Saturday, 30 November 2024

Outback Crocodile Dundee pub Walkabout Creek is about more than beer.

 Extract from ABC News

By Meghan Dansie

Debbie Wust runs the Walkabout Creek Hotel in McKinlay with her husband, Frank. (Meghan Dansie)

It was past midnight when publican Frank Wust's mobile phone started ringing.

"I answered the phone with my name and the guy on the other end said, 'You be frank, and I'll be earnest.'"

Ernie Dingo's chopper had finally landed. He was here to see the pub.

A man and a woman, a couple, sit next to each other on the porch of their pub, looking at each other

Frank and Debbie Wust have been running the pub for just over a decade. (ABC North West Qld: Meghan Dansie)

Celebrity drop-ins and television appearances have become almost routine for husband-and-wife team Frank and Debbie Wust over the years.

Truck drivers, graziers and locals mix with international tourists at the Walkabout Creek Hotel, owing to its starring role in the opening scenes of 1986 blockbuster Crocodile Dundee — viewers' first glimpse of Mick Dundee, bursting through the doors with a vanquished crocodile under his arm.

It's also the bustling centre of McKinlay, population 162, a little town nestled between Cloncurry and Winton in north-west Queensland.

After a decade at the helm, Debbie and Frank want to start a new chapter, but say their replacement must be someone who understands that taking on an outback pub also means taking on a community.

A composite image of a sign by the highway for the Walkabout Creek Hotel and a man entering the pub from his truck

The pub is a base for the surrounding region. (ABC North West Qld: Meghan Dansie)

More than a pub

As temperatures start to tip 40 degrees Celsius in remote western Queensland, fewer tourists are pulling up on the bar stools of the old hotel.

But the days are still busy, Debbie says, with her pub acting as a vital community hub for the rest of the town and surrounding cattle stations.

Frank driving car

As the community postal agent, Frank delivers mail to surrounding properties. (ABC North West Qld: Meghan Dansie)

"We're the post office, we're the mail run. It's a lot of office work, but a lot of hands on," Debbie says.

A bulk delivery of letters and packages arrives twice a week, to be sorted and sent to the town's residents and nearby cattle stations.

Frank wakes with the sun to start the mail run, navigating hot dirt roads and farm gates to deliver to 12 different stops.

Wet season flooding, arriving anywhere between January to March, transforms the pub into an outpost, a refuge for truckers stranded on their routes, and a coordination point for aerial emergency services.

Henry Boothman McKinlay business owner

Henry Boothman says the pub is essential to McKinlay's survival. (ABC North West Qld: Meghan Dansie)

On McKinlay's main street, Henry "Dicky" Boothman operates a coffee van, one of the only other businesses in town. With the petrol station now automated, he says the pub has become more vital than ever.

"It is the community. Without the pub, we don't have a town. It's a meeting place for everyone," he says.

"It's for all the station people to come in and have a beer."

The exterior of a pub at night, showing clusters of empty chairs.

Summer means fewer tourists travelling through outback towns like McKinlay. (ABC North West Qld: Meghan Dansie)

A tree change that stuck

The Wusts remember two lives: before, and after, Walkabout Creek.

Just over a decade ago, Debbie was an international travel consultant and Frank a fitter and turner by trade, working shifts at a coal mine.

The couple had recently returned home to Biloela in central Queensland from an outback road trip, where a stop-in at an iconic pub in the middle of nowhere had left them thinking about a tree change.

A composite image of a white ute travelling on a remote outback highway and a run-down structure in a field of brown grass.

McKinlay is located roughly 1,600 kilometres north-west of Brisbane. (ABC North West Qld: Meghan Dansie)

"We didn't realise it was for sale at first," Debbie says.

"Thinking this is what we were about to do, we did a lot of research and broke the news to the kids, who were leaving home, that if they were coming to visit, this is where they were coming to visit us."

They placed their remaining school-age son in boarding school, packed up their belongings, and moved a 12-hour drive north-west to McKinlay, to start a new chapter in the pub's storied history.

A composite image of a woman carrying glasses at a pub, an old ute, and a rooftop with the sign Walkabout Creek Hotel.

The Walkabout was originally built as the Federal Hotel in 1900. (ABC North West Qld: Meghan Dansie)

Tourists pull in from far afield to see the 124-year-old pub, often with larger-than-life expectations that it will be as it was in the opening scenes of Crocodile Dundee, Debbie says.

