Allons-Y, Vol. 2 (2017)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10222/85647

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Cover (Allons-Y, Vol. 2 (2017))
(Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security, 2017)
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Letter from the Editor (Allons-Y, Vol. 2 (2017))
(Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security, 2017) Dustin Johnson
Since the publication of the first issue of Allons-y in August of last year, the world has become a darker place. Rising tides of xenophobia, toxic nationalism, and violent rhetoric threaten our diverse and inclusive societies at home and abroad, while the world seems to be retreating from critical international institutions and the very democratic values that underpin peace and the rule of law. New and escalating crises threaten to cause new inter- and intra-state wars, while horrific conflicts without end in sight grind on in Syria and Iraq, South Sudan, Somalia, and elsewhere. The renewed hope of the past eight years has now been fully replaced by doubt, cynicism, and the sense of impending crisis. As always in such times of instability and growing conflict, children are both the ones most at risk of harm during wars and refugee flows, the go-to tool for extremist recruiters, and the most important agents of change for building a brighter and more peaceful future. As ISIS loses ground in Iraq and Syria, we see them turning increasingly to recruiting children over the internet to carry out attacks, placing new challenges before our communities and governments. As millions of refugees flee brutal conflicts and repressive regimes, half or more of them are children, and are left vulnerable to exploitation and abuse as they are turned away at borders, sent back to more dangerous countries, or viewed with suspicion because of their religion or race. Children and youth are also taking action to build a better world, engaging in politics, standing up for peaceful and inclusive societies, and working to build peace in their communities. As an international and interdependent community, we must support the efforts of children and youth to create a better world, and help protect them from use and abuse by those who pursue a malign agenda. In order to effectively do so, we require research, analysis, and insights on the roles that children and youth play in the perpetuation of conflict and the building of peace. Allons-y seeks to provide a platform for this kind of work, and this issue addresses a number of the most pressing matters facing the modern world. I hope that these pieces on children and cyberwarfare, Islamophobia and Islamist fundamentalism, and the mental health of Syrian refugee children provoke thought, inform conversations, and form one small part of our work to build a world that is peaceful, prosperous, and affirms and supports the rights of all human beings.
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Preface (Allons-Y, Vol. 2 (2017))
(Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security, 2017) Shelly Whitman
In the wake of unspeakable horrors that have been committed against children in Syria with chemical weapons, the growing refugee crisis globally, and the reality that we are facing cataclysmic food shortages that lead to even more instability – it is often difficult to know where to begin to make the greatest impact for change. However, what is remarkably clear is that children continue to suffer at the hands of unscrupulous adults – from those who create and conduct war, and those who fail to effectively harness efforts to address war. The Dallaire Initiative‘s approach calls for a need to make children a priority on the overall peace and security agenda – a Children‘s Rights Upfront call to action. As a contribution to this effort, the current articles in this volume of Allons-y have advocated for innovative solutions and new frames of reference for some of the world‘s most pressing concerns from youth themselves: from understanding how cyber warfare can target children and youth and the lack of dialogue to address this lacunae in the law, to the impacts of Islamophobia that create conditions for recruitment, to the resulting effects of war on refugee children. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Paris Principles on Children in Armed Conflict. The Principles have helped to create a framework to guide the need to protect children in armed conflict. But at the 10th Anniversary conference in Paris in February 2017, the need to focus on preventing violations against children was deemed as critical for meaningful impact. If we are not prepared to create policy responses through a preventative lens then we will continually be reacting to conflicts and their implications for generations to come. It is time we see the world through the lens of children, for children and for the future of humanity.
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Confronting Ideology: Islamophobia vs. Islamist Fundamentalism
(Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security, 2017) Nuzhat Khurshid
The notions of tradition and modernity organize the contestation of Islamophobia, as a colonialist, capitalist venture originating in the West, as opposed to the ‘traditional‘ forces of fundamentalism, which originate in the East. The print revolution, beginning as a product of colonialist capitalism, led to the explosion and expansion of ‘modern‘ ideas of cultural essentialism whereas the internet revolution has played a strong role in the spread of ‘traditional‘ ideas as defined by Islamist fundamentalism. The apparent ‘clash of civilizations‘ (Huntington 1993) presented by the interaction between the East and the West, or tradition and modernity, will be critiqued and the dangers of these abstractions, which avoid real issues such as class struggle and geopolitical control, will be shown. Finally, some ideas will be presented on how to challenge both these ideologies in their everyday uses. Using Marx‘s notion of ideology, defined as a tool used by the ruling class to abstract material concepts and maintain power, we will explore the nature of Islamophobia and Islamist fundamentalism.
