14 million children impacted by conflict in Syria and Iraq

14 million children impacted by conflict in Syria and Iraq: UNICEF

As Syria crisis enters fifth year, more support urged for young adolescents

Donate at: www.unicef.org.nz/syria

Some 14 million children across the region are now suffering from the escalating conflict sweeping Syria and much of Iraq, said UNICEF today.

UNICEF NZ Executive Director Vivien Maidaborn said, “Today marks yet another shameful milestone in this ongoing crisis affecting a staggering number of children – 14 million equates to more than three times the entire population of New Zealand. These children are rapidly in danger of becoming a lost generation.”

With the conflict in Syria now entering its fifth year, children inside the country remain the most desperate. The total number of children affected within Syria is more than 5.6 million including up to 2 million children who are living in areas of the country largely cut off from humanitarian assistance due to fighting or other factors. Some 2.6 million Syrian children are still out of school.

Almost 2 million Syrian children are living as refugees in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and other countries. This is in addition to the 3.6 million children from vulnerable communities hosting refugees, who themselves are suffering due to the strain on services like education and health.
Meanwhile, the increasingly interlinked crisis gripping Iraq has forced more than 2.8 million children from their homes, and left many trapped in areas controlled by armed groups.

UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake added, “For the youngest children, this crisis is all they have ever known. For adolescents entering their formative years, violence and suffering have not only scarred their past; but will shape their futures.
“As the crisis enters its fifth year, this generation of young people is still in danger of being lost to a cycle of violence - replicating in the next generation what they suffered in their own.”

Despite the upheaval caused by the conflict, children and young people continue to demonstrate incredible courage and determination. In a series of new portraits unveiled on a special website, childrenofsyria.info, UNICEF recounts stories such as that of 16-year-old Alaa, who fled his home in the war-torn city of Homs, and is today continuing his studies while leading training courses for other children, and 10-year-old Christina, living in a shelter in the north of Iraq who helps even younger children with their lessons.

“Despite the harm they have suffered, the wrongs they have endured, and the apparent inability of adults to bring an end to this horrific conflict, the children affected by this crisis still have courage and determination to build better lives,” said Lake. “Seeing their determination, how can we be any less determined to help them? Knowing that they have not given up hope, how can we?”

UNICEF is urging longer-term investments to meet the needs of children and adolescents, to equip them with the skills and motivation to build a more stable future for themselves. Such investments, UNICEF says, should include:

· Opportunities for remedial education, vocational training, and recreation for adolescents. With some 5 million Syrian aged between 12 and 18 years old, young people require support that can provide skills and support livelihoods.

· Formal and informal learning opportunities for children impacted by conflict, and certification systems that help maintain pupils’ academic status.

· Services for vulnerable children, including survivors of violence, that provide psychosocial care and assistance.

· Strengthening education and health systems, as well as livelihood support, in host communities so all children affected in some way by the conflict are supported.

The funding needs for this crisis remain vast with UNICEF appealing for $US 903.5 million for 2015.

Ms Maidaborn added, “While this crisis might often seem far removed from our lives in New Zealand, we cannot and must not turn our back on these children. We cannot give up hope. We have a shared responsibility to find ways to protect them from exploitation and abuse, provide them with education and opportunity, and help them heal.”

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