Basarat Kazim. Image: International Board on Books for Young People, IBBY, on the occasion of Kazim being given the IBBY-iRead Outstanding Reading Promoter Award
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
See also:
IBBY and the Israel-Lebanon Crisis: ‘An Immediate De-Escalation’
BBY: ‘Every Child in the World Deserves To Be Protected’
‘We Welcome the Cessation of Hostilities in Lebanon’
The International Board on Books for Young People, known as IBBY, has issued a third statement condemning “the nightmare of ongoing killing of children,” this time encompassing “Gaza, the Occupied West Bank, and Lebanon.” The key to this new message, issued on Saturday (November 29) is a shift into fundraising mode and a direct appeal for contributions.
The IBBY Children in Crisis Fund was established in 2005, and it “provides support for children whose lives have been disrupted through war, civil disorder, or natural disaster. The two main activities that are supported by the fund are the therapeutic use of books and storytelling in the form of bibliotherapy, and the creation or replacement of collections of selected books that are appropriate to the situation.”
IBBY’s message this time is from the organization’s president, Basarat Kazim, on behalf of the executive board. It says, “IBBY pledges to revive and rebuild” two children’s libraries established by IBBY in 2008, and also “commence bibliotherapy and psychosocial activities for the children in makeshift spaces, and support them wholeheartedly.
“Some of our sections have commenced fundraising activities already,” Kazim writes. “We call on friends to join us in our effort to raise funds for children in dire need. Every donation, large or small, will make a difference, and be deeply appreciated.”
The rationale from the organization for its pledge to rebuild and its call for donations reads:
“The staggering human toll of more than 13 months of war is still being measured. An analysis of the casualties in Gaza since October 7, 2023, which was published by the United Nations’ Human Rights Office on November 8, 2024, found that almost 70 percent of those killed were women and children. The ages most represented among the dead were 5- to 9-years. Some 80 percent of those killed perished inside residential buildings or housing.
Volker Türk
“With more than 17,000 Palestinian children killed, thousands buried under rubble, 40,000 wounded, many orphaned, and hundreds left with lifelong disabilities, UNICEF’s spokesperson James Elder has described the situation as ‘a nightmare become reality.’
“The forced cessation of UNRWA’s essential humanitarian [the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East] work will compound these outrages and, in the words of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, ‘have direct impacts on the human rights of those depending on its assistance.’ Urgent protection must be provided for Palestinian and Lebanese children.
“IBBY urgently calls on international leaders, humanitarian organizations, and global civil society to take action for immediate ceasefire and the halt of all military operations in Gaza, and the West Bank. We welcome the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon and hope the ceasefire will be lasting. In addition, IBBY calls for the immediate return of aid, both medical and food, to the many who are facing starvation and imminent death.
“IBBY has long supported children living in crisis, and is a pioneer in devising projects that provide books and bibliotherapy to traumatized and distressed young people worldwide. Its commitment in Palestine began in Gaza in 2008 with the establishment of two children’s libraries, which sadly have been repeatedly destroyed by Israeli attacks. Yet with support of IBBY international and the local community, the libraries’ mission has persisted despite displacement and destruction.”
The libraries at the center of IBBY’s message, Kazim adds, “have been repeatedly destroyed” in the conflict, and the new message refers to the weekend news of the Israeli-Hezbollah cease-fire.
As Susannah George, Suzan Haidamous, and Mustafa Salim write for the Washington Post, ” Hezbollah is still counting its dead, its supporters have had their towns and villages destroyed, and a World Bank assessment estimated US$8.5 billion in physical damage and economic losses for Lebanon because of the war.”
Kazim and the IBBY executive board write, “We welcome the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon and hope the cease-fire will be lasting. In addition, IBBY calls for the immediate return of aid, both medical and food, to the many who are facing starvation and imminent death.”
More from Publishing Perspectives on children’s literature is here, more on IBBY is here, and more on publishing and political dynamics is here.