WEBVTT

00:00:00.786 --> 00:00:05.970
Worldwide, over 1.5 billion people
experience armed conflict.

00:00:06.940 --> 00:00:08.074
In response,

00:00:08.074 --> 00:00:10.004
people are forced to flee their country,

00:00:10.004 --> 00:00:13.005
leaving over 15 million refugees.

00:00:13.720 --> 00:00:14.721
Children,

00:00:14.721 --> 00:00:15.721
without a doubt,

00:00:15.721 --> 00:00:18.811
are the most innocent
and vulnerable victims ...

00:00:18.811 --> 00:00:21.502
but not just from the obvious
physical dangers,

00:00:21.502 --> 00:00:25.600
but from the often unspoken effects
that wars have on their families.

00:00:26.563 --> 00:00:29.797
The experiences of war
leave children at a real high risk

00:00:29.797 --> 00:00:32.948
for the development of emotional
and behavioral problems.

00:00:34.104 --> 00:00:36.096
Children, as we can only imagine,

00:00:36.096 --> 00:00:38.821
will feel worried, threatened and at risk.

00:00:38.821 --> 00:00:40.545
But there is good news.

00:00:40.545 --> 00:00:44.396
The quality of care that children
receive in their families

00:00:44.396 --> 00:00:47.916
can have a more significant
affect on their well-being

00:00:47.916 --> 00:00:51.800
than from the actual experiences of war
that they have been exposed to.

00:00:52.582 --> 00:00:53.576
So actually,

00:00:53.576 --> 00:00:58.296
children can be protected
by warm, secure parenting

00:00:58.296 --> 00:01:00.255
during and after conflict.

00:01:02.157 --> 00:01:05.518
In 2011, I was a first-year PhD student

00:01:05.518 --> 00:01:08.964
in the University of Manchester
School of Psychological Sciences.

00:01:09.303 --> 00:01:10.809
Like many of you here,

00:01:10.809 --> 00:01:14.061
I watched the crisis in Syria unfold
in front of me on the TV.

00:01:14.728 --> 00:01:17.139
My family is originally from Syria,

00:01:17.139 --> 00:01:18.142
and very early on,

00:01:18.142 --> 00:01:21.236
I lost several family members
in really horrifying ways.

00:01:21.961 --> 00:01:25.480
I'd sit and I'd gather with my family
and watch the TV.

00:01:25.480 --> 00:01:27.106
So we've all seen those scenes --

00:01:27.106 --> 00:01:28.848
bombs destroying buildings,

00:01:28.848 --> 00:01:31.246
chaos, destruction

00:01:31.246 --> 00:01:33.390
and people screaming and running.

00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:37.740
It was always the people screaming
and running that really got me the most,

00:01:37.740 --> 00:01:40.431
especially those
terrified-looking children.

00:01:41.617 --> 00:01:45.383
I was a mother to two young,
typically inquisitive children.

00:01:45.383 --> 00:01:46.962
They were five and six then,

00:01:46.962 --> 00:01:49.966
at an age where they typically asked
lots and lots of questions,

00:01:49.966 --> 00:01:53.493
and expected real convincing answers.

00:01:53.493 --> 00:01:55.911
So, I began to wonder
what it might be like

00:01:55.911 --> 00:01:59.472
to parent my children in a war zone
and a refugee camp.

00:02:00.337 --> 00:02:02.330
Would my children change?

00:02:02.805 --> 00:02:06.821
Would my daughter's bright
happy eyes lose their shine?

00:02:06.821 --> 00:02:11.741
Would my son's really relaxed and carefree
nature become fearful and withdrawn?

00:02:12.946 --> 00:02:14.725
How would I cope?

00:02:15.592 --> 00:02:17.435
Would I change?

00:02:18.821 --> 00:02:21.158
As psychologists and parent trainers,

00:02:21.158 --> 00:02:25.004
we know that arming parents with skills
in caring for their children

00:02:25.004 --> 00:02:28.569
can have a huge effect
on their well-being,

00:02:28.569 --> 00:02:30.745
and we call this parent training.