"It is a big thing. It's people's bucket list, to come and see this."

The next era

A red kelpie sits on the front seat of an ATV.

The pub welcomes many types of visitors through its doors. (ABC North West Qld: Meghan Dansie)

But after years manning the outpost and maintaining the Dundee legacy, Frank and Debbie want out.

The Walkabout has been on the market for nearly three years, leaving them 10-and-a-half years into their 10-year plan.

"Plenty of people are asking questions, but no follow through," Debbie says.

"No-one's actually come out and had a serious look. But it was on the market for four years before we bought it too."

Two people play pool in an outback pub.

The Wusts end each day with a game of pool. (ABC North West Qld: Meghan Dansie)

The couple are getting on with things — long days are bookended by a cup of tea together in the morning and a game of pool to end each night.

Debbie says they will stay on until it sells to the right person, someone who understands all the hats worn by an outback publican.

"It's got to be someone who wants to live here, because that's what you're doing. You're now a community member. You're engaged.

"It's just waiting on the right person to turn up."

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Five years on from a devastating fire, Notre Dame is finally reopening. Why does it still look unfinished?

 Extract from ABC News

Macron visits Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris after major reconstruction works

In short:

French President Emmanuel Macron toured the Notre Dame construction site on Friday afternoon, local time, before the famous cathedral reopens.

The reopening follows five years of restoration work from a devastating 2019 fire.

But some Parisians are puzzled by a celebration taking place while scaffolding still covers the building.

The bells of Notre Dame are chiming again, but scaffolding still clinging to the cathedral's exterior is puzzling some Parisians who question whether its grand post-blaze reopening is more symbolic than substantive.

The French cathedral was ravaged by fire in 2019 during renovation works, destroying its spire and roof and threatening to collapse the whole structure.

French authorities say it remains unclear what caused the fire that ravaged Notre Dame in 2019, but have suggested an electrical fault or cigarette may have been at fault.

French President Emmanuel Macron conducted his final tour of the construction site on Friday afternoon local time, and described the rebuilding effort as "sublime".

"You have achieved what was thought impossible," Macron told workers and officials who packed Notre Dame after the French president toured the cathedral.

"The blaze at Notre Dame was a national wound, and you have been its remedy through will, through work, through commitment," he said.

Mr Macron described the rebuilding effort as a "challenge that many considered insane".

The cathedral will officially reopen next weekend, with as-yet-unnamed world leaders expected to attend.

The day after the April 2019 blaze that destroyed the spire and roof, Mr Macron pledged that "we will rebuild the cathedral to be even more beautiful, and I want it to be completed within five years".

The reality has proven more complex.

The interior will be ready to host visitors and the faithful on December 8 for the first time since the 2019 fire.

But scaffolding at the base of the newly-restored spire will remain into 2025 and for another three years on the monument's east side, says Philippe Jost, who is masterminding the reconstruction.

'A half-finished project'

A person in orange hi-vis walks on scaffolding around the Notre Dame cathedral

Construction work and cranes clutter the exterior of the nearly 900-year-old monument. (AP: Michel Euler)

The blaze and rebuilding that turned the cathedral into a no-go zone for the public left a literal hole in the heart of Paris, and many locals are longing for it to be filled by the reopening.

Some, however, had been expecting the monument to look as pristine on the outside as officials say it does once again on the inside.

Around 140 million euros ($227 million) of unspent funds remain in the reconstruction budget, an indication of the scale of work that remains to be completed.

However, previous statements reveal the cathedral has received so much funding for the project that there will be money left over for further investment in the building.

Cranes and makeshift worker facilities still feature. And while a lot of scaffolding has been removed, tons of it remains.

"It's an eyesore," resident Anne Leclerc says.

"It feels like a half-finished project."

Resident Jean-Baptiste Lefèvre questions whether the reopening was rushed prematurely to fulfil Mr Macron's five-year completion wish. His second and last term ends in 2027.

"It's politics, and he wants it to be finished while he's still president," Mr Lefèvre suggested.

"What's the point of such a big reopening when it's not even finished?

"It looks like a construction zone."

Notre Dame was already a building site

A tower of scaffolding rises into the sky next to a cathedral tower

While a lot of scaffolding has been removed, tons of it remain. (AP: Michel Euler)

Notre Dame has been a building site for years — even before the fire.

