Poems for Peace
Young people living in conflict use poetry to express their hopes for a more peaceful future.
Around the world, millions of children are growing up in conflict. Caught in the crossfires of war, these children are uniquely vulnerable. They are often uprooted from home or exposed to extreme trauma. It is much harder for them to access healthcare or education. And too often, warring parties flout one of the most basic rules of war: the protection of children.
With Poems for Peace, UNICEF gives children a platform to explain in their own words the impact of conflict and war on their lives – and their hopes and dreams for the future. By amplifying the voices of children, UNICEF is highlighting the extraordinary strength and courage of young people longing for a more stable future.
Sudan
I want to speak about a child who has suffered, and who is still suffering from the ravages of war.
Syria
‘Peace’ you have been gone for so long, and people are thirsty for you
Why did you leave our country, when it’s the land of your parents?
Ukraine
“We heard explosions. I’m writing this letter by myself, mom is sleeping because she was awake last night.”
Peace is when you feel strength within yourself.
When you feel the calm, and most importantly – the freedom.
Nigeria
Our eyes are tired of weeping. Our hearts are sick of woe. Our days pass heavily, but the lamp of hope must glow.
Myanmar
Am I safe?
I’m protecting myself as much as I can.
South Sudan
Peace is my voice. Peace is my only choice.
Yemen
Dad,
Give me the freedom to choose for myself – my hopes and my ambitions.
More about Poems for Peace
Since the initiative’s inception in 2020, UNICEF has received thousands of poems from 8 year-olds to 24 year-olds around the world including Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Iraq, Mali, Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. This year, more than 1,700 submissions were received from children and young people affected by the war in Ukraine.
Stop attacks on children
Ultimately children need peace to thrive. It is critical for children that efforts to end today’s seemingly endless armed conflicts are redoubled. But children cannot wait for protection – while wars continue, we must never accept attacks against children.
Thirty years since the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and 70 years since the four Geneva Conventions – the international legal bedrock to protect civilians in war – it is time to say “Enough! Stop attacks on children.”
