Latest news with #orphan
Washington Post
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Pixar's ‘Elio' is a fast and fizzy trip to a boy's alien nation
If a movie is a bowl of breakfast cereal, 'Elio' is Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs, and the audience is Calvin. The title hero is a Calvin, too: a hyper-imaginative orphaned boy who lives with an aunt and is desperate for the universe to send aliens to take him away from it all. This being Pixar, the universe obliges.
Al Bawaba
09-06-2025
- Al Bawaba
Video: Orphan boy brutally beaten up by his uncle in Syria, triggering anger
ALBAWABA - A video circulating on social media showing an orphan child being beaten and tortured by his relative in the city of Hama has sparked public anger and condemnation across Syria. The video, which has gone viral online within hours of being shared, has broken the hearts of many people online, especially among the community in Syria after the young boy, identified as Ibrahim Khalil al-Sateef, was seen being brutally beaten up at the hands of his uncle in Hama city. Ibrahim Khalil al-Sateef is an orphan living with his uncle, Mahmoud Ibrahim al-Sateef, who appeared in the video severely beating him, activists confirmed via social media. Hama Governor Abdul Rahman al-Sahyan posted regarding the video of the Orphan boy being violently attacked. (X) The Orphan boy also has a 13-year-old sister who had previously run away from her uncle's home and is currently living in an orphanage due to the cruel treatment. Several local pages shared other photos documenting scars on Ibrahim's body, amid calls for "urgent intervention to save him and punish the perpetrator." Photo of the orphan boy Ibrahim Khalil al-Sateef. (Facebook) In the first official response, Hama Governor Abdul Rahman al-Sahyan wrote on the "X" platform: "We are following with great interest the video clips being circulated showing the torture of a child said to be in Hama Governorate." He added that he had directed the competent authorities to verify the authenticity of the video and the location of the incident and to punish the perpetrator "if the incident is proven," stressing the state's commitment to protecting children from all forms of violence. Warning/ Disturbing Video: Hours later, the governor announced that security forces had arrested the person involved in the attack, and that the child Ibrahim had been transferred to a medical center to receive medical care. Investigations continue to uncover the circumstances and hold all those responsible accountable.
SBS Australia
30-05-2025
- General
- SBS Australia
'One of the most painful realities we face': What will happen to Gaza's orphans?
Karam in September 2024 with his caregiver "Mama Basma" who works for SOS Children's Villages International in Gaza. Source: Supplied / SOS Children's Villages International This article contains references to suicide. Like many babies, Karam's first word was "mama". But when he stares into the eyes of his caretaker, it's not his mother looking back at him but a kind woman who works for an orphanage in Gaza. The one-year-old, who was found beside a university wall, will never know his biological mother, says Bertil Videt, global communications head at the non-profit organisation SOS Children's Villages International. "Because of the chaos and continuous bombardment, it seems his mother was injured and gave birth while wounded, and passed away shortly afterwards," he says. "These are the initial details our team has received, but they cannot confirm them." Karam has been under the care of staff at SOS since a rescue worker took him there last year. In April he celebrated his first birthday at the makeshift shelters he now calls home. He received a haircut and custom-made outfit. "The whole camp celebrated his first birthday," Videt says. "His caregiver, Mama Basma ... made every effort to make it a celebration fit for a prince." Their futures are uncertain, in part because of continuing Israel Defense Forces airstrikes but also due to the lack of food, water and other essential supplies . Most aid has been blocked since 2 March leaving the population at risk of starvation. "Gaza is an extremely dangerous environment for a child to be in because of the bombardments, because of the risk of disease, the lack of access to medical services, the very dangerous living environment — many people live in the middle of the rubble in makeshift tents — it's a very unsafe place for children in general," UNICEF Gaza spokesperson Rosalia Bolen says. "Children who are unaccompanied ... we try to place them immediately [in a] shelter to avoid risks of abuse, of exploitation that these kids are particularly vulnerable to." Even if there is a ceasefire, orphaned children could face a tough life. Islamic law does not permit adoption, and children who have lost their parents may face legal disadvantages, such as a lack of inheritance rights, on top of the mental health impacts of losing family and growing up in a warzone. This week, an American surgeon told the United Nations Security Council about the terrible conditions facing children in Gaza, pointing to research