WEBVTT 00:00:10.478 --> 00:00:12.028 Good Morning 00:00:12.808 --> 00:00:18.098 Worldwide, over 1.5 billion people experience armed conflict 00:00:19.137 --> 00:00:21.738 In response, people are forced to flee their country. 00:00:21.738 --> 00:00:25.078 leaving over 15 million refugees. 00:00:25.508 --> 00:00:27.227 Children without a doubt are 00:00:27.227 --> 00:00:30.227 the most innocent and vulnerable victims. 00:00:30.418 --> 00:00:33.158 But not just from the obvious physical dangers, 00:00:33.158 --> 00:00:37.158 but from, the often, unspoken affects that wars have on their families. 00:00:38.088 --> 00:00:41.088 The experiences of war leave children at real high risk 00:00:41.228 --> 00:00:44.918 for the development of emotional and behavioural problems. 00:00:45.738 --> 00:00:47.508 Children as we can only imagine, 00:00:47.508 --> 00:00:49.638 will feel worried, threaten and at risk. 00:00:50.725 --> 00:00:52.435 But there is good news, 00:00:52.435 --> 00:00:54.834 the quality of care that children recieve 00:00:54.834 --> 00:00:58.234 in their families, can have a more significant effects 00:00:58.234 --> 00:01:00.254 on their well-being, than from 00:01:00.282 --> 00:01:03.822 the actual experiences of war that they have been exposed to. 00:01:04.282 --> 00:01:07.092 So actually, children can be protected 00:01:07.302 --> 00:01:09.490 by warm, secure parenting, 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:11.967 during and after conflict. 00:01:13.637 --> 00:01:17.157 In 2011, I was a first year PHD Student 00:01:17.157 --> 00:01:19.127 in the University Of Manchester 00:01:19.127 --> 00:01:21.191 School Of Physiological Sciences. 00:01:21.271 --> 00:01:24.162 Like many of you here, I watched the crisis in Syria 00:01:24.162 --> 00:01:26.242 unfold in front of me on the TV. 00:01:26.352 --> 00:01:29.842 My family are originally from Syria, and very early on 00:01:29.842 --> 00:01:32.942 I lost several family members in really horrifying ways. 00:01:33.522 --> 00:01:36.632 I sat and I gathered with my family and watched the TV. 00:01:37.002 --> 00:01:38.662 So we have all seen those scenes, 00:01:38.662 --> 00:01:42.662 bombs destroying, buildings, chaos, destruction. 00:01:42.852 --> 00:01:45.382 and people screaming and running. 00:01:45.662 --> 00:01:47.462 It was always the people screaming and running 00:01:47.462 --> 00:01:49.532 that really got me the most. 00:01:49.762 --> 00:01:52.532 Specially those terrified looking children. 00:01:53.484 --> 00:01:57.114 I was a mother to two young, typically inquisitive children. 00:01:57.114 --> 00:01:58.809 They were five and six then. 00:01:58.809 --> 00:02:01.669 At an age when they typically ask lots and lots of questions 00:02:01.669 --> 00:02:04.509 and expect real convincing answers. 00:02:05.338 --> 00:02:07.998 So I began to wonder what it might be like 00:02:07.998 --> 00:02:12.074 to parent my children in a war-zone and a refugee camp. 00:02:12.328 --> 00:02:14.198 Would my children change? 00:02:14.768 --> 00:02:18.228 Would my daughter's bright happy eyes lose their shine? 00:02:18.677 --> 00:02:21.157 Would my son's really relax care-free nature 00:02:21.807 --> 00:02:23.727 become fearful and withdrawn? 00:02:24.799 --> 00:02:26.139 How would I cope? 00:02:27.712 --> 00:02:29.442 Would I change? 00:02:30.552 --> 00:02:32.822 As psychologists and parent's trainers 00:02:32.832 --> 00:02:34.662 we know that arming parents 00:02:34.662 --> 00:02:36.732 with skills and caring for their children 00:02:36.732 --> 00:02:39.182 can have a huge effect on their well-being. 00:02:40.026 --> 00:02:42.436 We call this parents training. 00:02:42.436 --> 00:02:43.896 So the questions I had 00:02:43.896 --> 00:02:47.896 was could Parent Training programs be useful for families 00:02:48.083 --> 00:02:50.843 while they're still in war-zones or refugee camps? 00:02:51.202 --> 00:02:53.692 Could we reach them with advice or training 00:02:53.692 --> 00:02:56.272 that would help them through these struggles? 