(ANS - Rome) - According to a UNICEF report, 2014 was a terrible year for children: 15 million were involved in violent conflicts in various countries. 230 million are currently living in areas affected by war. Children were killed in their schools or as they slept in their beds. Many were orphaned, others were abducted, recruited as soldiers, tortured and raped, or sold into slavery. "Never in recent history have so many children been subjected to such horrible brutality," said Anthony Lake, Executive Director of UNICEF.

In 2014, fifteen million children were involved in armed conflict in the Central African Republic, Iraq, South Sudan, Palestine, Syria and Ukraine. This includes minors who were displaced and many refugees. In the world there are 230 million children living in war zones.

According to UNICEF, in the Central African Republic 2.3 million children were affected by conflicts, some 10,000 children are believed to have been recruited by armed groups and more than 439 were killed or maimed. In Gaza, following an Israeli army operation, 54,000 children became displaced, 538 were killed and 3,370 wounded. In Syria, more than 7.3 million children are involved in the conflict, including 1.7 million refugees.  2.7 million children are affected by the conflict in Iraq.

Faced with these tragic realities of suffering, the Councillor for the Salesian Missions Fr Guillermo Basañes made this comment: "Certainly Don Bosco could never have imagined most of these dramatic forms of evil in his time. If he wept on account of young people in prison, then what young people are facing today would break his heart.

The tireless apostolic resourcefulness and imagination of Don Bosco and the saints, is one of the most fruitful resources in confronting these painful situations facing children. Our ability to do good (and do it well!), certainly is much greater today than it was in the time of Don Bosco, especially by way of globalization of and solidarity."

Posted on 31/12/2014