from the War Child Alliance that shows nearly half of Gaza's children are suicidal. "They ask, why didn't I die with my sister, my mother, my father? Not out of extremism, but out of unbearable grief," he says. "I wonder if any member of this council has ever met a five-year-old child who no longer wants to live." Dr Nedal J Jarada is the executive manager of al-Amal Institute for Orphans, which is assisting thousands of families in Gaza. He says the tragic scenes in Gaza are forcing Palestinians of all ages to think about ending their lives. He points to one recent example of a child pleading not to be given first aid, instead saying: "I want to die." The number of children without surviving families has grown so dramatically that medical professionals have coined the term Wounded Child with No Surviving Family (WCNSF) to describe them. A report from the International Rescue Committee published in June last year noted that some children were effectively living in hospitals because no-one was able to care for them. It notes that unaccompanied and separated children are at especially high risk of child labor, sexual and other forms of exploitation, engagement in illegal activities, neglect, starvation, recruitment, illegal adoption, discrimination, poor mental health and experiencing grief, depression and isolation, as well as disability, violence, injury and death. Jarada estimates that al-Amal — which means "hope" in Arabic — is currently looking after 25 minors who are what they call 'lonely refugees': children who have lost all family members. The situation is tragic. Losing parents and extended family is a trauma that no care centre can ever replace. Unaccompanied or orphaned children are often referred to organisations such as al-Amal, SOS Children's Villages and UNICEF. SOS is currently caring for 46 children in Gaza, ranging in age from a few months old to 17 years old. The children are living in a displacement camp in Khan Younis, in the south of Gaza, after being evacuated from the not-for-profit's previous site in the southern town of Rafah, which was destroyed. SOS's program director in Gaza, Reem Alreqeb, says: "We are living in tents and wood caravans that offer little protection from the elements." The conditions mean access to medical care is nearly impossible. "Water for washing comes from a well inside the camp ... for drinking water, we depend on tanks that are filled weekly," she says. "The scarcity of nutritious food is alarming, especially for younger children." According to Alreqeb, many children are showing signs of distress, nightmares, withdrawal and emotional numbness. "They've lost homes, families and their sense of safety," she says. She worries deeply about what will happen to children like Karam, who don't have extended family to look after them. "This is one of the most painful realities we face," she says. "Some of these children were born outside of wedlock, and others have lost all known relatives during the war." There are no immediate family members to turn to, and their future is filled with uncertainty. Around 22 of the children SOS is supporting have no clear prospect of family reunification. These include 10 whose entire families were killed during the war, for whom no extended family could be found, and 12 children born out of wedlock and abandoned at birth. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics estimates 39,384 children have lost one or both parents since 7 October 2023 . UNICEF, a United Nations agency that provides aid to children worldwide, estimated in February there were 17,000 children in the Gaza Strip who were unaccompanied or separated from their families. The agency's Gaza spokesperson Rosalia Bolen says Palestinian authorities report almost 2,000 children have lost both parents. While every child in Gaza has been scarred and traumatised by what they've witnessed during the conflict since 7 October 2023, Bolen says those who have lost parents are particularly vulnerable because they don't have the safety and care of their mother and father to rely on. She's also concerned that some children are falling through the cracks and not receiving help, partly due to the continued and unpredictable nature of airstrikes, which forces people to continually relocate in search of safety. At times, Jarada says al-Amal has had to turn away unaccompanied children because it has no room or capacity to look after them, especially during evacuations. It's devastating — it undermines the institution's mission and goals. I feel powerless and defeated. The institute was established in 1949 and currently cares for and houses around 100 unaccompanied children within its compound of several buildings. But the facility has become overcrowded with more than 4,000 displaced people — who are not orphans — living there also. There are thousands more living in tents outside, which the institute also assists. The overcrowding has disrupted services for the orphans, including their education because classrooms are now being used as shelters. Families are surviving on one meal a day, typically consisting of rice, pasta and lentils. Mohammad Othman, a spokesperson