Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees

by Deborah Ellis

The United States and its allies invaded Iraq seven years ago. Today the country is still at war, and no one can claim that true democracy has come. Four million Iraqis have been displaced, and about half of them, unable to flee the country, are now living in remote tent camps without access to schools, health care, or often even food and clean water. In Children of War, a companion title to Off to Voices of Soldiers’ Children, Deborah Ellis turns her attention to the most tragic victims of the Iraq war — Iraqi children. She interviews two dozen young people, mostly refugees living in Jordan, but also a few who are trying to build new lives in North America. Their frank and harrowing stories reveal inspiring resilience as the children try to survive the consequences of a war in which they play no part.

Genres: Nonfiction, War, History, Middle East, Canada, Childrens, Politics

128 pages, Paperback

First published February 17, 2009

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Deborah Ellis has achieved international acclaim with her courageous and dramatic books that give Western readers a glimpse into the plight of children in developing countries.

She has won the Governor General's Award, Sweden's Peter Pan Prize, the Ruth Schwartz Award, the University of California's Middle East Book Award, the Jane Addams Children's Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award.

A long-time feminist and anti-war activist, she is best known for The Breadwinner Trilogy, which has been published around the world in seventeen languages, with more than a million dollars in royalties donated to Street Kids International and to Women for Women, an organization that supports health and education projects in Afghanistan. In 2006, Deb was named to the Order of Ontario.

Reviews

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve had this bookmarked in Hoopla ever since I focused on borderlands literature, and this was one I didn’t get to that year. This is all interviews with Iraqi refugees under 18, most of them transcribed in 2007 in Jordan. The imprint is children focused but I think adults can learn a lot from these stories, about the varied religious makeup of Iraq even during Saddam’s reign, the impact of sanctions and chemical warfare on civilians, and how America is viewed by teens living through this war. I actually learned about a sect I’d never heard of before - Mandaeism! Sometimes a children’s book can explain something in a straightforward way, and now I feel more equipped to tackle some of the Kurdish books I have in mind.

[Irini 이리니 Thalassinou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Τα παιδιά λένε πάντα την αλήθεια. Αυτό μπορεί να περιγράψει επακριβώς το περιεχόμενο αυτού του βιβλίου, την ιστορία για τον πόλεμο στο Ιράκ μέσα από τα μάτια των παιδιών.

"Για να γίνει ο κόσμος καλύτερος, κάθε μεγάλη πόλη πρέπει να έχει μέρη που μπορούν να πάνε μόνο τα παιδιά, όλα τα παιδιά. Ανεξάρτητα με το αν είναι από το Ιράκ ή την Ιορδανία ή από άλλο μέρος. Θα πηγαίνουν εκεί και θα είναι ασφαλή και θα παίζουν ό,τι θέλουν και απλά θα είναι ευτυχισμένα."

"Αν μπορούσα να κάνω τον κόσμο καλύτερο, θα έλεγα ότι χρειάζεται ειρήνη και να μάθουν όλοι ο ένας τον πολιτισμό του άλλου, οι άνθρωποι να συναντιούνται και να γνωρίζονται, ώστε να μην υπάρχει φόβος."

"Δε θα έπρεπε να υπάρχουν διακρίσεις ανάμεσα στους Άραβες και τους Ευρωπαίους. Θα έπρεπε να βλέπουμε ο ένας τον άλλον σαν ίσο, να μη θεωρείται κανείς καλύτερος από τον άλλο. Ένας ανοιχτός κόσμος, όχι κλειστός. Χωρίς σύνορα! Χωρίς βίζες! Μόνο με ανθρώπους που να ζουν σε αυτόν. "

Τελικά, όπως λέει και η συγγραφέας, πιστεύω ότι μπορούμε να φτιάξουμε έναν κόσμο χωρίς πόλεμο. Ένα πρώτο βήμα είναι να καταλάβουμε πλήρως τον αντίκτυπο των αποφάσεών μας στα πιο ευάλωτα πλάσματα του κόσμου, τα παιδιά μας.