00:02:30.989 --> 00:02:32.906
The question I had was,

00:02:32.906 --> 00:02:36.652
could parent training programs
be useful for families

00:02:36.652 --> 00:02:39.480
while they were still in war zones
or refugee camps?

00:02:39.806 --> 00:02:42.288
Could we reach them
with advice or training

00:02:42.288 --> 00:02:44.838
that would help them
through these struggles?

00:02:45.976 --> 00:02:48.884
So, I approached my PhD supervisor,

00:02:48.884 --> 00:02:50.456
Professor Rachel Calam,

00:02:50.456 --> 00:02:54.444
with the idea of using my academic skills
to make some change in the real world.

00:02:54.962 --> 00:02:57.644
I wasn't quite sure what
exactly I wanted to do.

00:02:58.235 --> 00:03:00.100
She listened carefully and patiently,

00:03:00.100 --> 00:03:01.823
and then to my joy she said,

00:03:01.823 --> 00:03:03.322
"If that's what you want to do,

00:03:03.322 --> 00:03:04.682
and it means so much to you,

00:03:04.682 --> 00:03:05.930
then let's do it.

00:03:05.930 --> 00:03:08.940
Let's find ways to see if parent programs

00:03:08.940 --> 00:03:11.751
can be useful for families
in these contexts."

00:03:12.334 --> 00:03:13.502
So for the past five years,

00:03:13.671 --> 00:03:15.084
myself and my colleagues --

00:03:15.261 --> 00:03:17.775
Professor [Kalem] and Dr. Kim [Cartwright]

00:03:17.969 --> 00:03:19.970
have been working on ways
to support families

00:03:20.145 --> 00:03:22.531
that have experienced
war and displacement.

00:03:23.770 --> 00:03:27.242
Now, to know how to help families
that have been through conflict

00:03:27.474 --> 00:03:28.682
support their children,

00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:32.567
the first step must obviously be
to ask them what they're struggling with,

00:03:32.770 --> 00:03:33.630
right?

00:03:33.860 --> 00:03:35.196
I mean, it seems obvious.

00:03:35.410 --> 00:03:37.234
But it's often those
that are the most vulnerable

00:03:37.408 --> 00:03:38.225
that we're trying to support

00:03:38.429 --> 00:03:39.974
that we actually don't ask.

00:03:40.236 --> 00:03:42.827
How many times have we just assumed
we know exactly the right thing

00:03:42.996 --> 00:03:47.019
that's going to help someone or something
without actually asking them first?

00:03:47.702 --> 00:03:51.402
So I travelled to refugee camps
in Syria and in Turkey,

00:03:51.587 --> 00:03:52.623
and I sat with families,

00:03:52.827 --> 00:03:54.361
and I listened.

00:03:54.651 --> 00:03:57.217
I listened to their parenting challenges,

00:03:57.388 --> 00:03:59.661
I listened to their parenting struggles,

00:03:59.833 --> 00:04:01.838
and I listened to their call for help.

00:04:02.072 --> 00:04:03.908
And sometimes that was just [paused],

00:04:04.112 --> 00:04:05.711
as all I could do was
hold hands with them,

00:04:05.913 --> 00:04:08.929
and just join them in silent
crying and prayer.

00:04:09.139 --> 00:04:11.339
They told me about their struggles,

00:04:11.549 --> 00:04:15.072
they told me about the rough,
harsh refugee camp conditions

00:04:15.249 --> 00:04:18.243
that made it hard to focus on anything
but practical chores

00:04:18.420 --> 00:04:20.534
like collecting clean water.

00:04:20.914 --> 00:04:24.161
They told me how they watched
their children withdraw;

00:04:24.359 --> 00:04:27.167
the sadness, depression, anger,

00:04:27.386 --> 00:04:30.478
bed-wetting, thumb-sucking,
fear of loud noises,

00:04:30.645 --> 00:04:32.414
fear of nightmares --

00:04:32.607 --> 00:04:34.683
terrifying, terrifying nightmares.

