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Afghanistan: A traumised generation in the making

Hardly surprising that Afghanistan is faced with a traumatised generation arising from what has been going on in their country.     All of this has to be seen in the context of the politicians agreeing to go to war in Afghanistan, and now, withdraw from the country.    And to what end?    Has anything been achieved other than death and destruction, not only for the Afghanis, but also those from other countries who have fought in the war ?      Add to that the huge toll in those going back home with severe injuries and trauma.

"On a low bed in a quiet, all-female hospital ward, a depressed Afghan teenager huddles silently under blankets, her mother close by. In a nearby room are men suffering from schizophrenia, delusions of persecution and power, anxiety and panic disorders.

Among them are some of the unseen victims of the war in Afghanistan: a generation of people mentally damaged by their exposure to incessant conflict.

The accumulation of psychological problems could begin to undermine national reconstruction and development, say health workers at the country's only facility for treating mental illness."

****

"The fear of suicide bomb attacks, roadside bombs, and the overall level of violence in Afghanistan - of which civilians bear the brunt, with the number killed rising in 2011 for the fifth straight year to more than 3,000, according to the United Nations - can lead to anxiety, panic and obsession.

"The physical aspects of war (last) for a limited time, but the psychological aspects of the war extend for many years. Day by day the mental health problems caused by the war are increasing," said consultant psychiatrist Said Najib Jawed.

Just as socially damaging is the risk of a generation for whom violence has become the norm."

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