Children and Violence

Bina D'Costa is a peace and conflict specialist in the Department of International Relations at the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, Australian National University. She focuses on the nexus between development, human rights and security in Asia. Her previous books are: Nationbuilding, Gender and War Crimes in South Asia, Children and Global Conflict, and Gender and the Global Politics of the Asia-Pacific.

'This marvelous, impassioned collection of essays allows us a glimpse into the way children in South Asia have become the battlefield where political and social differences are settled and where society's frustrations, anxieties, self-hatred and greed can have full, unfettered play. In one of the most militarized parts of the world, children are the easy targets of psychopathic violence that includes rape, torture, abduction, economic exploitation, [and] forced induction into armies and other armed non-state formations such as smugglers, rebel armies and terrorists. The book is not a pleasant read but it is not easily put-downable either; it is the story of an ancient civilization imploding in front of us.' Ashis Nandy, Honorary Senior Fellow, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi

• List of tables and figures; Acknowledgements; Introduction: 'turtles can fly': vicarious terror and the child in South Asia Bina D'Costa; Part I. Shaping Childhood in South Asia: 1. Children and civil society in South Asia: subjects, participants, and political agents Duncan McDuie-Ra; 2. 'We will work harder to be our own boss': children, vulnerability and structural violence Elora Halim Chowdhury; 3. The kite runner: children, violence and the ethnic imaginary in Afghanistan Syed Sami Raza; Part II. Conflict and Violent Peace: 4. Migration, mobilisation and memory: the Sri Lankan Civil War in the lives of Tamil youth Amarnath Amarasingam and Tanuja Thurairajah; 5. Politics of the orphans of war: 72 children's journey from the Chittagong hill tracts of Bangladesh to the suburbs of France Kabita Chakma and Glen Hill; 6. Besieged childhood and broken dreams: failed promises of the State and Maoist movement in India Swati Parashar; 7. Impacts of terrorism on children in Pakistan: a case study of displaced children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Zahid Shahab Ahmed; Part III. Rights, Needs and Protection: 8. Children affected by political violence in India: human rights, politics and protection Cecilia Jacob; 9. Rethinking rights and needs: the everyday life of refugee children in the Borderland Kazi Fahmida Farzana; 10. Pinning down a paper tiger: some practice observations on the monitoring and reporting mechanism in Nepal and Asian contexts Anita Knudsen and Michelle Godwin; Part IV. Reflections from Human Rights Advocates in the Region: 11. Being young in a time of conflict: Kashmiri youth and children – a reflection Parvez Imroz; 12. The killing of youths in Sri Lanka: historical wrongs and the failure of the State Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena; 13. The impact of war and violence on young minds Azra Nafees Yousafzai; Bibliography; Notes on contributors.