00:04:34.749 --> 00:04:38.611
These families had been through
what we had been watching on the TV.

00:04:39.564 --> 00:04:40.571
The mothers,

00:04:40.719 --> 00:04:42.915
almost half of them were now
widows of war,

00:04:43.074 --> 00:04:45.758
or didn't even know if their husbands
were dead or alive,

00:04:45.917 --> 00:04:49.645
described how they thought they
were coping so badly.

00:04:49.962 --> 00:04:51.265
They watched their children change,

00:04:51.434 --> 00:04:53.544
and they had no idea how to help them.

00:04:53.784 --> 00:04:57.564
They didn't know how to answer
their children's questions.

00:04:57.756 --> 00:04:59.404
What I found incredibly astonishing,

00:04:59.575 --> 00:05:00.982
and so motivational,

00:05:01.191 --> 00:05:05.889
was that these families were so motivated
to support their children

00:05:06.072 --> 00:05:08.433
despite all these challenges they faced,

00:05:08.567 --> 00:05:10.490
they were trying to help their children.

00:05:10.823 --> 00:05:14.252
They were making attempts at seeking
support from NGO workers,

00:05:14.506 --> 00:05:16.131
from refugee camp teachers,

00:05:16.338 --> 00:05:17.534
professional medics,

00:05:17.735 --> 00:05:18.958
other parents.

00:05:19.285 --> 00:05:22.535
One mother I met had only been
in a camp for four days,

00:05:22.786 --> 00:05:24.150
and had already made two attempts

00:05:24.384 --> 00:05:26.465
at seeking support for
her eight-year-old daughter

00:05:26.668 --> 00:05:29.382
who was having terrifying nightmares.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But sadly, these attempts
are almost always useless.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Refugee camp doctors,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
when available,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
are almost always too busy,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
or don't have the knowledge or the time
for basic parenting supports.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Refugee camp teachers and other parents
are just like them --

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
part of new refugee community
who's struggling with new needs.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So then we began to think.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
How could we help these families?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The families were struggling with things
much bigger than they could cope with.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The Syrian crisis made it clear how
incredibly impossible it would be

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to reach families on an individual level.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
How else could we help them?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
How would reach families
at a population level,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and at low costs

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in these terrifying, terrifying times.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
After hours of speaking to NGO workers,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
one suggested a fantastic, innovative idea

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of distributing parenting
information leaflets via breadwrappers.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Bread wrappers that were being delivered
to famlies in a conflict zone in Syria

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
by humanitarian workers.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So that's what we did.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The bread wrappers haven't changed
at all in their appearance,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
except for the addition
of two pieces of paper.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
One was a parenting information leaflet
that had basic advice

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and information
that normalized to the parent

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
what they might be experiencing

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and what their child
might be experiencing.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And information on how they could
support themselves and their children,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
such as information like spending
time talking to your child,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
showing them more affection,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
being more patient with your child,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
talking to your children.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The other piece of paper
was a feedback questionnaire,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and of course, there was a pen.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So is this simply leaflet distribution,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
or is this actually a possible means
of delievering psychological first-aid

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that provides warm, secure,
loving parenting?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We managed to distribute 3,000
of these in just one week.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
What was incredible was we had
a 60 percent response rate.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
60 percent of the 3,0000
families responded.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I don't know how many researchers
we have here today,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but that kind of response rate
is fantastic.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
To have that in Manchester would be
a huge achievement,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
let alone in a conflict zone in Syria --

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
really highlighting how important
these kinds of messages were to families.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I remember how excited and eager we were
for the return of the questionnaires.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The families had left
hundreds of messages --

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
most incredibly positive and encouraging.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But my favorite has got to be,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Thank you for not forgetting
about us and our children."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
This really illustrates
the potential means

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of the delievery of psychological
first-aid to families,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and the return of feedback, too.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Just imagine replicating this
using other means,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
such as baby milk distribution,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
or female hygeine kits,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
or even food baskets.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But let's bring this closer to home,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
because the refugee crisis

