Author: Dunia Mohammed

Content (text): 
Perhaps the sun of Huran once warmed those children as they played in the streets of Daraa. Maybe an idea crossed one of their minds; perhaps they schemed when they heard whispers of the elders talking about "walls have ears..." No one knows how they inscribed that phrase with their tender fingers on the very walls. Still, all Syrians know that a spray and four words laid enough courage to shake the elements of the regime's security apparatus that arrested the "Children of Daraa." And within them resided enough revolutionary essence to inspire a city... cities... an entire homeland.
Did the children of Daraa realize they would be the spark igniting the fire of outrage against injustice? What about the Syrian children who grew up amid the revolution for over 11 years? How did those events shape their awareness? What does their reality look like today? What are their aspirations? And how do they perceive the world through the lens of what has transpired?!
"The Revolution Shaped My Personality Uniquely"
"I was exactly eight years and four months old when the revolution started," M recounts his story, adding, "For me, despite my young age at that time, the justifications and motives of the revolution were clear. My family made sure to educate me about the importance and necessity of something like this happening. They emphasized that this country needed reform through a revolution. However, I don't think it was necessarily clear to all the children of my generation. Perhaps their awareness formed later during the years of the war."
"At that age, my greatest dream was to grow up and become an engineer. What happened did not diminish my determination toward that dream. I am walking on that path today, God willing. However, the events generally distinctively shaped my personality and aspirations. They built a stronger character within me, capable of enduring challenging circumstances and possessing greater ambitions, increasingly determined to achieve them as I aspire for a better life... beyond the confines of the prison we live in."
This young man talks about his present and says: "My present is bad, lacking the basics and pillars of a dignified life, with no possibility of securing them in the near future. The reality I live in today as a young Syrian man is that I had to double the work of developing myself twice as much as any other young man to secure a normal life in the future. I often think that I must raise my future children away from here, away from this place that does not value man in any way."
"My future aspirations revolve around building a simple, calm, and peaceful family in a country that respects us, bringing me closer to the people I love. My professional aspirations are also high; I aspire to launch an independent project that documents what happened in Syria without funding from any entity trying to impose its views. It will be a project that presents only the facts because that's what I believe in."
Looking back, M reflects on his past experiences, saying, "My biggest loss was losing my father in 2014 due to deteriorating security conditions while he was traveling within Syria for work. That was a long time ago. I tried to cope with it at the time and attempted to bear the responsibility, even emotionally, despite being young. My attempts continue... They grow with each passing year as I mature further. Losing my father was extremely difficult and left deep marks, but life goes on. God compensated me with great people who became my support during the tough and dark times. Their support was instrumental in overcoming my losses and coping with my reality... All these factors combined have shaped the person I am today."
"The Utopia Faded in My Eyes"
Adeeb, a young man from Homs currently residing in Istanbul, says, "The revolution started when I was very young, only 13 years old. In the beginning, the revolution didn't have clear outlines for me. I had no idea what was happening on the streets; I was just enthusiastic about some chants." He continues, "After about three weeks, I witnessed a scene I had never seen before! I saw the arrest of one of the protesters right in front of me. They were beating him aggressively in a way I couldn't comprehend. Questions started to flood my mind, and as a child, the intensity of what I saw was overwhelming. My father called me over, sat me down, and asked, 'Do you now understand why I was arrested?'"
Adeeb explains, "I knew he had been previously detained for 15 years, but I was forbidden from asking about the charges, which always piqued my curiosity. When I asked my father, 'Why? Did you join protests?' At that moment, my father realized that the utopia I saw the world through had vanished in my eyes. I came to understand at a very young age what it means for a person to demand their rights and freedoms under such a regime.
Adeeb narrates another chapter of his story: "3 June 2011 was the 'Children of Freedom' Friday, and it was the first protest I participated in. My father gave me strict advice, mostly centered around avoiding arrest! Imagine my father preferring me to get shot rather than being arrested. I would be then like Hamza Al-Khatib. He was almost my age when he faced arrest and the worst forms of torture by the regime. Despite this, I continued participating in protests, with my last one in May 2012 at the Construction Neighborhood."
Adeeb reflects on the personal impact of these events, saying, "In the eighth grade, I missed a whole year of school due to the shelling that hit all of Homs. That grade was crucial academically for the following years. Losing that educational foundation caused me to struggle to catch up in the subsequent years. Later, after leaving Syria like many other Syrian families, we crossed borders, escaping death or arrest. With gratitude to God, I graduated in Biomedical Engineering in Turkey, reaping the rewards of the efforts I put into learning Turkish and overcoming the challenges faced by international students abroad. I also mastered photography, which has become integral to me."
"Regarding work and studies, things are good, thank God. However, compared to my peers of other nationalities, I lack stability in my home country. I lack the memories of family in a single home. I've moved between houses and cities so much that I no longer feel connected to the land I'm on or the home I live in."
Adeeb continues talking about his dreams, awareness, and aspirations, saying, "The revolution began at an age where I hadn't yet had dreams. By the time I reached adolescence, I dreamed of the regime's downfall. I never imagined that towns would be destroyed overnight, entire neighborhoods demolished. I never thought the dream of freedom and the regime's fall would accompany me into my youth."