for Olive Kids, an Australian foundation that supports Palestinian children and the work of organisations such as the al-Amal Institute for Orphans, says the reports coming out of Gaza are heartbreaking. "We've heard stories of kids that have lost their parents that basically, they're in a shelter with a whole bunch of other people and they're effectively adopted by the village," he says. While legal adoption is not permitted under Islamic law, an alternative system of care known as 'kafala' allows for orphaned children to be looked after by extended family members, reflecting strong family bonds in the culture. It's a form of guardianship that ensures the child's wellbeing while preserving their identity and lineage where possible. However, the child's name remains unchanged, and they are not guaranteed inheritance rights. Bolen says it's also a system commonly used when widowed women remarry. "There's lots of solidarity and there's a very strong sense of community," she says. UNICEF supports this arrangement by providing support to extended families who take on the care of unaccompanied or separated children. By way of example, Bolen says one couple taking care of their two nieces — who lost both their parents and some of their limbs in an airstrike — have been provided with a wheelchair and other assistance. There is also hope that some unaccompanied children may eventually be reunited with family members. "When people are pulled from underneath the rubble, there's actually a good chance of children becoming separated from their parents," Bolen says. Parents will sometimes receive treatment at a different hospital or may be arrested and taken away. Alreqeb says the war has made tracing families extremely difficult because relatives are also displaced or live in areas that are not accessible. When extended family members can be found, SOS will work with the social development ministry to ensure a safe environment and that caregivers are capable of providing proper care. This can include providing basic resources and psychosocial support. "Even after reunification, we continue to follow up with these children to monitor their wellbeing and intervene when needed," Alreqeb says. Kafala isn't an option for all children left parentless in Gaza. Some children don't have extended family to rely on, while, according to SOS, others have been abandoned due to being born out of wedlock. These children are often placed in orphanages and will likely grow up in institutionalised care. "Sadly, they're up for a really tough life," Othman says. There's so many challenges for them. [Many] have seen a lot of violence, they've lost their parents, they've seen their entire world crumble around them. It's very likely they're going to have really serious PTSD. Eva Alisic, professor of child trauma and recovery at The University of Melbourne, says people with lived experience of trauma push back against the idea of leaving it behind. "We hear from people that it goes in waves," she says. "There may be relatively stable times, and there may be times, when you partner [up], when you [have] children, that things come up again." SOS takes care of children until they achieve economic independence — the support does not necessarily stop when they turn 18 years old. "We see that people without parental care often have a very hard time when they turn 18," Videt says. "You need to have some adults you can trust." Although these children do not have inheritance rights under kafala, Videt says they receive social and financial support from the organisation throughout their development. "This enables them to build a stable future, even in the absence of inheritance," he says. It's also possible for these children to be fostered by a family. There's hope that children like Karam — who, despite growing up in a warzone, is healthy and even has four baby teeth — will one day be fostered. "If the fostering process works well and conditions improve, there is hope that we can identify a suitable family," Videt says. But Videt notes SOS's 2024 global report on children's care and protection found children without parental care often face discrimination and stigma in many parts of the world. "This can take the form of legal disadvantages, such as lack of inheritance rights or limited access to alternative care pathways, as well as deep-rooted social stigma, particularly for children born out of wedlock or those separated by conflict," he says. In contexts like Gaza, where formal adoption is not permitted and family tracing is often impossible due to war, these children can face further marginalisation as they grow up. "The report notes that such discrimination is rarely isolated, but often intersects with other factors such as poverty, displacement, and disability, placing these children at heightened risk of exclusion throughout their lives," Videt says. Jarada doesn't believe orphans in Gaza will face formal discrimination, but they will carry the burden of being labelled and defined by their loss. "This stigma of deprivation is lifelong. It's hard to describe, but it is perhaps the most painful kind of societal exclusion," he