Scaffolding was already in place in 2019 for a previous restoration effort that wasn't completed because of the April 15 blaze.

That structure of melted, twisted metal then had to be cut away before rebuilding could even begin.

Some of the worst damage was to the medieval monument's roof and its dense latticework of wooden beams, so complicated that it was nicknamed "the forest".

The flames also brought down the spire, sending charred debris into the cathedral's interior.

The charred scaffolding was removed in 2020, and the organ that once thundered through the cathedral was secured the following year.

In 2023, massive French oak trusses from historic trees in the Bercé forest in the French Loire region were hoisted onto the building.

A medieval statue of the Virgin Mary and Child, known as The Virgin of Paris, returned to the cathedral earlier this year after surviving the fire five years ago.

Also earlier this year, restorers revealed the new spire, topped with a golden rooster and a cross.

Architecture experts say the pace of restoration has been remarkable, particularly given the constraints of 21st-century safety regulations and the need for historical accuracy.

Historians also urge patience, reminding critics that Notre Dame's original construction spanned nearly 200 years from 1163.

"Notre Dame's reconstruction is a sign of hope for everyone," Reverend Olivier Ribadeau-Dumas, the cathedral rector, says.

Restoration delayed

A white billboard showing four people outside the Notre Dame cathedral

Architecture experts say the pace of restoration has been remarkable. (AP: Michel Euler)

Initial hopes for a full restoration by 2024 dimmed after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and the loss of the project's leader slowed work.

The late General Jean-Louis Georgelin — the former reconstruction chief — tempered expectations in 2023, saying the reopening would be "partial."

He died later that year, with Mr Macron hailing him as the "greatest soldier" dedicated to restoring Notre Dame "stone by stone".

Mr Macron's office frames the restoration as a triumph for French can-do, likening it to other national milestones such as the Paris Olympics.

His tour of the monument on Friday will be his seventh since the fire.

Presidential officials say he'll see gleaming white finishes of restored stonework, vaults rebuilt with precision to their original 13th-century design, and the once-again-radiant golden cross at the altar.

Murals — including those in the Saint-Marcel Chapel — are as vibrantly colourful again as when first painted and sculptures of Louis XIII and XIV glisten with refreshed colours, they say.

After a Friday ceremony where Mr Macron will give a speech on the cathedral forecourt, an inaugural mass the next day will signal its return to public life.

The public will be welcomed until 10 pm during the first week, with free entry. Liturgical life then resumes in full from December 16.

The Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, expects Notre Dame will quickly surpass its pre-blaze visitor numbers.

He is bracing for 15 million visitors annually — seemingly confident that for most, the work that's unfinished won't be a cardinal disappointment.

AP/ABC

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We asked Australian parents what they made of the social media ban for under-16s — here's what they said.

 Extract from ABC News

By Geraden Cann
A phone screen showing social media apps.

The government's bill to ban children and young teenagers from social media is expected to pass this week.  (ABC News: Luke Stephenson)

Dani said it took just four months for her 13-year-old son to become "addicted" to the mobile phone app Snapchat.

"When he woke up in the morning … he'd go straight to the phone," she said.

The Melbourne mum says she tried to put in place measures to restrict his usage — even drawing up a "contract" laying out the rules — but it wasn't enough.

"There was a lot of notifications, constant notifications coming up on his phone ... you couldn't hold a conversation with him because he was wanting to check his notifications," she said.

Snapchat icon on a smartphone screen.

Several parents say their children have developed addictive behaviours towards the messaging app Snapchat. (ABC News: James Dunlevie)

The experience has made Dani a staunch supporter of the federal government's move to ban social media for under-16s, which will come into effect from the end of 2025.

She said a ban would give her a more powerful reason to say no when her younger daughter asked her to join social media.

"It's a blanket rule — it's like my kid wanting to go and get a cigarette, it's not happening," Dani said.

"It's black and white and that's what I think, as parents, we are really craving at the moment."

The ABC has spoken to several Australian parents to get a sense of how those who will be on the frontline of enforcing the ban feel.

Here's what they told us.

One parent says Australia should be 'proud' for taking a stand

When Dani's son asked for a Snapchat account, they agreed to a four-month trial.

He would be allowed an hour daily usage, phones would be kept downstairs at night, and he would only interact with friends.

It wasn't enough.

Soon, 50 friends became more than 1,000, as he joined chat groups from other schools.

