Kids get terror management lessons

Sukhada Tatke | TNN

Mumbai: Gopal Moorthy and Smruti Koppikar were a little thrown when their nine-year-old daughter Ananya asked for the newspaper. It was the morning of September 14, and the news that day was especially disturbing, full of the gore of the Delhi blasts. They considered dodging their daughter’s request by saying the papers hadn’t come, but ultimately decided to let their daughter have her way.

“Terrorism is a reality, it’s our urban reality, something that our children will have to face,’’ says Moorthy, a project consultant. “Many kids her age face harsher realities, but this is part of hers. It is inescapable. How long can we protect her from it? And should we even attempt to protect her?’’ Ananya was allowed to read the morning paper under her parents’ supervision. “She did go over the photos, read some stuff and felt bad for the children of those who were killed,’’ says her father.

Later, the questions started and didn’t stop. “Who is a terrorist? Why does he kill? Can they kill you? And me too?’’ Says Koppikar, a senior journalist, “We ourselves are still trying to find answers to most of the questions. However, we decided to tread cautiously and not lie to her.’’

Even as parents in households across the country struggle to answer searching questions from their children, schools are going the extra mile to teach children about terror, without frightening them. Six months ago, the Holy Family School in Andheri conducted a workshop on terror and bombs—a dark subject for the classroom, admits its principal, Fr Francis Swami, but the times had forced his hand.

A deeper cause for concern for school managements is the safety of hundreds of children entrusted to their care. School administrations are taking no chances. Evacuation drills have marched into the classroom and now share space with maths and science.

FIGHTING BACK ‘Terror drills aimed at spreading awareness’
Mumbai: With blasts becoming a weekly event in the country, schools are training their children on terror fighting. “We are training them in this way so that if a dire situation strikes, they do not panic,’’ says Pramila Kudva, principal of Hasanat High School in Marol. “Although we did conduct these drills before, we feel a greater need to do so now, what with frequent bomb hoaxes. We do not want to inject fear in kids but we have to address these issues anyway.’’

Similar preparedness paid off at the Podar group of schools in Santa Cruz, which has 20,000 students on its premises during the day. A few weeks ago, there was a hoax call, but no one panicked. “We have CCTVs installed everywhere on campus,’’ says the principal, Anvita Bir. “We regularly conduct drills and evacuation activities with the help of experts from the fire department. The level of awareness in kids is very high and we try our best to do whatever we can.’’

Nazma Kazi, principal of Ajuman-e-Islam School at CST, says that these issues are discussed during the morning assembly. “We also have workshops with teachers on how to react in an emergency. Once the teachers are well prepared, we will train the children too,’’ she says.

According to counsellors, sensitisation at an early age is a good thing, but it’s important to do so in a reassuring manner or else the child could end up anxious and
angry.Psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty says there is definitely a sense of unease among many children. “Curiosity related to bombs is rising. Chemistry classes are suddenly popular, with words like ammonium nitrate taking on a whole new meaning. While some kids are questioning the cause of all this killing and dying, others are harbouring tremendous anger and vengeance,’’ he says. “They want to see those who caused these blasts punished. They say things like, ‘we should kill them in the same manner’.’’

Counsellors who work with children say that it’s better for parents to level with their children instead of glossing over the truth. “However harsh the truth, it is best not to hide it from them,’’ says psychologist Ambereen Pradhan. “Usually, parents prefer to remain silent because sometimes they don’t know what to say. Often, the answers that they do give only reinforce prejudice in the child towards another community.’’

Advocate Shabana Khan, who works with an NGO, Parivartan Sanstha, didn’t know what to say when nine-year-old Kajal asked her why kids had been killed by bombs. “Kajal had heard about little Santosh who died in the Delhi blast when he found the unclaimed bag lying on the floor,’’ says Khan. “She didn’t understand why someone as young as her had died when all he was trying to do was help. Khan said the only thing that seemed to make sense was to say, “We musn’t stop helping.’’

ON GUARD: Hemraj High School, Borivli, received a hoax call on Saturday