War in Syria: 11 years later, millions of children are living in terror under bombs

In the general silence for 11 years millions of Syrian children have experienced the brutality of war on their skin and suffer from hunger. Let's not forget about them

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While the eyes of the world are on Ukraine, which has been struggling with war for more than two weeks, in Syria millions of children are forced to live under bombs and have no more tears to cry. And not for days or months, but for over a decade. In fact, exactly 11 years have passed since the bloody Syrian conflict broke out.

The nightmare began in March 2011, when thousands of Syrian citizens took to the streets to protest against President Bashar al-Assad and demand free political elections, protests that were severely suppressed with guns. Thus a peaceful revolution has turned into an interminable and bloody war, which continues to sow death and devastation. So far I am half a million people were killed in this madness: of these over 160 thousand are civilians, as reported by the National Observatory for Human Rights.

The drama of the forgotten Syrian children

Last year alone, 424 minors were killed and 474 injured. And today about 6,5 million minors are in need of humanitarian assistance, 2 million can no longer go to school and 800 thousand children suffer from malnutrition: the figures provided by Save the Children and Unicef Syria are terrifying. Those children who are supposed to play happily and carefree and learn to read and write are forced to survive in filthy fields, in bomb-torn homes and have to deal with hunger and various diseases.

Even walking on the streets can become lethal, due to the presence of landmines and unexploded ordnance, one of the main causes of death for the little ones. Schools are not safe either. It is not uncommon for them to be targeted by bombing.

“In 2021, together with Hurras Network, a partner of ours in the area, we recorded at least 15 attacks on educational establishments across north-western Syria. In October, three children and a teacher were killed in an attack on their way to school, ”explains the NGO Save the Children.

And since 2011, over 7.000 children and teenagers have been recruited and forced to fight, while at least 6.850 have been brutally killed.

Millions of people below the poverty line

The 11 years of conflict have drastically reduced access to food, water and basic services, a situation that has worsened due to the Covid-19 pandemic. To date 90% of the population lives below the poverty line, the national currency lost 78% of its value and food prices increased by 2021% in 97, as reported by Unicef Syria.

Only a third of the schools and half of the hospitals are fully functional. Many families are forced to send their children to work at an early age (child labor in the country is 22%). What makes the scenario even more dramatic is the heavy drought, which is causing the level of rivers to drop and aggravating the water crisis. There are about 12 million people in the country who do not have access to drinking water and basic sanitation.

Syria is hell, as the distressing images from the country testify. Today, instead of that flash of joy and hope, only terror and resignation can be seen in the eyes of Syrian children. Let's not forget them.

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Fonti: UNICEF Siria/Save the Children