00:02:57.849 --> 00:03:00.039 So, I approached my PHD supervisor, 00:03:00.269 --> 00:03:01.789 professor Rachel Calam, 00:03:01.789 --> 00:03:04.189 with the idea of using my academic skills 00:03:04.189 --> 00:03:06.579 to make some changes in the real world. 00:03:06.579 --> 00:03:09.529 I wasn't quite sure, exactly, what I wanted to do. 00:03:09.629 --> 00:03:11.599 She listened carefully and patiently, 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:12.979 And then to my joy, she said: 00:03:12.979 --> 00:03:14.519 "If that is what you want to do, 00:03:14.539 --> 00:03:16.909 and it means so much to you, then let's do it. 00:03:17.349 --> 00:03:20.489 Let's find ways to see if parent programs can be useful 00:03:20.825 --> 00:03:23.455 for families in this contexts." 00:03:23.505 --> 00:03:26.475 So for the past five years myself and my colleagues, 00:03:26.775 --> 00:03:28.785 professor Calam and Dr. Kim Cartwright 00:03:28.905 --> 00:03:31.045 have been working on ways to support families 00:03:31.355 --> 00:03:34.545 that have experienced war and displacement. 00:03:35.149 --> 00:03:37.519 Now, to know how to help families that have been 00:03:37.519 --> 00:03:39.959 through conflict, support their children, 00:03:40.244 --> 00:03:41.964 The first step must obviously be 00:03:41.974 --> 00:03:44.744 to ask them what are they struggling with. Right? 00:03:44.914 --> 00:03:46.264 I mean, it seems obvious, 00:03:46.414 --> 00:03:48.304 but often those are the most vulnerable 00:03:48.304 --> 00:03:51.494 that we are trying to support that we actually don't ask. 00:03:51.584 --> 00:03:53.394 How many times have we just assumed 00:03:53.394 --> 00:03:56.804 we know exactly the right thing that is gonna help someone or something 00:03:56.804 --> 00:03:58.644 without actually asking them first. 00:03:59.044 --> 00:04:02.334 So i travelled to the refugee camps in Syria and in Turkey. 00:04:03.044 --> 00:04:05.184 And I sat with families and I listened. 00:04:06.254 --> 00:04:08.764 I listened to the parenting challenges 00:04:08.764 --> 00:04:10.654 I listened to the parenting struggles 00:04:10.994 --> 00:04:13.044 And I listened to their call for help 00:04:13.106 --> 00:04:15.666 And sometimes that was just paused 00:04:15.666 --> 00:04:18.506 as all I could was hold hand with them and just join them 00:04:18.506 --> 00:04:19.886 in silence crying and prayer 00:04:19.926 --> 00:04:21.895 So they told me about their struggles 00:04:22.275 --> 00:04:26.505 They told me about the rough, harsh refugee camp condition 00:04:26.905 --> 00:04:30.645 That made it hard to focus on anything but practical chores 00:04:30.645 --> 00:04:32.825 like collecting clean water. 00:04:33.305 --> 00:04:36.075 He told me how they watch their children withdrawn, 00:04:36.175 --> 00:04:40.755 the sadness, depression, anger bed-wetting, thumb sucking 00:04:41.377 --> 00:04:45.667 fear of loud noises, fear of nightmares, terrifying terrifying nightmares. 00:04:46.784 --> 00:04:50.294 These families had been through what we had been watching on the TV. 00:04:51.524 --> 00:04:54.647 The mothers almost half of them were now wisdom of the war 00:04:55.147 --> 00:04:57.857 or didn't even know their husbands were dead or alive, 00:04:57.857 --> 00:05:00.857 described how they thought they were coping so badly 00:05:01.720 --> 00:05:03.600 They watched their children change 00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:05.900 and they have had no idea how to help them. 00:05:05.935 --> 00:05:08.995 They didn't know how to answer their children's questions. 00:05:09.605 --> 00:05:12.915 Why I found incredibly astonishing and so motivational 00:05:13.405 --> 00:05:17.365 was that these families was so motivated to support their children 00:05:18.025 --> 00:05:20.134 Despite all the challenges they faced 00:05:20.134 --> 00:05:22.154 they were trying to help their children 00:05:22.639 --> 00:05:25.879 they were making attempts at seeking support from NGO workers 00:05:26.385 --> 00:05:30.385 from refugee camp teachers, professional medics, other parents. 00:05:31.389 --> 00:05:33.889 One mother I met had only been account for 4 days 00:05:34.144 --> 00:05:36.974 and had already made two attempts at seeking support 00:05:37.074 --> 00:05:38.874 for her eight -year-old daughter 00:05:38.874 --> 00:05:41.544 who was having terrifying nightmares. 