Three children sit on the ground looking at a mobile phone.

Several parents say it has been hard to manage their child's relationship with social media. (ABC News: Paul Sellenger)

Dani said her son's phone pinged constantly and the first thing he did every morning was go downstairs to check his phone.

He was told to remove himself from the chat groups.

"He was in tears, because when you remove yourself, it says '[they] have left the chat', and you feel a bit ashamed as a kid, leaving that social circle and having that announcement," Dani said.

That was one of many tools which, Dani believed, were put in place intentionally to stop children disengaging.

"It's a system that perpetuates the feeling of FOMO [fear of missing out]," she said.

As her son's Snapchat trial period came to an end, Dani read a story about a teenage victim of sextortion. 

The victim had been tricked into sharing nude photos with someone he thought was a girl his age after only a few minutes of flirting.

He then received a phone call from a middle-aged man demanding cash or the picture would be circulated to all of the boys contacts — a threat that was later carried out.

The boy later took his own life. For Dani, reading that story was the final straw.

When Dani shared the story with her son and told him he would no longer be allowed to use Snapchat, she said he was defensive and upset.

"It was about nine o'clock on a Sunday night, and I thought — my child's not going to speak to me for weeks," she said.

"Then about half an hour later, I heard him trudging down the stairs, and he came up behind me, and I kid you not — he put his arms around me from behind, and he said: 'Mum — thank you for being a great parent, I didn't know how to tell you do, I was becoming addicted to Snapchat, and I just needed you to be firm'. 

"I was in tears."

The ban has drawn criticism for its rushed nature, and from academics who claim it won't work.

But for Dani, the rapid response from the government felt empowering.

"I say power to them," she said.

"I'm so proud to be in the country that puts this at the forefront of their agenda, and that they've listened to parents."

A mobile phone with Facebook and Pinterest apps

The new laws will come into effect at the end of 2025. (RN)

She expected the bill to be more effective for young kids compared to older children who had grown up with social media.

Speaking to parents of older kids at school, Dani got the impression things had "spiralled out of control", with those parents describing deeply ingrained social media addictions in their children.

"They're all at the point where [they say] 'oh my god, we cannot go back — if I take Snapchat away from my child they'll be throwing things against the wall'.

Hopes ban will help stem cyberbullying harm

The cyberbullying of Colleen's 13-year-old daughter began during COVID, during the long hours she was in her room attending school online.

"My daughter was called all sorts of names and told to go and kill herself," Colleen said.

Online conversations her daughter had thought were private were also shared on Snapchat.

"I had no idea that it was going on," Colleen said.

"It was heartbreaking."

She said her daughter's experience had highlighted that teenagers did not always understand the implications of publishing information online.

"I don't think their teenage brain has the capacity to understand exactly what they're doing, you know, to be able to put information or pictures out there into cyberspace, not realising that you just can never get that back," Colleen said.

She said she was "100 per cent" behind Australia's social media ban for under-16s, but had doubts about the government's ability to impose the rules on social media giants.

She said if companies failed to take the ban seriously within six months of it taking effect, she would like to see strong government action.

"That's when I would expect to see the government handing out fines and really becoming tough," she said.

Colleen also said she wanted penalties extended to parents who knowingly allowed their underage children to use social media.

To other parents, a ban is a 'blunt tool for a nuanced issue'

Perth-based tech and innovation worker Lisa said she did not support the ban, even though she agreed social media was harmful.

Lisa is the mother of a 15-year-old and a 20-year-old. 

She said the ban was a "toothless tiger" and "a blunt tool for a nuanced issue" that ultimately would not work.

"The aims of it, where it's trying to stop students from using social media is not going to work, because they will just use a different platform," she said.

"This ban will never keep up with the technology, and kids are smart and they're resourceful and they will find a way."

Instead, Lisa favours a corporate responsibility approach, which would force social media companies to make safer products and acknowledge their product was harmful.

Scott is a father of three teenage boys and also runs a youth mental health service.

He said he had seen every one of his sons go through a period where their phone use became damaging.

While Scott preferred to combat screen addiction by providing kids with an alternative, such as engagement in sport, he said a ban was a "step in the right direction".

"I think it's a bold step, I don't think it's a perfect step, and I think it's going to require monitoring of the outcomes really closely," he said.

He said the world would be watching how the ban progressed with interest.

