Describes the first author's personal observations of the plight of children exposed to various traumas associated with wars and other natural disasters around the world, including China, Vietnam, Lebanon, Israel, and EthiopiThe need for psychiatry in children after experiences with war or cyclones is discussed, focusing on some sociocultural elements and effects on psychoemotional mechanisms. Intervention in children traumatized by the Croatia-Bosniac War is described. Observations suggest that there are significant differences in the degree to which children have been prepared in anticipation of exposure to violence and in interventions applied after their exposure. It is suggested that prevention and intervention can be quite powerful when employed in these situations. (French, Spanish & Japanese abstracts)