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More that 200 Jordanians gathered this week to caller for stricter laws to protect children from abuse, following the deaths of two toddlers. During a gathering organised by the Jordan River Foundation (JRF) at the Greater Amman Municipality square, people from different walks of life mourned the death of Yazan and Qusai, two recent victims of child abuse. Her Majesty Queen Rania, chairperson of the JRF and a strong advocate of child rights, participated in the event, where she underscored that each and every individual and institution shoulder a responsibility in preventing violence against children. The Queen signed a wall painting by artists and children which calls for denouncing and eliminating child abuse and lit a candle for the souls of the two children, who perished at a very early age after being subject to domestic violence. Forensic Pathologist Hani Jahshan told The Jordan Times yesterday that five-year-old Yazan, who died last week, was a victim of “Shaken Baby Syndrome”, allegedly inflicted by his family members. A postmortem revealed that he suffered from a broken skull, he added, noting that an investigation is under way. Meanwhile, four-year-old Qusai died three months ago of a brain haemorrhage, allegedly caused by his parents. Participants at the event, the majority of them schoolchildren accompanied by their teachers and parents, held up signs reading, “Say NO to violence against children,” and “Our homes are not places for child torture.” Abdul Majid Masri said he participated in the gathering to urge the government to pass stricter laws that prevent abuse of children by their parents or the community. “Children should have laws that guarantee their rights and punish those who abuse them… we are equal to adults and we need the community to defend us,” added the 14-year-old, who held a sign which said, “Yazan’s screams are calling us.” “I feel sad when I hear about a little boy killed by the people who are supposed to love him and keep him safe from harm,” Masri told The Jordan Times. Khaldoun Azzam, who came with his friends, said he attended the event to “speak out about the rights of children to live a decent life”. “I want to tell parents and the whole community not to abuse children,” the 13-year-old boy added. Meanwhile, Nancy Naghour, director of Dar Al Aman, a child safety centre affiliated with the JRF, said the event aims at resisting child abuse in all forms. “We should all act together to put an end to violence against children; we have a message to deliver and it says: ‘Enough with the killing… of our precious children’,” she told The Jordan Times yesterday during the gathering. Naghour blamed ignorance and lack of awareness of correct parenting methods for the rise in child abuse cases. “Authorities registered over a thousand cases of child abuse last year… violence against children has always existed, but with time, families are understanding the need to report such cases to the authorities,” she noted. Further information