A Commitment to Protecting Childhood in Panama

We must commit to building a society where childhood is respected, valued, and protected. If children do not have a present, there is no possible future. We cannot allow children to be used as tools in dynamics that perpetuate conflicts and inequalities. In this struggle, institutions and social structures—the family, the State, the community, and the school—play a crucial role. Peace is not possible if children develop amidst conflicts. Let us commit to safeguarding children, denouncing injustices, strengthening institutions, and restoring solidarity in the community. In this way, we can change the reality of communities and guarantee a more just and humane future. For this reason, I make a call to all of you. The community must regain its ability for supervision, support, and human solidarity. In this sense, the Panamanian State has the responsibility to ensure, through public policies, that no child is manipulated, used, or put in situations of risk that ruin childhood. The Academic and Social Criminological Observatory (OCAS) indicates that this problem requires a comprehensive solution: to foster social awareness, consolidate institutions, and ensure that all children have the opportunity to develop in an environment of peace and respect. Today, here, united, let us assume the commitment to protect and care for them, giving them the opportunity to develop in an environment of dignity, respect, and peace. We conclude: childhood cannot wait. The most painful thing is that it occurs before our eyes, in the streets, in the schools, and in the neighborhoods. Social actions and interactions that should reinforce respect and solidarity have been deformed. Each day that passes, more children are trapped in dynamics that destroy their future. It is necessary to change violence for a culture of peace. By Luis Carlos Samudio G. Lawyer, teacher, and sociologist. According to police information, the communities currently face a problem caused by 39 gangs operating in the district of San Miguelito, contiguous to the city of Panama. The family has to be the first refuge, the place where every child feels loved and safe. And when a child smiles, we are benefited. Today I suggest making a common pact. It means that the State fulfills its duty to ensure effective policies, adequate resources, and clear punishments for those who attack childhood. However, acting also implies transforming social awareness and recognizing that every child in the community is also our son, our brother, or our neighbor. Each day that passes, society loses a bit of its hope. However, in the communities in Panama, social conflicts have turned many children into silent victims. But each day that passes is also an opportunity to change and act in favor of a different future. Let us work together in favor of peace and peaceful coexistence! Exploitation is observed instead of the mutual support that should exist. It implies that families obtain assistance to educate in values and safeguard their children. It is unacceptable that 10-year-old children are employed in foreign disputes. We cannot disappoint them or fail them. It implies that the community coordinates to observe, denounce, and accompany. It is necessary that we act with sensibleness, and it is precise that we do it united. Executing implies consolidating institutions. We cannot remain with our arms crossed and ignore the situation. It means to require that schools have follow-up and prevention programs. This scourge has an alarming impact on childhood, especially on young people who are recruited from the age of ten. Those children and young people are added to social activities that perpetuate inequality and conflicts. And it is our most important duty to protect it. Instead of growing up surrounded by love and opportunities, they are trapped in networks of manipulation, violence, and exclusion. The school must be a place of comprehensive education in which not only is instruction given on reading and writing, but also on how to reason with a critical spirit, coexist peacefully, and build a worthy future. Because there can be no justice if children are employed as tools of inequality. OCAS ends with the following reasoning: 'Childhood represents the nucleus of our society.' This phenomenon not only threatens their fundamental rights but also impacts social cohesion and the stability of institutions. Childhood should be a space of play, learning, dreams, and hope. Each day that passes, more families are weakened. It means that we suffer when a child suffers. Finding indifference where collaboration should exist.