where I can be myself. I have developed a strong relationship with some teachers that make me feel very safe. I always feel at home whenever I am at school because of the welcoming environment and strong relationships I have with teachers and students. 

Sherina’s Pantoum

I feel safe

At home, with my family

When I see familiar faces

I feel secure in my company

My family loves me

So I know that I am not in danger

I feel secure in my environment, and

I feel secure in myself

No one around me will hurt me

Peace washes over me

I feel secure in my life

It is a blissful feeling

And it is contagious

Soon, the room is awash in comfort

I wish I could spread this feeling to the world

Show everyone a life of peace

But for now, I can only show this room of familiar faces

Among whom I feel safe

In my life of peace,

I am safe.

What we discovered: "A child that is safe, feels all the space to dream about a future. A child that feels unsafe, can only dream of safety."

http://www.smh.com.au/world/syrian-girl-surrenders-the-story-of-the-child-who-mistook-a-camera-for-a-gun-20150401-1mch73.html

"You know there are displaced people in the camps. It makes more sense to see what they have suffered not through adults, but through children. It is the children who reflect the feelings with their innocence."

• rape and sexual violence are increasingly being used as weapons of war

• landmines leave a lasting problem

• hospitals and health centres are destroyed

• war destroys children’s educations

• it also destroys factories and buildings and therefore also jobs

• lasting psychological effects of war for children (from

• http://www.warchild.org.uk/issues/effects-war-children)