For more than 10 years Therese Aoun has defended children in the courtroom. But recently she has turned to writing children’s books to help re-educate children about their rights and how to secure them.
“I want to help found a new generation. I’m more concerned with building a new generation by educating today’s youth. This is how we can better prepare them for the future,” Aoun said.
“Lebanon still has a lot to do to comply with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,” she added, watching from her balcony as hundreds of soldiers dispersed demonstrating supporters of former Army Commander General Michel Aoun (no relation).
“Look at that, they try to speak, and they get beaten up.”
Aoun introduced her latest book, Wheat and Colors are Theirs, during the Sixth National Book Fair, organized by the United Publishers’ Association in Lebanon.
“For a long time now, I’ve felt that a story on children’s rights should be written that both children and adults can understand,” Aoun explained. “So I finally sat down last summer and wrote one.”
The 100-page book consists of a series of five stories and several classroom activities geared toward students in the ninth and 10th grades.
“The wheat represents their rights and the colors are their happiness. The point is that children’s rights are the key to happiness,” she stressed. “The book is just an excuse to talk about children’s rights.”
The book’s philosophy, that “everything done with faith can be realized,” is embodied in a story about children who have to go indoors to play because it rains. They draw a picture of a kite, which they discover can be stuck to some wood and tied to a string for hours of fun.
According to one of the stories, the right to be heard extends to the home environment, too.
“Kids pay the price for their parents’ relationships. Rarely do lawyers or social workers solicit the children’s opinion about their fate,” she said. “They must also have a role in the solution to marital conflicts.”
Another story gives children the right to set up and run organizations dealing with issues of concern to them.
“Why not let kids organize and take charge of their affairs? If they want to get together and plant flowers in their neighborhood, then why not?”
The last story in the new book was inspired by a picture Aoun saw on the news of a child sitting on the floor in a school in the south.
“Children not only have a right to be educated and sit in the classroom, but also a right to learn in a colorful, welcoming environment.”
And it is not only the government’s responsibility to guarantee these rights. “All of us have a role. People need to know that the citizen is just as responsible.” A week after Aoun saw the picture, a non-governmental organization went into the school and provided 150 tables and chairs.
Aoun was interested in the book fair as a medium for a discussion on children’s rights among schoolchildren, teachers, lawyers and judges.
Two students in the fifth and ninth grades who had read the book ahead of time, were disappointed at the discrepancy between the ideals in the book and the reality of their lives.
“They felt bad that their rights were being so neglected,” said Aoun. “They said they appreciated the book because it spoke for them and for their interests.”
Aoun explained how one physically disabled child echoed her message that the disabled had special needs that should be taken into consideration.
“The right to schools that accommodate the disabled must be a law. That’s the difference between charity and a right ­ these kids are taught that if it weren’t for the organization, they wouldn’t be able to live. Why should we put the disabled in a separate institution? It is their right to be allowed to live at home, attend school and be an integrated part of society,” Aoun said.
She recounted how Judge Maroun Abu Jaoude expressed his frustration at the slow and laborious process of legislative reform. He proposed a law in 1983 giving judges the right to protect children “from harmful home environments.” The law was only passed in 1995.
“At least with this law, the judge can put the abusive parent on probation and even remove the child from its home,” said Aoun.
“But then again, there’s no legislation that creates organizations ready to take these children. We still need so many laws that protect children against violence and sexual abuse. We’re in the very first stages of guaranteeing children’s rights. We have a law that makes education free and compulsory, but it’s still just words and isn’t yet a reality.”
Children’s rights violations, according to Aoun, reflect the lack of a comprehensive welfare system. She also believes that “we still need higher fines and penalties for crimes such as employing or molesting children.”
Aoun’s expertise as a lawyer also includes cases concerning  nationality. She is greatly discouraged by the situation of many children with undetermined origins. “We should simply grant them Lebanese nationality, because it’s their right, without taking into account sectarian considerations.”
One case Aoun dealt with involved an abandoned 12-year-old boy whose parents left him with false papers. Although children of unknown parents born on Lebanese soil have a right to a passport, Aoun could not secure citizenship for the child without a legitimate birth certificate.
Despite this discouraging state of affairs, Aoun still sees the glass as half full: “We have to keep in mind that if we were lobbying for children’s rights 200 years ago, everyone would have laughed at us. Now, we’ve had the convention for 10 years; we’ve come a long way. If we don’t get the rights we’re asking for today, then we’ll get them tomorrow.”