"Anxiety, depression, isolation and disconnection is a global epidemic, and a mitigating factor to that is the disassociation that gets caused when young people spend too much time on screens and not enough time in the real world," he said.

Balance needed to maintain 'sense of belonging' social media can provide

While Katarina's children are now too old to be affected by the ban, she thinks both would have benefited from it.

The Melbourne woman has a 19-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son.

She said while she supported the ban, care had to be taken around young people who relied on social media for community and support.

"There are advantages to social media use," she said.

"For a lot of young people potentially who do not have a great cohort of friends they are associated with at school, it does give them a sense of belonging."

She said she wanted lawmakers to pay special attention to Snapchat, because the disappearing messages allowed bullies to get away with their actions.

She also felt children would benefit from signing up from an older age, when they had a better appreciation of the pitfalls of social media.

"When they hit 16, hopefully they have built the skills to be more resilient, to have more self-awareness," she said.

Katarina predicts the success of the ban will depend on parents enforcing it.

"As soon as you get one parent who may not agree with it, who might allow their young person somehow on it, then that's going to cause friction," she said.

"Parents need to stand united in this."

Snapchat says it can assist with investigations even if messages deleted

Several of the parents spoken to by the ABC criticised Snapchat for its addictive nature, the inability to set usage limits, and the fact messages sent via the app disappeared quickly – making cyberbullying hard to prove.

Snapchat declined to comment on the parents' concerns.

However, a Snapchat spokesperson said the company had concerns over the legislation.

"While there are many unanswered questions about how this law will be implemented in practice, we will engage closely with the government and the eSafety Commissioner during the 12-month implementation period to help develop an approach that balances privacy, safety and practicality," the spokesperson said.

"As always, Snap will comply with any applicable laws and regulations in Australia."

If a Snapchat user experiences bullying or saw it happening to another user, they can block the user or confidentially report the account, chat, or group to Snapchat's Trust and Safety team.

Despite differences in opinion, every parent had one thing in common — all said they would enforce it on day one.

For Dani, doing so would allow the next generation to experience childhood — something she felt social media had denied to the last.

"Let's go back to old-school days where kids communicated, played outdoors, just had the childhood that we had, and let's give that back to them, because it's been taken off them," she said.

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World more dangerous for children in conflict regions as 'grave violations' against them reach highest numbers in decades.

Extract from ABC News

By Zena Chamas
Two displaced Palestinian children carry cooking pots on their heads, walking in the middle of the rubble.

Children in war-torn parts of the world are suffering more than before, according to a Save the Children report. (Reuters: Hatem Khaled)

Children in war-torn parts of the world are suffering more than before with violence against them reaching the highest numbers seen in almost two decades, according to Save the Children (STC).

Its report has found grave violations against children in conflict-hit regions increased 15 per cent in 2023, the highest level since UN reporting of these crimes started in 2005. 

Save the Children listed Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Myanmar, Occupied Palestinian territories, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Ukraine as the 10 worst conflict-affected countries to be a child.

In 2023, there were 31,721 cases of grave violations against children, representing 87 violations a day, a 15 per cent increase from the previous year.

The largest increases were reported in Sudan and the Occupied Palestinian territories. 

Tow children walking amid tents in Gaza, one is holding a bucket and has his hand placed on younger sibling's back.

Children walk amid tents as Palestinians displaced by the Israeli military offensive take shelter at a tent camp set up on a damaged soccer stadium, in Gaza City. (Reuters: Dawoud Abu Alkas)

The report, Stop the War on Children: Pathways to Peace, analysed the number of verified grave violations against children over two decades using the 2023 United Nations Secretary-General Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict.

The grave violations included killing, maiming and abduction, sexual violence, recruitment into armed groups, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access to children.

Children in Gaza wish for 'end to the war'

Children react next to the bodies of Palestinians, one has a bandage around his head, the other is crying.

Many children in Gaza face difficult conditions amid the on-going war. (Reuters: Ramadan Abed)

In Egypt, 18-year-old Khalid fled Gaza after being displaced with his family.

After a difficult journey to cross the Rafah border with Egypt, he said he missed his father, who had to remain in Gaza.

"What I want most right now, is to see my father … I hope that my father can come here [Egypt] so that our family can be reunited," he said.

When he was in Gaza, despite being in a war-zone he never stopped looking toward the future.