"I can't say that I had losses; every time I thought it was a loss, I realized I had gained, thanks to God. The revolution was a blessing bestowed upon me by God. It expanded my knowledge and horizons significantly. I can never imagine myself living without purpose, ambition, thought, or awareness! This had a fundamental impact on me and on many who participated in this blessed revolution. I look at myself today and say: Adeeb wouldn't be Adeeb now if the revolution hadn't risen, if he hadn't ventured out of his home and country, exploring one path after another, learning, seeing, and discovering new doors and horizons toward this world."
"After 11 years of the revolution, it became clear that this world is full of land es and filth. We lived through the war and its course and witnessed countries' stances toward our revolution and how they tried to extinguish and tarnish it using all means, while the revolution is not like that. I can no longer believe in their false humanity. With its major events, the world became more apparent to me and my peers who experienced what happened. We now know our enemies closely; false slogans and hidden agendas are exposed to us. Through this, everyone who emerged from the womb of the revolution has a full awareness and complete belief that this world is worse than we expected. What matters is that the revolution remains within us, and we always strive to support it by all possible means. We say that this regime is unjust, and this country is ours. One day, we will return to it with dignity, while they will leave it humiliated, God willing."
"A Dark Present and an Unknown Hazy Future"
"The toughest cases I've dealt with are those children and adolescents who developed a negative idea about this country due to the war. It has become difficult to make them understand their role in Syrian society and its legitimate revolution," says A, a trainer in psychosocial support for children and adolescents. He continues, "The difficulty in dealing with cases varies based on the level of suffering they've experienced. Those who endured sieges, for example, aren't similar to those who were displaced. Those who were impoverished before the revolution differ from those who suffered financially due to Assad's war."
He speaks more about the specifics of some cases, saying: "After the siege was lifted from one of the neighborhoods in my city, the adolescents living there had issues related to academic delays, but the worst part was their severe psychological trauma. It was challenging to communicate and connect with them to the extent that some completely fell into tears, crying and appearing utterly devastated."
"Despite the tragedies of the ongoing war, did the revolution contribute to raising awareness among Syrian children and positively affect their maturation process?" A responds to this question by saying: "Yes, indeed. That aspect related to the understanding of Syrian children and adolescents about reality and their perspective on life matured too early during the years of the revolution and the suffering caused by the war that was waged to suppress it. All those unstable and non-ideal conditions undeniably shaped facets of their personalities. Those who mature amidst hardship - with all its sorrow and difficulty - tend to be ahead in understanding life. Syrian children and youth today have opened up to principles and constants that we, at their age, hadn't comprehended. In the initial years, we attempted through volunteer activities in associations and civil organizations to harness this state positively, aiming to stimulate their initiative spirit and employ it within a reformative framework that would contribute to building the future Syria."
A continues, "I am saddened today by the deteriorating state of schools, with governmental institutions undermining what civil associations have tried to structure within the minds of young adolescents and no longer allowing for the provision of safe spaces for them. The problem is no longer confined to the aftermath of the war; instead, it's a systemic issue that plagues the country. The situation grows bleaker by the day. Due to the country's challenging conditions, parents, educators, and teachers have become preoccupied mentally and emotionally, diverting their attention away from caring for, nurturing, finding solutions, and improving the environments of this demographic."
Despite all this, the circumstances are challenging and lagging, and that's true. The reality is complicated due to the war and the scarcity of developmental social environments. Yes, that's true. The future is hazy and unknown. That's also true. However, none of this will prevent Syrian children and adolescents from reaching their aspirations; that is my conviction.
Syrian Children are Paying the Price of Assad's War
Reports from international organizations state that children have paid the heaviest price due to the war waged by the Assad regime on Syrians. In its latest report,  UNICEF documented the killing and injury of nearly 13,000 children more than a decade after the start of the revolution, averaging more than three children per day.
The report also addresses one of the worst crises caused by the Assad war: the education crisis, described as the largest in recent history. By March 2022, the number of children and adolescents out of school exceeded 3 million. Educational facilities are drained, with many destroyed, damaged, repurposed for displaced families, or used for military purposes. A report by Human Rights Watch supports this, stating that three out of every ten schools are either destroyed or unfit for use, making education one of the greatest challenges facing Syrian children and adolescents.
In the same context, we can't overlook the discussion about the psychological scars of war. A report prepared by UNICEF last year highlighted a dramatic increase in the number of children and adolescents showing symptoms of psychological and social distress due to continuous exposure to violence, intense fear, and trauma. This will have a significant impact on their mental health in both the short and long term. 
The same report highlights that 90% of Syrian children who survived require support across various fronts due to critical issues. One of these pressing problems is food insecurity, leading to chronic malnutrition, affecting over half a million children under the age of five with stunted growth.
A previous report from the same organization highlighted general shortcomings in providing healthcare to children and adolescents. It emphasized that beyond bombs, bullets, and explosions, many silently die due to diseases that could have been easily preventable. It stressed that it's unacceptable for access to healthcare, life-saving supplies, and essential services to remain extremely challenging for children and adolescents.
It's also mentioned, according to statistics from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights issued in December of last year, that around 5 million children were born in Syria during the war launched by the regime. These millions know nothing but death, displacement, and destruction. In conflict areas, they face violence, harm, abduction, forced labor, and sexual exploitation. Syrian children constitute the majority of refugee children worldwide.
With everything that has been recounted, it seems as if the torture suffered by the children of Daraa at the hands of the Assad regime extended to encompass all Syrian children over 11 years of its war against the Syrian revolution. It was a revolution in which children played a role in its eruption. One of its prominent motivations was securing a better future for them. This revolution left its mark on their souls and shaped their visions, allowing them to grow up within and because of it.