says. Bolen says UNICEF is not aware of any formal international adoption scheme and it's not something it would support at this stage. "There have to be certain safeguards in place for international adoption to take place in a dignified and safe manner and there has to be procedure [to examine] whether it's in the best interest of the child," she says. "With the ongoing war in Gaza, those safeguards can't be met." She says once there is a ceasefire, there will likely be discussions on institutionalising care for children. Alisic says it's clear from the history of groups such as Australia's Stolen Generations — where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were forcibly removed from their families — that disconnecting children from their culture can have consequences. "If children are sent to a neighbouring country because there's family there, and the children want to go, and they are safe — physically and emotionally — then that can be a fantastic outcome ... but there are so many factors and considerations," she says. Othman says while adoption is not favoured under Islamic guidance, the unprecedented scale of human loss may lead to exceptions. "Perhaps things that didn't happen too much before start happening because of the gravity of the situation," he says. Regardless of whether children are being cared for by families or orphanages, they are facing enormous challenges in their everyday lives just to survive. Bolen says children have been robbed of their childhoods. I've seen children fighting with each other over a bag of bread. I've seen [older] children fighting with adults. "It's unimaginable the situation that the children in Gaza are in," Bolen says. UNICEF, SOS and the al-Amal Institute are among the numerous organisations that have repeatedly called for a ceasefire. This week, Israel agreed to a revised deal brokered by the United States , which is being reviewed by Hamas. "What we are doing on the ground is really just a drop in the ocean," Videt says. "The price that children are paying is way too high." Readers seeking crisis support can ring Lifeline on 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at and on 1300 22 4636. Embrace Multicultural Mental Health supports people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Griefline provides confidential support on 1300 845 745 and via .
BBC News
30-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Vietnamese orphan celebrates 50 years in Oxfordshire
A family is marking the 50th year since a personal tragedy led to them adopting a baby from officer Mike Pritchard and his wife Jacquie - from Chalgrove in Oxfordshire - lost their baby son Steven to cot death while they were in Singapore in a tragic twist, Mrs Pritchard had been to hospital that same day for a sterilisation operation. During the grief that followed they decided to do something positive. Knowing that the war in Vietnam had created many orphans, they made enquiries about adoption."A photograph was sent to us saying 'this is the baby you can have'," said Mrs Pritchard. Mr Pritchard flew to Saigon to collect the boy, who they named Matthew. "I held Matthew for the first time. His little eyes, I said 'you're the one for us'. Great, rubber stamped, done," explained Mr Pritchard. But there was a snag. The paperwork would take six weeks, so Mr Pritchard had to fly back to Singapore without Matthew and wait. Shortly afterwards, the couple heard news that a transport plane carrying orphan babies to America for safety had crashed with great loss of life. They feared Matthew might have been on board. Mr Pritchard flew back to Saigon and learned that Matthew was safe. But he had been flown on a different plane to Sydney, Australia. It was then that Mr Pritchard saw another opportunity. "I said 'look I know I'll get out of here somehow. Do you want me to take some babies?" he said. "I was asked, would I also take a 10-year-old blind boy?"I said yes of course! We headed for Hong Kong. All my babies in front of me in cardboard boxes. "A lot of people say I was very brave to do that. I just think I did what I needed to do." The babies were eventually flown to Britain where they were collected by their new parents. "Once I knew that these babies were safe with their adoptive families I thought 'this is where you step back'," said Mr Pritchard. Back in Singapore, the couple waited for the plane that brought Matthew to them. "We saw this woman walking along carrying this baby, she popped him in my arms and it was amazing," said Mrs Philip and Matthew grew up together, attending boarding school and university in England. Matthew remembers that as a child he attracted some attention. "Looking back, I can understand people's curiosity. I'm Vietnamese and I've got British parents. But I just felt like a normal child that was loved and brought up", he said. "The aspect of being rescued from a war zone never really crossed my mind. I feel very British. But I'm also very proud of my heritage and culture."Matthews parents reflect with mixed emotions on the events of 1974. "The tragedy of Steven dying. He didn't die in vain," said Mr Pritchard. "Good always comes out of bad."