00:05:42.510 --> 00:05:46.060 But sadly, these attempts are almost always useless. 00:05:46.362 --> 00:05:49.802 Refugee camp doctors when available are almost always too busy or 00:05:49.880 --> 00:05:53.880 don't have the knowledge all the time for basic parenting supports. 00:05:54.495 --> 00:05:58.495 Refugee camp teachers and other parents I just like them 00:05:58.798 --> 00:06:02.798 part of a new refugee community who's struggling with units 00:06:03.039 --> 00:06:07.139 So then we began to think how could we help these families. 00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:12.639 The families were struggling with things much bigger than they could cope with. 00:06:12.837 --> 00:06:16.487 The Syrian crisis made it clear how incredibly impossible it would be 00:06:16.637 --> 00:06:19.107 to reach families on an individual level. 00:06:19.427 --> 00:06:21.717 How else could we help them. 00:06:21.754 --> 00:06:26.424 How would we reach families at a population level and low-cost 00:06:27.871 --> 00:06:31.301 in these terrifying terrifying times. 00:06:31.771 --> 00:06:34.251 After hours of speaking to NGO workers 00:06:34.251 --> 00:06:38.224 one suggested a fantastic innovative idea of distributing 00:06:38.224 --> 00:06:41.894 parenting information leaflets by a bread wrappers. 00:06:41.894 --> 00:06:44.304 Bread wrappers that were delivered to a family 00:06:44.304 --> 00:06:47.774 in a conflict zone in Syria by humanitarian workers 00:06:48.198 --> 00:06:49.628 So that's what we did 00:06:49.893 --> 00:06:52.723 The bread wrappers haven't changed at all in their apperance 00:06:52.927 --> 00:06:55.577 except for the addition of two pieces of paper. 00:06:55.779 --> 00:06:59.779 One was a parenting information leaflet that had basic advice 00:06:59.924 --> 00:07:02.404 and information that normalizes the parents 00:07:02.408 --> 00:07:04.378 what they might be experiencing 00:07:04.397 --> 00:07:06.237 and what their children might be experiencing 00:07:06.237 --> 00:07:08.629 and information on how they could support themselves 00:07:08.779 --> 00:07:10.119 and their children 00:07:10.119 --> 00:07:13.759 such as information like spending time talking to their child 00:07:14.373 --> 00:07:18.373 showing the more affection being more patient with your child 00:07:18.614 --> 00:07:20.424 talking to your children. 00:07:20.424 --> 00:07:22.844 The other piece of paper was a feedback question 00:07:22.844 --> 00:07:24.861 and of course there was a pen. 00:07:26.002 --> 00:07:29.592 So is this simply leaflet distribution 00:07:29.716 --> 00:07:33.336 or is it actually possible means of delivering psychological first aid 00:07:33.336 --> 00:07:35.115 that provides warm secure 00:07:35.115 --> 00:07:36.405 loving parenting. 00:07:36.405 --> 00:07:40.655 We managed to distribute 3000 of these in just one week. 00:07:41.761 --> 00:07:45.511 was incredible was we had 60-percent response rate 00:07:45.511 --> 00:07:49.511 SIxty-percent of the three thousand families responded. 00:07:49.902 --> 00:07:52.312 I don't know how many reasearchs we have here today 00:07:52.412 --> 00:07:54.938 but that kind of response rate is fantastic 00:07:54.938 --> 00:07:58.038 to have this in Manchester would be a huge achivement 00:07:58.158 --> 00:08:00.911 Let alone in conflict zone in Syria 00:08:00.961 --> 00:08:04.511 really highlighting how important these kind of messages work to families. 00:08:04.641 --> 00:08:06.271 We ain't remember how excited 00:08:06.271 --> 00:08:08.481 and eager we were for the return of question is 00:08:08.761 --> 00:08:11.146 the families had left hundreds of messages 00:08:11.248 --> 00:08:14.128 most incredibly positive encouraging. 00:08:14.128 --> 00:08:15.758 My favorite has got to be 00:08:15.758 --> 00:08:18.948 "Thank you for not forgetting about us and our children". 