Irene MacWilliam was deeply moved by the posters being circulated at one time to help families find each other after being separated and displaced by war. Especially concerned about the lost and displaced children, she created this piece to depict their desperation, making the children ghost like, devoid of nationality or race to express that they are living a half life. Irene chose to focus on children rather than adults: “since the image of a distressed child is very emotive”.
Irene recalls her own family’s experience of displacement and separation during World War II when her father was detained as a prisoner of war from 1942-1945, initially in Changi, Signapore and then on the Burma Railway. She reflects: “not only was my dad captured but Mum escaped to Australia with my older brother and myself (babe in arms) and just a suitcase of belongings”.
Recent reports reveal that worldwide, almost 33 million children have been forcibly displaced; of these, 11.8 million are child refugees, approximately 1.3 million are asylum-seeking children and an estimated 20.4 million have been displaced within their own countries by violence and conflict.UNICEF, (2021) "Child displacement"
Displacement poses real dangers for children, with unaccompanied children being the most likely to be killed, tortured, raped, robbed and recruited as child soldiers.
Much remains to be done to safeguard children affected by armed conflict so that they have an opportunity to live as children, grow to adulthood and contribute to their communities. | 
