Trauma continues to haunts Thailand's children of war and violence
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PATTANI (AFP) - Mentally scarred and afraid to set foot outside his home in Thailand's deep south, Ahmad is one of thousands of children orphaned by a war largely forgotten by the rest of the world.
After years living with the menace of bombs, shootings and curfews, many youngsters in Thailand's insurgency-wrecked deep south are exhibiting high levels of stress and trauma.
"When I do go out I stay near my home... I never go far away," Ahmad, 12, said as he chewed timidly on the collar of his football shirt.
His 15-year-old sister Sunnah said their father's murder by unknown gunmen six years ago marked the end of her childhood and left the siblings - whose names AFP has changed to protect their identity - without parents following the death of their mother in an accident. They now live with an aunt.
