Psychological impact on children:

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

Students raise their concerns about terrorism in stage play
ISLAMABAD: The terrorism that threatened the security of educational institutions not only affected the educational activities last year with short intervals but also left a left a psychological impact on the minds of children that might take years to end.

This psychological impact is evident from the fact that schoolchildren have started choosing ‘terrorism’ as a theme for short plays to be performed on different occasions.

Most of the schools in the capital remained closed last year due to security threats leaving children either inquiring about the phenomenon of suicide bombing or chatting about it with each other.

These discussion and fear of being attacked led the children to think and write about terrorism instead of thinking of social and other issues related to overall development of a society.

The students of Beacon House School System (Margallah Campus) Islamabad are one such example. Innocent and energetic students staged a play this week on the theme of terrorism and its various facets with a solution as to how people, young and old, can serve what is indeed a battle to save and build Pakistan.

The 30-minute play at the outset depicted scene of a family - a mother asking his son to continue his study and being told by him that his father disallowed him. It is here mother’s dream that the boy gets higher education and joins the army.

A big screen in the backdrop simultaneously flashes visuals of drone attacks, troop movements and scenes of bodies lying everywhere and terrified people screaming and running around.

The combination of an urge to get higher education and the deafening sounds of bomb blasts and drone attacks shows the state of children minds nowadays.

As the play goes on, a suicide bombing occurs leaving mayhem. After establishing the fact that terrorism is all about destruction, a would-be suicide bomber appears in the following scene and laments mass killing of innocent men, women and children. The scene depicts the children’s wish see an end to terrorism.

A dialogue between a Maulana and man shows how and what children think about religious leader. The dialogue actually shows dissatisfaction of children about the role of religious leaders in the current wave of terrorism. It illustrates the deep urge of the children to see their religious leaders strengthening beliefs and moral values by preaching tolerance and peace.

Although the play shows the creative mind of youth but it also raises concerns that how long this physiological war would go and how would it shape the future of Pakistani youth.