Psychological impact of war on children- Dr. Elisa Faleppi
"The human capacity to carve out a niche for oneself, to secrete a shell, to erect around oneself a tenuous barrier of defense even in seemingly desperate circumstances is astounding and deserves a more in-depth study" (P. Levi, "If This is a Man. The Truce," 1958). The amazement at how human beings manage, in spite of everything, to survive in extreme contexts such as those of a war and somehow even "accept" its dramatic consequences becomes even greater when the object of our reflection is children. We wonder where they derive the strength to go through such an experience without permanently collapsing; yet, except in limited cases, children who have gone through the atrocities of war do not go "out of their minds." Most of the time, these children even seem to us better, more helpful, more mature than they are in "normal" situations. This incredible ability to adapt can lead us adults to underestimate the...