[Sweet Jane]

Απορώ με τις βαθμολογίες καμιά φορά. Πως ακριβώς μπορείς να βαθμολογήσεις ένα βιβλίο σαν αυτό όπου παιδιά όλων των ηλικιών γράφουν για το πως βίωσαν την αμερικανική εισβολή στο Ιράκ, τον μετέπειτα εμφύλιο και τη μετανάστευση; Θέλω να πω, πως ακριβώς βαθμολογείς τον πόνο του άλλου;
Τα πέντε αστεράκια είναι πολύ λίγα για το περιεχόμενο του βιβλίου, κάτι λιγότερο από τα πέντε αστεράκια είναι τρομερά ανήθικο για το περιεχόμενο του βιβλίου. Καταλάβατε.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who doubts the impact of war on civilians should read this book. In it, Deborah Ellis interviews Iraqi children displaced by the 2003 war started by George W. Bush's administration. These young lives have been shattered by what they have seen and experienced. Written in 2007, the children whose stories are included have (hopefully) reached adulthood. It would be fascinating to see if the author has kept in touch with any of them to see how they have navigated their circumstances in the intervening years, and to see if their experiences have led them to seek healing or revenge.

[Cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Text Summary
“People watch war in the movies and they think they know what it’s like. They don’t know. If they knew, they wouldn’t allow it to happen.” This quote was stated by Hibba, a 16 year old girl who is one of the voices of the Iraqi refugees in Deborah Ellis’s book Children of War. The voices of teenagers just like Hibba can be heard in this book. Hibba, along with others and their families, have fled Iraq and found refuge in neighboring countries such as Jordan. The child refugees share their thoughts, fears, and dreams of a day where they are not still experiencing the consequences of a war in which they have played no part. Some simply want to experience the feeling of a full night’s sleep; while, others long for their families to be reunited once again.

Literary merits
In this text, Deborah Ellis does a nice job of providing the necessary background information that students would need in order to better understand the historical and political context while reading this book. For example, Ellis provides a timeline of events in her introduction, which details the events leading up to and through the Iraq war and the fall of Saddam Hussein. Along with this introduction, Alice provides helpful visuals, including maps of the Middle East, and pictures of each of the teenage refugees that offered their stories for this book. Before each teenager’s story, Ellis includes some brief background information that relates to this story that follows. For example, if the teenager’s story involved religion, Ellis included a description of the religious conflicts occurring in Iraq under Saddam Hussein’s power.

Classroom Recommendations
Ages 12 and up. This text would serve as a nice companion to any unit involving war, specifically the Iraq war. Other themes reflected in this book include: family relationships, freedom of religion, stereotypes, dreams, resilience, courage, and fears (of the known and unknown). As the narrators of this book question the world around them, readers have opportunities to do the same. The most important thing that young readers can gain from this book is a sense of empathy; they may have learned about war but it has probably only been from one side. This book allows them to experience a new perspective: the perspective of a child surrounded by war.

[Joelle Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

You cannot claim to be pro - life, and spew vitriolic, vituperative rhetoric from the other side of your mouth about immigrant and refugee children.

ALL children, regardless of skin color, nationality, legal status, or religion, deserve the right to be safe, to have clean water, medical care, education, and to be loved.

This is a Biblical mandate.

[Sham Al-Ghazali · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tried so hard not to cry throughout this book

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees, by Deborah Ellis. I picked up this book because I was looking for a non-fiction that would provide some insight about how people in foreign countries feel about the U.S., especially our war tactics over the past few years.
The news always focuses on our side of the story, but this book gives voice to the children who have been affected by the war in Iraq. Many of them are refugees now, meaning they had to flee their country because of the fighting. Can you imagine having to leave Nebraska because bombs were being dropped on your house? I know, pretty hard to imagine for us, but this became everyday life for kids in Iraq.

