Eight long years of conflict and peace in Syria seems like a mirage. The drama of the situation is contained in the data released by Unicef: in the first months of 2018 alone, almost a thousand children were killed or injured. 2017 ended with an equally tragic toll, with minors killed in the Syrian war being 50% more than the previous year.
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Eight long years of conflict and peace in Syria seems like a mirage. The drama of the situation is contained in the data released by Unicef: in the first months of 2018 alone, almost a thousand children killed or injured. 2017 ended with an equally tragic toll, with minors killed in the Syrian war being 50% more than the previous year.
Forced to live in the rubble, without food and without water for whole days, theirs are stories of a denied childhood and an uncertain future. Because everyone is moved in front of their big sad eyes, but no state, to date, has put in place resolutive strategies to stem a situation now adrift.
People die under bombing and firearms, especially in areas under siege, such as eastern Ghouta.
In particular, children represent 17% of the victims of mines and other explosive devices. In the past year, more than 360 children and young people have been injured: many of them have suffered permanent disabilities. These are figures verified by the United Nations, but certainly lower than the real ones.
“During a conflict, children with disabilities are among the most vulnerable. They need specialized care and services, with different needs than those of adults. Without access to health services, education and equipment such as prostheses and wheelchairs, these children face a very real risk of being excluded, abandoned and stigmatized, while the conflict continues inexorably, "he explains. Geert Cappelaere, Unicef director for the Middle East and North Africa.
One in two adults interviewed by the organization reported seeing at least one child who lost the ability to speak as a result of trauma or injury, since the beginning of the conflict. It is still estimated that 3,3 million children in Syria are exposed to the risk of incurring accidents involving mines, unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive traps.
Photo: IC UNICEF / UN0162760 / Khabieh
Seven years of war in Syria: the numbers
- Over 1,5 million Syrian civilians reported permanent disabilities due to the conflict. Among them as many as 86.000 people were mutilated in their legs or arms
- 5,3 million Syrian children are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance
- 170 thousand minors they live in areas currently under siege. In the Eastern Ghouta area, 12% of children under 5 suffer from acute malnutrition - the highest rate ever recorded since the war
- 2,8 million they are displaced children within Syrian borders, and another 2,6 million refugees in neighboring countries
Foto: © UNICEF/UN0162765/Al-Mohibany
We had already told you about Syrian children:
- Syria: while adults decide, children die
- The massacre of Syrian children that nobody talks about
- We have hit rock bottom: the sad toll on children killed in Syria
According to UNICEF, three times as many minors were recruited to fight as in 2017, while 2015 Syrian children find themselves refugees abroad without families: many of them are exposed to the risk of various forms of exploitation, including child labor, due to the lack of legal documentation.
Dominella Trunfio
Cover photo: © UNICEF/Jordan
