Syria’s children haunted by the toxic stress of six-year conflict

They live in fear of being killed or maimed by bombs. They have seen loved ones die.聽

They suffer from nightmares and stress. Some of them stutter or wet their beds. Others have amnesia, headaches and chest pains.

These are Syria国产视频檚 children – haunted by the sights and sounds of six long years of conflict.聽

国产视频淚 feel depressed and as if I国产视频檓 in another world.聽When I wake up I realise that I国产视频檓 still here and聽then I cannot move my body,国产视频� said 15-year-old Mohammed from Eastern Ghouta.

A聽teacher in the聽town of Madaya said the children there are “psychologically crushed and tired”, adding:聽“When we do activities like singing with them, they聽don国产视频檛 respond at all. They don国产视频檛 laugh like they聽would normally.聽

“They draw images of children聽being butchered in the war, or tanks, or the siege聽and the lack of food.国产视频澛�

These awful descriptions have emerged in a research project by Save The Children that found widespread evidence of “toxic stress” and mental health issues among children inside Syria.

It comes soon after 国产视频聽produced a briefing document about how聽toxic stress –聽prolonged exposure to high levels of stress from trauma, violence, neglect or deprivation –聽is affecting the development of children under five in humanitarian emergencies like the Syrian conflict.

Millions of children around the world have spent their whole lives in a war zone – more than 3.7 million of them in Syria.

Save The Children国产视频檚聽Invisible Wounds report, which interviewed more than 450 children, found that:

• 84% of adults and almost all children believe ongoing bombing and shelling is the main cause of psychological stress in children国产视频檚 daily lives
• 50% of children say they never or rarely feel safe at school
• 40% of children say they don国产视频檛 feel safe to play outside, even right outside their own home.
• 89% of adults said children国产视频檚 behaviour has become more fearful and nervous as the war goes on
• 71% said children increasingly suffer from frequent bedwetting and involuntary urination
• There has been a rise in self-harm and suicide attempts among children as young as 12

Children,聽parents and caregivers said the lack of schools and聽education is taking an enormous toll on children and聽leaves them fearful for their future.聽

There have been almost 4000 attacks on schools in Syria and about 150,000 teachers and education staff have fled the country.

Zeinab, a 12-year-old living聽at a displaced persons camp in Hassakeh in the north-east of Syria, said: 聽国产视频淲hen the war came, all the Syrian children forgot everything they learned and now know nothing else except war.聽

“I feel like I国产视频檝e seen so many terrible things. I lost out on two years of school –聽and my brother has grown up and has hardly studied at all. What if I get old and I continue on this same path and I lose out on my entire future?国产视频�

The Save The Children report said: “For 12 to聽14-year-olds in the focus groups, the thing聽that makes them most sad or angry is when their聽schools are bombed or they can no longer attend聽school. Even for children who do attend school,聽almost 50% said they rarely or never feel safe there.”

It said efforts to provide education must go聽hand-in-hand with increased efforts to provide聽children with mental health and psychosocial聽support, including training and equipping teachers聽to respond effectively to the anxiety and trauma聽that children are living through.聽

国产视频淭he children聽are always stressed.聽Constant anxiety,” said Ahmed, a reactional coordinator from Idlib.

“We notice that Syrian children, through our work with聽them, they are not like other children. They国产视频檙e always聽stressed.聽

“Any unfamiliar noise, if a chair moves, or if聽a door bangs shut, they have a reaction. This is the聽result of their fear –聽of the sound of planes, of rockets,聽of war.国产视频�

With many doctors and health professionals having fled the country –聽and the relentless bombing and blocks on aid workers reaching the worst-hit areas – there is little official provision for mental health services, said Save The Children.

Dr Marcia Brophy, Save the Children Senior Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Adviser for the Middle East, said: 聽国产视频淲e are failing children inside Syria, some of whom are being left to cope with harrowing experiences, from witnessing their parents killed in front of them to the horrors of life under siege, without proper support.聽

“We risk condemning a generation of children to a lifetime of mental and physical health problems –聽we need to ensure that children who have already lost six years of their lives to war don国产视频檛 have to lose their whole future as well.国产视频�

国产视频’s #5for5 campaign has been calling on world leaders to invest in early childhood development.聽

That includes ensuring humanitarian emergency responses cover聽the need to care for, nurture and protect babies and toddlers – and particularly those with disabilities and聽the most marginalised groups of children.聽

Without early interventions,聽young children living in war zones聽may never reach their full potential.聽

They will have an increased risk of illness, depression and substance abuse – and their future behaviour and relationships could be affected.