Here are a few excerpts from the novel:

“When my father was younger he was a very important goldsmith. . . The shop was successful, and we were very rich. We had a beautiful house, many possessions, cars, everything anyone would want. Now look at us! Even the rugs on the floor came from someone else’s garbage out in the street” (80)—B. (16)

“They always had guns pointed at people, at people who had no guns to point back at them. . . . How would Americans or Canidains feel if there were Iraqi troops on your streets, and these Iraqi troops broke down doors and tried to tell you what to do?” (91)—Masim (15)

“It’s not the American people, it’s the American government. There are a lot of American people who don’t like to be killing Iraqis We have to remember that and not blame the American people for what their government decides” (77)—Sally, 15

“I wish Iraq had no oil. Then people would leave us alone. I don’t know what will happen in the future. As long as the American soldiers are there, things will be bad, and people will be killed. I worry that too many people will become used to all this killing and forget that there is a better way to do things” (98)—Abdullah (13)

The thing that I really liked about this book is that the chapters are pretty short and each is written from a different kid’s point of view, so it is easy to read one and pick the book up and start another without having to “remember” what happened in the previous chapter. It was also one of the those books that made me really thankful for all of the things I have—a warm place to sleep, food to eat, and education. Sometimes we take these for granted. The book also made me rethink war. Is it really worth it? I guess you will just have and make your own opinion.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an important book. I really admire Deborah Ellis, and feel she makes a truly important contribution to western culture, and even humanity in general, by writing about children in the developing world, and bridging the gap of understanding to our own young ones. This little collection of the stories of Iraqi refugees is told in simple language, which makes it accessible to any child over the age of 12, but as a whole work, though it is short, is likely to induce sadness, the more so the older the reader.
Like other accounts of traumatic events told through the eyes of children, the tragedy is understated and simply told by the players, and the sensitive reader cannot help but see the abiding similarity of these children to our own. They want to play guitar, to gossip and talk about fashion and boys, and simply be allowed to live their lives the way they know they should be lived, though this is denied to them.
The endless incidences of prejudice and bullying that they are subjected to, as unwanted refugees in Jordan is counteracted by the frequent stories of neighbours, friends and family, and even soldiers, who go out of their way, work multiple jobs and hide and support the refugees who are forced to live on their mercy.

These children are not fans of America, many of them, and certainly not George Bush, and Deborah Ellis pulls no punches in reporting the unjustifiable invasion of Iraq, and the outrageous consequences for its people. She is also frank in pointing out the lack of interest in the coalition of the willing in providing refuge for the tens of thousands whose lives they have destroyed. This is the human cost of a political war, and it makes the adult reader sick to the stomach to be faced up to it. Read Dark Dreams, an older collection, and more hard hitting than this, if interested in more on this topic.

[Alesa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Words cannot express how much this book affected me. It is a collection of interviews with Iraqi children whose families fled the war/s there, and who are now in Jordan or Canada living as refugees. The kids are Sunni, Christian, Kurds and Mandaean Christians, of various ages, from different economic levels. But all of their stories are equally heart-wrenching.

The children describe what they witnessed with utter simplicity. The terror of US bombs, helicopters and soldiers all around. The destruction of their homes. Their relatives being killed or kidnapped. The despair of losing everything you’ve owned, and having to cope in a country that doesn’t want you.

The author states that there are 2 million Iraqi refugees displaced by the war there. As I write this, there are 2.3 million Gazans in danger of becoming refugees, as bombs are falling all around them. It’s the same situation all over again.

One of the kids said, “There should not be any war. If George W. Bush had a problem with Saddam Hussein, they should have both been given a gun, told to take ten steps, then turn and shoot. They could have just killed each other instead of killing and hurting so many other people.” Amen!

The book ends with a 1953 quote from Dwight Eisenhower. “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists,the hopes of its children.” This book illustrates just how right he was.

This is one of the most important books I have read all year.

