Children from all corners of the world are crossing the Dutch borders daily. If they are lucky, together with father, mother, brother, sister or aunt. But most of the time they arrive alone, sometimes after wandering around for years. Rhonda, Joan, Afdi, Myriem, Angela, Rizwana, Eric, Andre, Naima, Mary and Hodan are some of the silent witnesses to murder, manslaughter and rape. Their young hearts are mutilated in such a way that they can only cry, fight, steal or be apathetic, waiting for what's coming up next. Within the illegal circuit, it often would be prostitution and use of drugs. What do they think to find in Holland? In their countries Pakistan, China, Morocco, Ghana, Zaire, Romania, Liberia or where ever, they heard that the Dutch law says, every child has to go to school and because they had nothing to lose any more, Holland would be a good try.

One of the colleges in the city of Rotterdam opened the gates for them. With a thousand pupils, many of them without family and illegal, this college puts the crown upon education for children with another tongue. Now you can hear some 25 languages in the schoolyard. But just now, with the improvement of their life situation, the war dramas are coming up in their memories, in their souls.
Just imagine your name is Mary and you are 13 years old. In your country, Liberia, there is a war going on. You saw your father dying of his bulletwounds, your mother and your sister being raped and beheaded. You're running away, just further and further away from this violence. Your journey has begun and it ends three years later within the gates of this college, where the schooldoctor puts on record that you're three months pregnant.
This is an example of an AMA-pupil. AMA stands for 'Alleenstaande Minderjarige Asielzoeker' (Single Minor Asylum seeker).

Until they are 18 years old they are under the custody of the 'Rotterdamse Stichting Opbouw' (Rotterdam Rebuilding Foundation).
Several years ago most children came to Holland because of family-reunion, now very young warvictims are joining them. None of them, of course, speak Dutch or is familiar with the Dutch culture, or the Dutch educational system.
In this college they will get a 1-year education with 20 hours weekly for Dutch and Culture on the program that prepares them for further education in regular Dutch schools, in order to get educated until they have learned a profession.
Many of these children have proven to be highly intelligent, according to the (Raven)test.

The 13 year old Myriem from Morocco arrived as an analphabet with a big inferiority complex, but she very fast could go on to a regular type of school and is learning a profession now.
Angela, 12 years old, coming from Cape Verde, her face and body full of scars from fighting, thin and with dead hair, is now a healthy and happy pupil.
There are much more of them like this. And for the time being they are studying, they can stay in Holland without a permit. After that they have to ask for asylum, like everybody else.
Of course the teachers have their sorrows too. Even if only one child doesn't make it. Such a child is Afdi, a 16-year-old gypsy boy from Hungary. He already stays away from school on a more or less regular basis, diving into the drug-circuits. But these children are the exception.

The college team is getting assistance in their heavy work, from team sociologists and psychologists, besides the existing schoolhelp-institutions.
Now the college has made an appeal to the government to take responsibility for these illegal warchildren. Their example will be followed by other colleges and let's hope for a better future.

July 23 1996