THREATENED CHILDHOOD IN THE DRAWINGS OF UKRAINIAN CHILDREN
THREATENED CHILDHOOD IN THE DRAWINGS OF UKRAINIAN CHILDREN

Summary/Abstract: Introduction: In the 21st century, most children experience favorable conditions for development and are protected by their loved ones, who provide them with a happy and safe childhood.Nonetheless, it cannot be forgotten that there are still many thousands of children around theworld who experience oppression and whose childhood is destroyed by adults due to abandon-ment, neglect, and mental and physical violence.Research Aim: The aim of the study was to attempt to discover and understand the individualtraumatic war experiences of Ukrainian children, externalised in drawings.Method: Qualitative methods were used which allowed for an understanding of the way inwhich life situations are experienced by those studied. Projective techniques were used to analy-se and interpret children’s drawings.Results: In the analysis of the drawings of Ukrainian children who have experienced war trau-ma, 5 main categories were differentiated: 1. Mummy, I see war; 2. My Father– Hero; 3. Friend-ship in the face of tragedy; 4. Putin is dead; and 5. Ukraine victorious. The drawings tell a taleof the cruelty which the children have experienced, which they have seen and felt, and whichthey carry inside themselves.Conclusions: The children’s drawings are a space for the externalisation of unspoken feelings.The children’s works demonstrate that suffering, uncertainty, fear for their own lives and thelives of loved ones, and the drama of the sudden loss of a carefree childhood and entry into thecruel world of adults are permanently etched into their memories.

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