[Kiana Modeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees by Deborah Ellis was a very interesting but heart breaking story about the experiences of Iraqi children who live or have lived in war zones. It shows the jaw dropping reality of children who've been struck by the outcomes of foolish people who strive for power. One of the stories is about sixteen-year-old Hibba, who before the war had a relatively good life while supposedly living under the rule of a tyrannical leader, but after the Americans came into Iraq to "save them" her life took a turn for the worst. Hibba lost her home, her family unit, quality of life, and now lives in a foreign country that does not want or accept her. Unfortunately Hibba's story is like many other children who lived in war torn Iraq.

I picked this book because after hearing about 9/11 I wanted to better understand what happened and the countries that were involved. This book allowed me to understand the war from a child's perspectives

I finished this book because I was intrigued by the text, and when you pick up this book you can't put it back down.

I would recommend this book to all world leaders, so that they can better understand the consequences of war.

[bjneary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deborah Ellis continues to amaze me with her fiction and nonfiction books. With this thin volume of stories, she has delved into the Iraq War and what children, from 8 to 19 years of age, have endured, what they are doing now, and where they are living. Each story is pretty unspeakable, families have been wiped out, children are living in hazardous conditions, they don't understand why this is happening to them. The reader will learn from Ellis in an introduction about Iraq's history, the fall of Saddam and what this has meant to these young children---and it is heartbreaking. Before each story, Ellis will give an look into an aspect of Iraqi life, culture, religion, the long term effects of violence, etc.and then a child will tell their story. I urge students and adults to read Ellis' book---it is important that WE "fully understand the impact our decisions on the world's most vulnerable - our children."

[Agnes Goyvaerts · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are the voices of Iraqi refugee children and young people. They have witness killings and death of loved ones. Deborah Ellis has given these children a voice by publishing the interviews which to are very interesting, to hear how children see this, how they do not want war, they just want to be safe and have their ordinary comforts, just like children everywhere. How they adjust to living as a refugee, how their families have to struggle to keep bread on the table. So many people are displaced because of war. This book was written in 2009, not much has changed since and Iraq continues to be a place of struggle and great suffering. A very informative read, clear and to the point. I would recommend very much.

[Cel (runawaypages) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind-blowing. This book made it so hard not to tear up.
Children of War is about different children ages ranging from 10-20 years old telling about their experiences in war. It specifies around Jordan and Baghdad. They would all tell about their individual stories and how they had to be separated from their families.
It was utterly heart-breaking, but I loved it so much. It made me think about the little problems I complain about everyday such as homework or being way too tired when there's so much more bigger problems in the world. I really recommend it for people who's looking for heart-breaking short stories about real life problems.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

my heart is aching...my eyes are wide open...why do people not see that the children are the true victims of war?

[Samer Abushamt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Echoes of Innocence
“75% of Iraqis know someone who died and 89% have depression” (Ellis 42). In the midst of war, bomb fall, and gunfire, Iraqi children found their lives irreversibly changed, by being in constant danger by the loss of their home school family and childhood innocence. In the book Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees Deborah Ellis shows the reader how life can vary from each child's perspective. In times of war we often worry about economic fall and power, but turn a blind eye to civilians and children suffering. Many people were not granted the right to leave and be accepted as refugees.
Many children who lived in Iraq in 2003 were often Muslim like Hibba. HIbba is a 16-year-old girl who is a Shia Muslim living in Baghdad with her family. Hibba says that in times of danger, she and her family would have to leave their home because they have been receiving death threats. “A group of masked men with guns told us to get out or we would die” (Ellis 21). Hibba was not thrilled about leaving Iraq after all it was her home but later her family moved to Amman. Hibba's father had gone back to Baghdad and was kidnapped. Her father's body was left dead with a bullet hole in his skull. Hibba's story teaches about resilience even after having to leave Iraq she was persevering and optimistic.
Another Iraqi story is about a 17-year-old Christian named Eva. Eva’s whole life has been war, He says “My Mother was giving birth to me when a missile hit the hospital.” (Ellis 43) Their family had moved to Amman after his father passed away on May 05, 2005. Eva’s father was a goldsmith. Eva's father had been killed by soldiers attempting to set him up and rob him of his gold. Eva's little brother was in the car with his dad and saw the whole thing. Many Muslims came to help Eva in his family's time of need and came out to help regardless of their religion. Eva’s story shows us even with trauma we can still be strong and hold up as a community and create a better Iraq.
Many children in Iraq had a blind eye turned to them and were ignored by militants, abolished from their homes, losing their loved ones and their land of peace. Another reason this book is important is because it can help us lead for a better future and protect civilian lives in even times of hardship.