"I dream of becoming a police officer. I want my dream to become a reality, to succeed and graduate from university," he said.

Looking back on fond memories of his home, he hopes to see Gaza better than it was before, 

"What I remember most about my home, is that there were trees and many beautiful things. We used to always play with our friends and stay up late playing and talking.

"What I wish for now is a ceasefire in Gaza, and an end to the war so that we can see our families and friends, and reunite with our loved ones."

Samar and her four children inside of their tent in Gaza. They're sitting on the floor.

Samar and her four children are inside their tent in Gaza after being displaced for over a year. (Supplied: Save the Children)

In Deir al-Balah, south of Gaza, Samar has been living with her children, who are aged 12, nine, five and two years-old.

They were displaced multiple times and now live in a tent. 

Early into the war, in their home in Gaza city, Samar said she fled with her children after Israeli forces bombed their neighbour's house.

Her children woke "scared and screamed" at the sound of the bombing at 2am. 

"I tried to comfort them and tell them that it's far. That we are fine and that it's far from us. They kept screaming and saying that it's close and that the glass is on us," she said.

"Pieces of glass fell on us while sleeping and dust was in the air, to the extent that we could not see our own fingers. That's how heavy the dust and smoke were, and it was just across the street," Samar said.

Palestinian children gather in a makeshift school set up to help them to catch up on their education.

Palestinian children gather in a makeshift school set up to help them to catch up on their education, in Al-Maswasi area where displaced people shelter. (Reuters: Hussam Al-Masri)

The experience has had lasting effects on them.

She said when her children hear the sound of a rocket now, one puts their hands over their ears and another spaces out.

"My youngest daughter says [boom] when she hears the rocket noises. She screams other times, or shivers," she said.

The Israel-Gaza was sparked after Hamas launched an attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people, and took 250 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel then launched attacks in Gaza which the Palestinian health ministry said has killed more than 44,300 people, with many more bodies believed to be remaining under the rubble.

Impact on children in Sudan

In a refugee camp in south Sudan, mother-of-five Marium lives with her children after being displaced four times since the conflict started on April 15, 2023.

Marium and her daughter sit in their refugee camp in South Sudan.

Marium and her five-year-old daughter inside their refugee tent in South Sudan. (Supplied: Save the Children)

Life in the camps for Marium and her children has been hard, especially without the children's father, who remained in Khartoum, Sudan's capital. 

Marium's 14-year-old daughter Aisha has been distressed about the feared loss of her father – who they haven't heard from since they left Khartoum.

"I don't know if my husband is alive or dead and this greatly worries the children, especially my oldest daughter. She loved her father so much, and living without him all she does is think about him," Marium said.

At the very start of the conflict in Sudan, Marium was in hospital with Aisha and eight-year-old Harum, who struggles to control his bladder due to back problems.

Marium and her four children that are with her stand outside a tent in south sudan.

Marium (right) stands with her daughters, including Aisha (centre) and her son Harum, who is standing before her. (Supplied: Save the Children)

The hospital and surrounding area were attacked, leaving Marium and her two children stuck in the hospital for three days. 

"It was very stressful … The hospital was later bombed, but we were in there with two kids. Within the country I was separated from the other children, I couldn't find them," she said.

She said it was a harrowing experience for her and her children. 

"One of my children, the oldest girl, was very distressed because of all the shooting, and one of my boys was fainting all the time," she said.

Harum has not received the treatment needed for his back issue and has been unable to keep himself clean or walk long distances. 

This has put additional financial strains on the family, who have to use the money they receive for food assistance to spend on additional clothing for him.

He's been seeking psychological treatment to deal with the stress from Save the Children professionals. 

Janat is wearing a black hijab, and is speaking to the interviewer, she appears to be mid-sentence.

11-year-old Jannat loves said she was hopeful for her future. (Supplied: Save the Children)

In Sudan, 11-year-old Janat lives with her parents and two brothers. 

She wishes the war would stop "to have peace". 

"We need security, and a president to rule the country and stop the war."

She’s constantly smiling and loves to tell jokes. Her favourite subjects are Arabic, the sciences and religious studies. 

Jannat loves to watch the National Geographic channel to learn new things and is a hardworking student. 

"My wish for the future is to become a doctor and travel the world. I wish to travel to Korea. They have a developed technology," she said.

"To leaders [I say] stop the war because a lot of children have lost their parents."

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