00:08:19.949 --> 00:08:23.729 This is really illustrates a potential means of the delivery of psychological 00:08:23.732 --> 00:08:27.179 first data families and the return of feedback to 00:08:27.179 --> 00:08:29.889 Just imagine replicating this using other means 00:08:29.889 --> 00:08:31.909 such as baby look distribution 00:08:31.913 --> 00:08:35.913 or female hygiene kits or even food baskets 00:08:36.026 --> 00:08:37.906 Let's bring this closer to home 00:08:37.996 --> 00:08:39.606 because the refugee crisis is one 00:08:39.606 --> 00:08:42.316 having an effect on every single one of us 00:08:42.403 --> 00:08:45.223 We're bombarded with images daily of statistics 00:08:45.437 --> 00:08:46.457 and photos 00:08:46.548 --> 00:08:48.668 and that's not surprising 00:08:48.668 --> 00:08:50.088 because by last month 00:08:50.101 --> 00:08:52.871 over 1 million refugees had reached europe 00:08:53.233 --> 00:08:57.333 1 million refugees are joining our communities 00:08:57.393 --> 00:08:59.313 They're becoming our neighbors 00:08:59.399 --> 00:09:01.759 their children are attending our children schools 00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:05.759 So we've adapted the leaflets to meet the needs of European refugees 00:09:06.877 --> 00:09:09.217 and we have them online open access 00:09:09.217 --> 00:09:12.007 and areas with a really high refugee influx. 00:09:12.246 --> 00:09:14.602 For example, the Swedish healthcare uploaded it 00:09:14.602 --> 00:09:16.053 onto their website 00:09:16.053 --> 00:09:17.567 within the first 45 mintutes 00:09:17.567 --> 00:09:19.957 it was downloaded 343 times 00:09:20.413 --> 00:09:23.093 really highlighting how important it is for volunteers, 00:09:23.093 --> 00:09:25.413 practitioners and other parents to have open 00:09:25.579 --> 00:09:28.569 access psychological first aid messages. 00:09:30.461 --> 00:09:36.161 In 2013, I was sitting on the cold harsh floor of a refugee camp tent 00:09:36.477 --> 00:09:40.477 with mother sitting around me as I was conducting a focus group 00:09:40.749 --> 00:09:42.969 across from East, an elderly lady 00:09:43.019 --> 00:09:46.049 with what seemed to be a 13-year-old girl lying beside her, 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:48.901 with her head on the other ladies knees. 00:09:48.901 --> 00:09:53.041 The girls stayed quiet throughout the focus group not talking at all 00:09:53.281 --> 00:09:55.854 with her knees curled up against her chest. 00:09:56.048 --> 00:09:57.703 Towards the end of the focus group 00:09:57.823 --> 00:10:00.383 and as I was thanking the mothers for their time 00:10:00.812 --> 00:10:03.642 the other lady looked at me while pointing at the young girl 00:10:03.642 --> 00:10:07.062 and said to me:" Can you help us with?" 00:10:07.062 --> 00:10:09.412 not quite sure what she expected me to do 00:10:09.482 --> 00:10:12.452 I looked at the young girl and smiled, in Arabic I said 00:10:12.571 --> 00:10:13.951 (Arabic) 00:10:14.564 --> 00:10:16.234 "What is your name?" 00:10:16.572 --> 00:10:19.022 She looked at me really confused and engaged 00:10:19.299 --> 00:10:21.319 but then said:"Halluan" 00:10:21.751 --> 00:10:25.481 Halluan is the best name for the Arabic female name Halla 00:10:25.684 --> 00:10:28.734 and is only really used to refer to really young girls. 00:10:29.747 --> 00:10:32.967 At that point, I realized that actually Hallo was probably much 00:10:32.967 --> 00:10:37.177 older than thirteen, it turns out Halla was a 25-year-old mother 00:10:37.198 --> 00:10:40.068 to three young children 00:10:40.117 --> 00:10:43.497 Halla had been a confident bright bubby loving caring mother 00:10:43.717 --> 00:10:45.027 to her children. 00:10:45.167 --> 00:10:46.797 But the war had changed all about. 00:10:48.077 --> 00:10:52.077 She had lived through bombs drop being dropped in her town. 00:10:52.283 --> 00:10:54.383 She had lived through explosions, 00:10:54.896 --> 00:10:58.476 when fighter jets were flying around their building dropping bombs, 00:10:58.822 --> 00:11:01.942 her children would be screaming terrified from the noise. 00:11:02.064 --> 00:11:03.877 Halla would frantically grab pillows 00:11:03.877 --> 00:11:06.407 and cover up her children is to block out the noise. 