[Callie Hennessy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children of War was a very informational book that was full of perspectives from children who were raised in the Iraqi war. The children who were interviewed for this book gave a sort of "insider" point of view because as an American child, you'd think that we were really useful in the ending of that war but from their perspective, we shouldn't have ever gotten involved in something that was never ours to get involved in. This book definitely gave me a different side to the story that I was told. I would recommend it to people who enjoy reading about the truth even if it contrasts what you thought was true. Also if you like nonfiction books because it tells a true story when you string together all the interviews. For me, it was definitely worth reading.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a great book.
It helps you to begin to understand what life is like for children in a place of war.
To hear the words of children is powerful.
It brings in many aspects of war that people don't think about. No clean drinking water - those systems are gone. No jobs for parents.
"Dirty bombs" used in Iraq were made from used nuclear materials that were added to conventional bombs. This caused many injuries, including neurological injuries, and birth defects among both the people of Iraq and also the children of American soldiers who were there.

[Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good. One problem I had with the book is that sometimes the words the children said seemed scripted. This could be entirely false, but it felt that way as I read. The book did do a good job of highlighting the problems in the middle east during that time. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to be more informed about the situation their in the 90's and 2000's.

[Laura Ann she-her · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book has been written for tweens and up, I still found it fascinating. The author has done a fantastic job of keeping the perspective entirely from the youths she interviewed. It was lovely and disheartening to hear their feelings and emotions regarding war in general and with specificity. I’d highly recommend this book to anyone @ 10 yrs and older, especially if a parent or adult can read it simultaneously to help give depth and understanding toward the Iraqi invasion after 9/11.

[Hannah Dahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Middle Grades (late 6th grade)

This book was very good. I loved that these stories are true and real. I appreciate that Ellis went to the sources to find out their stories. I found this book to be eye opening to the experiences that Iraqi refugees went through. I think that this book could be wildly helpful in making real-life connections to a concept that is hard for us to imagine living through.

[Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book because this helped us reflect on how these things affected the people who were most affected. The children. I was shocked to see such a person was actually changed by these problems. This book is about the different stories of the children in Iraq after the U.S. This book works for 7-9th grade kids because some of the quality in this book is a bit serious.

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Children of War by Debora Ellis talks about kids who live in Iraq and they are refugees. These children had to move from home to Canada and their dad had cancer and they got bullied a lot. This part of their story made me emotional and I can say it is one section that I did not like about the book. I don't like reading stories about horrible experiences that make me emotional. The book also talks about war and the unfortunate story about 9-11. However, it's a good book and I recommend it to people who like matters about war and family, and real life experiences.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sad to hear the stories by the children of their experiences. But good to know.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heartbreaking.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heart breaking

[Sophie Roth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book it was so interesting a gave us the perspective of many children going through terrible things , but how they go about it.

[Skyler McKenzie]

Very sad and eye opening story of the struggles of refugee children.

[Zaituni Gatwaza · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was interesting i have watched a lot of war in the movies and shows watch .some people don’t understand what’s a war they think it is just a game.So when i was reading this to be honest i kind cried because it was sad. I chose this book because i wanted to know about the war and from reading the title it was non-fiction. Deborah Ellis wrote something that would be in real life .This book talks about how people died. There was war in iraq, this book made cry i’m not going to lie. Laith was 11 years old he got kidnapping, There is this girl in book her name is Eva, she was 17 years old. Her family has been living there in refugee. There were really poor family.This book has many quote,

[Jinny · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was really interesting to see that there were many similarities and many differences throughout the perspectives.