3rd of those killed in Myanmar likely children: UN

BANGKOK, Thailand - Children may account for a third of the victims killed in Myanmar's cyclone and those who survived could now be at risk of human trafficking and sexual abuse in chaotic refugee camps, the U.N. and other agencies said.
The crowded, makeshift shelters built by survivors have forced orphans and separated children to live alongside strangers, often in dark areas with little supervision.
We are really concerned about the risk of exploitation and sexual abuse," said Anne-Claire Dufay, chief of UNICEF's child protection section in Myanmar. If they don't have private sleeping spaces, it could be an issue."
Dufay said Tuesday there had been one report of the attempted trafficking of a teenage storm survivor in the country's largest city, Yangon, but so far no confirmed reports of sexual abuse.
Similar concerns were expressed following the 2004 tsunami, but little evidence of such problems emerged.
Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta on May 3, leaving about 62,000 people dead or missing according to the government count. The United Nations has suggested the death toll is likely to exceed 100,000.
UNICEF estimates that a third of those killed were children, based largely on population data from the affected areas.
Reports from the delta tell of village upon village ruined by the storm waves. Scores of families were killed and chilling photos show the bodies of dead children.
Our figures in the camps show a lot of adults, but very few children and very few elderly," said CARE Australia's country director in Myanmar, Brian Agland.
The worst-case scenario is that a lot of children may have lost their lives because of drowning," said CARE Australia's country director in Myanmar, Brian Agland. In one village there were 500 survivors and they were all adults. So that's the kind of despair people are living with, wondering where their children are."
The other concern is the trauma faced by youngsters, some of whom lost entire families or barely escaped the waves. Schools were heavily damaged in many areas.
Andrew Kirkwood, country director of Save the Children in Yangon, estimated that 3,000 schools were destroyed _ meaning half a million young children would have no prospect of going back to classes when they open June 1. It's a huge concern," he said.
The United Nations and several nongovernmental organizations have been setting up scores of youth centers, where the young can talk about their concerns in a safe environment can play games, sing and study basics like their numbers and alphabet.
It helps these children go through the process of grief and shock more quickly," said Laura Blank, a spokeswoman for World Vision, which is setting up 37 centers to serve up to 3,700 youngsters in and around Yangon. When the children have a chance ... to play and sing, you create an environment where they feel like it is OK for them to be kids again."
Many children who survive such tragedies endure a range of emotions from depression to anger to sadness, child protection experts said.
In Myanmar they were also facing health problems including malnutrition, diarrhea and possibly malaria.
A woman and her 8-year-old grandson were begging in the streets of Yangon, saying they lost their home in the disaster. We are here to help mother make some money so we can eat," the child, Tin Soe, said softly. We are hungry."
Asked if he thinks his school will be rebuilt before the school year begins, he scratched his head and said: I don't know. I hope so. I miss my friends and my teachers."