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Syrian Refugee Children And Mental Health Trauma
(Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security, 2017) Kathleen O'Brien
In 2015, the United Nations International Children‘s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) named Syria as the most dangerous place on earth to be a child (UNICEF, 2). Since the onset of civil war in 2011, nearly 4.8 million Syrians are refugees outside of Syria and approximately 6 million are internally displaced (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 2016). While some refugees have successfully resettled in North American and European nations, many remain in limbo in refugee camps. What is most staggering about the population of affected persons is that nearly half, approximately 6 million, are children (UNICEF, 2016). Nearly all of these children have been subjected to trauma that has manifested in a variety of ways. They have often been subjected to or witnessed violence and have experienced the loss of one or more of their caregivers. Refugees face difficulty accessing psychological and health services and are met with the stigma surrounding mental health in countries including Lebanon and Turkey, regions that many refugee children have fled to. In the absence of these supports, the mental trauma a child is experience can impact learning and development and have disastrous impacts on their future.
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Child Soldiery in the Information Age
(Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security, 2017) Ben O'Bright
In 2007, Estonia was the victim of a significant, coordinated cyberattack, which crippled government communications, newspaper websites, banks and other connected entities in Europe‘s most Internet-saturated country. At the time, leading theories suggested that Russia, or at the very least elements of its intelligence community, might be somehow involved, spurred by the physical symbolism of Estonia removing Soviet-era monuments from city squares and public spaces (Davis, 2007). Indeed, in an attempt to visibly remove its history of engagement as part of the Soviet Union, Estonian authorities and political figures had become determined to demolish and destroy remaining statues erected pre-1990. Two years after the cyberattack, an event that Wired Magazine colloquially termed “Web War One,” further details of the unexpected perpetrators would begin to emerge. According to reports by the Financial Times and Reuters, Nashi, a pro-Kremlin youth group with an estimated membership of 150,000, claimed responsibility for the digital assault against Estonia; they described to authorities a strategy of repeated denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, (Clover, 2009; Lowe, 2009). Nashi members, based on different sources, range between the ages of 17 and 25 (Knight, 2007).
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Commentary: Confronting Ideology: Islamophobia vs. Islamist Fundamentalism
(Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security, 2017) Hicham Tiflati
On January 29th, 2017, Alexandre Bissonnette, a 27-year-old far-right anti-immigrant and anti-Islam Quebecois, entered into a mosque, killed six Muslims and injured dozens as they prayed at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec. While the incident shocked the Quebecois and Canadian public, it was a proof that Islamophobes are as prone to killing innocent civilians as are militant Islamists.
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Commentary: Syrian Refugee Children and Mental Health Trauma
(Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security, 2017) Rania Abuelhassan
The Syrian crisis is entering its seventh year, and civilians continue to suffer and bear intolerable unique social consequences resulted of the most aggressive violent phenomena after the Second World War. The Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) for 2017 estimates that 6.3 million people are displaced within Syria and more than 6 million are outside the country. The assumptions of the humanitarian response have concluded a total number of 13.5 million people require humanitarian assistance and protection (UN OCHA, 2016).
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Commentary: Children and Cyberwar: Victimization through Protection?
(Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security, 2017) Jon Penney
Mr. O‘Bright has offered an important essay on the many complex issues and questions raised by child soldiers in the information age. With an aim to supplementing his helpful discussion, this brief comment examines state obligations to prevent children from becoming involved in hostilities as I believe it raises challenges unique to cyberwarfare, while also highlighting the importance of Mr. O‘Bright‘s central question— which international legal norms can be applied to cyberwar, and which require fundamental changes or rethinking.

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