I felt as if my heart had stopped beating, only God gave me the resistance to bear it all. I was very young, but I felt the hardship. …I still dream about Dos Erres and I hear everything I heard then, the shots, the smell, the air, everything.
The violence, abuse, and hardship that girls and boys suffer during armed conflict and political violence under authoritarian and dictatorial regimes ensures that they will never be the same when the war stops or the violent regime ends. Children's experiences of war and political violence – the abuse of their bodies, souls, and minds, the tearing apart of their families and neighborhoods, and the atrocities they witness – shape them and their societies. They experience violations of their civil, political, social, economic, and cultural rights. These include the rights to life, freedom of movement and association, education, health, and knowing and being cared for by their parents. Their rights to development and to a safe and healthy environment are also violated.
It is not possible to fully repair children after they have experienced such harms. It is not possible to recover the years of lost education, or the time that would have been spent developing emotional and spiritual ties to family, friends, and communities as well as the skills that enable children to take pride in contributing to their households' livelihoods.