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is one that is having an effect
on every singly one of us.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We're bombarded with images daily
of statistics and of photos,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and that's not surprising,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
because by last month,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
over one million refugees
had reached Europe.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
One million.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Refugees are joining our communities,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they're becoming our neighbors,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
their children are attending
our children's schools.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we've adapted the leaflet to meet
the needs of European refugees,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and we have them online,
open-access,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in areas with a really high
refugee influx.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
For example,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the Swedish Healthcare uploaded it
onto their website,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and within the first 45 minutes,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it was downloaded 343 times --

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
really highlighting how important it is
for volunteers, practitioners,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and other parents

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to have open-access, psychological
first-aid messages.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
In 2013, I was sitting on the cold
hard floor of a refugee camp tent

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
with mothers sitting around me

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
as I was conducting a focus group.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Across from me stood an elederly lady

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
with what seemed to be
a 13-year-old girl lying beside her,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
with her head on her elderly lady's knees.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The girl stayed quiet
throughout the focus group,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
not talking at all,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
with her knees curled up
against her chest.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Towards the end of the focus group,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and as I was thanking
the mothers for their time,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the elderly lady looked at me
while point at the young girl,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and said to me,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Can you help us with...?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Not quite sure what she expected me to do,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I looked at the young girl and smiled,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and in Arabic I said,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Salaam Alaikum,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
mā ismak?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"What's your name?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
She looked at me really
confused and unengaged,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but then said,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Halul."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Halul is the pet's name for the Arabic
female name, Hala,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and is only really used to refer
to really young girls.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
At that point I realized that actually
Hala was probably much older than 13.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It turns out Hala was a 25-year-old mother
to three young children.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Hala had been a confident, bright,
bubbly, loving, caring mother

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to her children,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but the war had changed all of that.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
She had lived through bombs
being dropped in her town;

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
she had lived through explosions.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When fighter jets were flying
around their building,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
dropping bombs,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
her children would be screaming,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
terrified from the noise.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Hala would frantically grab pillows
and cover her children's ears

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to block out the noise,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
all the while screaming herself.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When they reached the refugee camp,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and she knew they were finally
in some kind of safety,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
she completely withdrew to acting
like her old childhood self.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
She compeltely rejected her family...

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
her children, her husband.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Hala simply could no longer cope.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
This is a parenting struggle
with a really tough ending,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but sadly, it's not uncommon.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Those who experience armed
conflict and displacement

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
will face serious emotional stuggles.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And that's something we can all relate to.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
If you have been through
a devastating time in your life,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
if you have lost someone or something
you really care about,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
how would you continue to cope?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Could you still be able to care
for yourself and for your family?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Given that the first years
of a child's life are crucial

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
for healthy physical
and emotional development,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and that 1.5 billion people
are experiencing armed conflict,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
many of whom are now
joining our communities,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we cannot afford to turn a bline eye

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to the needs of those who
are experiencing war and displacement.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We must prioritize these family needs
to those who were internally displaced,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and those are are refugees worldwide.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
These needs must be prioritized
by NGO workers, policy makers,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the WHO, the UNHCL
and every single one of us

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in whatever capacity it is
that we function in a society.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When we begin to recognize
the individual faces of the conflict,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
when we begin to notice those intricate
emotions on their faces,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we begin to see them as humans, too.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We begin to see the needs
of these families,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and these are the real human needs.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When these family needs are prioritized,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
interventions for children
in humanitarian settings

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
will prioritize and recognize the primary
role of the family in supporting children.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Family mental health will be
shouting loud and clear

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in global, international agenda.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And children will be less likely to enter
social service systems

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in resettlement counties

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
because their families would have had
support earlier on.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And we will be more open-minded,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
more welcoming,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
more caring

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and more trusting to those who
are joining our communities.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We need to stop wars.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We need to build a world where children
can dream of planes dropping gifts,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and not bombs.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Until we stop armed conflicts
raging throughout the world,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
families will continue to be displaced,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
leaving children vulnerable.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But by improving parenting
and caregiver support,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it may be possible to weaken the links
between war and psychological difficulties

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in children and their families.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Thank you.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
(Applause)