It's Your Right: Laura (9) and Klaudia (11) on the Right to Friendship

Laura aged 9 (left), and Klaudia aged 11 (right), from St Francis of Assisi Primary School in Belmayne, Dublin are really good friends and talk about children's right to friendship, the value of friends in life, and the importance of children knowing their rights. Friendship and play is very important, they say, for a child's good life.

The children were recorded in the Office of the Children's Ombudsman after an introductory session on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by their teacher Sinead and at the Ombudsman's Office they got the meet Emily Logan who has represented the rights of children in Ireland since the office was established ten years ago.

Watch the video of the 4th class students of St. Francis of Assisi Belmayne visiting the Ombudman for Children's Office on our It's Your Right Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/91527878

Below is the text transcript of what they had to say

Klaudia: My name is Klaudia. I’m 11 and I’m from Poland.

Klaudia: The right for friendship, like, to become friends and all, it’s very important.

Laura: I think the right that we’re not allowed to be in war, the right for education, the right for play.

Laura: I’m Laura. I’m 9 years old and I go to St. Francis of Assisi, Belmayne.

Klaudia: I still remember Laura’s first day in school.

Laura: Well, she was in our school before me and she was the first person that ever talked to me because I was really shy.

Klaudia: When I came to her and talked I just want her to say, like, Hi, can we be friends? and that was the thing I really wanted her to say.

Laura: Well, I liked being friends with everyone, so, I was all like, why not be friends with her? She seems like a really nice person.

Laura: We play any games… Klaudia: Yeah. Laura: Any games that we’d like.

Klaudia: Like… Laura: Catch. Klaudia: Mary Poppins. Laura: The Cup Song. Klaudia: Skipping. Laura Anything that catches our mind. Klaudia: Yeah.

Klaudia: I think that if we couldn’t do this I would just be sad ‘cause it’ll be just boring like sitting and doing nothing.

Laura: If the right for friendship was taken away from me I would never come out of my house. I wouldn’t go to school, I wouldn’t go shopping, I wouldn’t go anywhere. I’d just lie down in my bed like being so sad and bored.

Klaudia: Yeah, that’s what I would do.

Laura: It is important for children to know their rights ‘cause if they don’t know they’ll be scared to tell everyone, they’ll be scared to tell their parents No, I don’t want that! You know, it’d just be horrible.

I didn’t exactly know that the right that children weren’t allowed to be in war was allowed because so many children have been killed in war and it’s absolutely horrible, I didn’t really know that that was there.

Klaudia: I think that we should be taught about everything that’s good for children like playing, becoming friends and, like, to be happy.