00:11:06.637 --> 00:11:08.717 all the while screaming herself 00:11:08.822 --> 00:11:10.632 When they reached to the refugee camp 00:11:10.632 --> 00:11:13.862 and she knew they were finally in some kind of safety, 00:11:14.006 --> 00:11:15.916 she completely withdrew to acting 00:11:15.916 --> 00:11:18.306 like her old childhood self. 00:11:18.392 --> 00:11:20.142 She completely rejected her family, 00:11:20.995 --> 00:11:23.515 her children, her husband. 00:11:23.828 --> 00:11:26.308 Halla simply could no longer cope. 00:11:27.188 --> 00:11:30.372 Now this is the parenting struggle with a really tough ending 00:11:30.372 --> 00:11:32.502 but sadly, it is not uncommon. 00:11:32.502 --> 00:11:35.132 Those, who experienced armed conflict and displacement 00:11:35.365 --> 00:11:38.125 will face serious emotional struggles 00:11:38.389 --> 00:11:40.649 and that's something we can all relate to. 00:11:41.324 --> 00:11:45.324 If you have been through a devastating time in your life. 00:11:45.735 --> 00:11:49.735 If you have lost someone or something you really care about. 00:11:50.438 --> 00:11:53.028 How would you continue to cope? 00:11:53.123 --> 00:11:56.513 Could you still be able to care for yourself and for your family? 00:11:57.979 --> 00:12:01.373 Given that the first years of child's life are crucial 00:12:01.373 --> 00:12:04.353 for healthy physical and emotional development. 00:12:04.490 --> 00:12:08.900 And that 1.5 billion people are experiencing armed conflict. 00:12:09.299 --> 00:12:12.179 Many of whom are now joining our communities. 00:12:12.217 --> 00:12:14.347 We can not afford to turn a blind eye 00:12:14.403 --> 00:12:17.543 to a need of those who are experiencing war and displacement. 00:12:17.830 --> 00:12:23.090 We must prioritize these family needs to those both burn internally displaced 00:12:23.158 --> 00:12:25.978 and those who are refugees worldwide. 00:12:25.978 --> 00:12:28.268 These needs must be prioritized 00:12:28.590 --> 00:12:32.430 by NGO workers, policy makers, the WHO, the UNHCR 00:12:33.538 --> 00:12:36.858 and every single one of us in whatever capacity, 00:12:36.910 --> 00:12:39.172 it is that we function in society. 00:12:39.172 --> 00:12:43.442 When we begin to recognize the individual phases of the conflict. 00:12:43.816 --> 00:12:47.816 When we begin to notice those intricate emotions on their faces, 00:12:48.501 --> 00:12:51.617 we begin to see them as human too. 00:12:51.617 --> 00:12:54.166 We begin to see the needs of these families. 00:12:54.166 --> 00:12:56.556 and these are the real human needs. 00:12:56.836 --> 00:12:59.676 When these families need are prioritized 00:12:59.835 --> 00:13:02.795 interventions for children in humanitarian settings 00:13:02.815 --> 00:13:06.815 will prioritize and recognize the primary role of the family 00:13:07.032 --> 00:13:09.022 in supporting children. 00:13:09.237 --> 00:13:12.037 Family mental health will be shouting loud isn't clear 00:13:12.069 --> 00:13:14.039 in global international agenda 00:13:14.100 --> 00:13:18.100 And children will be less likely to enter social service systems 00:13:18.311 --> 00:13:20.025 and resettlement countries 00:13:20.025 --> 00:13:23.969 because their families would have had support earlier on 00:13:23.969 --> 00:13:26.569 and we will be more open-minded 00:13:26.736 --> 00:13:29.316 more welcoming, more caring and more trusting 00:13:29.506 --> 00:13:31.496 to those who are joining our communities. 00:13:32.946 --> 00:13:35.946 We need to stop wars. 00:13:36.008 --> 00:13:39.498 We need to build a world where children can dream of planes 00:13:39.498 --> 00:13:42.838 dropping gifts and not bombs. 00:13:42.917 --> 00:13:45.357 Until we stop armed conflicts, 00:13:45.480 --> 00:13:49.480 raising throughout the world, families will continue to be displaced 00:13:49.571 --> 00:13:51.389 leaving children vulnerable 00:13:51.389 --> 00:13:54.409 but by improving parenting and caregivers support. 00:13:54.471 --> 00:13:57.091 It maybe possible to weaken the links 00:13:57.196 --> 00:13:59.336 between wars and psychological difficulties 00:13:59.786 --> 00:14:01.796 in children and their families. 00:14:01.834 --> 00:14:02.844 Thank you.