Associated Press
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Movie Review: A deeply disturbing portrait of grief in gory horror ‘Bring Her Back'
Beware the quirky foster mother who introduces herself as a bit of a weirdo. That's how Laura (Sally Hawkins) cheerily greets the newly orphaned teenage siblings Andy and Piper in the new horror 'Bring Her Back,' which opens in theaters Friday . The comment, more telling than the kids realize at the time, comes after Laura excitedly introduces Piper, who is non-sighted, to her dog. She thinks it's a good joke to not explain first that the animal is not alive. The taxidermy is in fact the least weird thing about Laura. Australian filmmakers Michael and Danny Philippou, also behind the teen chiller debut 'Talk to Me,' have dreamed up a new nightmare of trauma, grief, resurrection and the deep failures of Australia's child protective services. That last part is not actually a prominent throughline in the film, but after witnessing what these kids endure in the brisk 99-minute runtime, you too might have some questions about that department's standard practices. Many horror movies and stories have utilized non-seeing characters to enhance the suspense. 'Bring Her Back' strives to make Piper (newcomer Sora Wong) more than a gimmick but a young woman trying to assert her independence — she refuses to use her cane, which she thinks makes everyone baby her. Piper's main protector is her sweet and attentive older brother Andy (Billy Barratt). The film gives the audience a morsel of normality with these two before plunging us into the horror, first with the sudden death of their father, and then with the strange goings on at Laura's secluded home. They're surprised when they arrive to find there's another child there as well: Olly (Jonah Wren Phillips), who is mute, deeply strange and, when not locked in his room, getting into bloody messes of his own making. If you're squeamish about gaping wounds and the full surround sound experience of their squishing and oozing, this might not be the movie for you. For those who delight in the crafts behind it all, the makeup and sound work here is truly top notch. Like many of 'Bring Her Back's' genre peers, the occult, nude older men and grainy VHS tapes also co-star in the proceedings. Laura, whose non-seeing daughter drowned recently, is particularly fixated on Piper and equally as dismissive of poor Andy. While you can probably guess her endgame, the way it comes together is more of the point, and the Philippou twins certainly infuse the film with a fair amount of foreboding before anything truly deranged starts happening. It's a fun mystery to watch Laura's strange behavior, which one eventful day includes encouraging Andy to kiss his dead father on the lips ('it's custom'), getting the kids drunk and peeing in a measuring cup. Andy, three months shy of 18, was not originally supposed to accompany his sister to the foster home. But he convinces the social worker to give him a chance until he can apply for legal guardianship. Unfortunately, Laura seems intent on driving him away. He already has lingering trauma from finding his dead father (and other things that will be revealed in time), and now there's this chipper, tiny woman ready to gaslight him into insanity. Barratt, who won acclaim for his portrayal of a 12-year-old accused of killing his mother's boyfriend in the British television film 'Responsible Child,' is excellent in a difficult role. Hawkins, meanwhile, gets to be bigger and wilder with Laura, shedding the nurturing mothers of 'Paddington' and 'Wonka' for something defiantly disturbed. She's also got a few delightfully chilling lines that I won't spoil. And yet somehow Hawkins is also able to stay clear of campiness and make Laura, unhinged though she may be, the teeniest bit empathetic. The film doesn't quite earn the emotional catharsis it seems to be striving for. It's a little too insane and also underdeveloped, especially Piper's character, to let the audience in on that level. But if you've come for unexpected scares and creativity, 'Bring Her Back' will not disappoint. 'Bring Her Back,' an A24 release in theaters Friday, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for 'some grisly images, language, graphic nudity, strong violent content, underage drinking). Running time: 99 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
