File photo show displaced childrn sheltered under makeshift tents on Muhalak highway in the western part of Aleppo, Credit: UNICEF/Khuder Al-Issa
Even in the midst of extreme adversity – displacement from home with an uncertain future ahead – refugee Syrian children have maintained their dignity and shown resilience as they aspire to do something that may never repeat the horrors of war on others.
Ishmael Beah, a known rights activist and former child soldier, representing UNICEF Advocate for Children Affected by War, has given a first-hand account of how Syrian children continue to be resilien.
“Young people who survive war have an amazing ability to persevere and become the champions for peace that are so needed, despite the horrors they have been through,” said Beah after a visit to refugee camps in Jordan.
Beah underlined the need to respect their rights and empower them so that they can grow to their full potential.
“I know from experience that all that pain, that unimaginable suffering, and that sense of loss of humanity, can all be re-focussed towards something positive […] especially when you have someone who believes in you, supports you and extends a helping hand” he added, according to a UN statement.
Beah, who is internationally renowned for his books, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier and Radiance of Tomorrow, a novel – is a former child soldier from Sierra Leone. He was forcibly recruited at the age of 13 and went through the ordeal of losing his parents and two brothers in the brutal conflict.
During his three-day visit to Jordan, the UNICEF Advocate visited the Za’atari refugee camp and a UNICEF-supported centre for learning and psychosocial support operated in the Jordanian capital Amman to amplify the voices of vulnerable children and young people affected by the conflict in Syria, which is now in its seventh year.
More than 2.5 million children the war-torn country are now refugees, living in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq.
“These young people have been teaching me a lot in return,” said Beah after the trip.
“These young people don’t want to be pitied, they want to have their rights respected and be empowered so that they can grow to their full potential.”
According to the world body, UNICEF together with its partners has trained young people who are refugees or vulnerable host communities as researchers as part of an initiative to freely allow young people – many of whom dropped out of school and started working to help their families make ends meet – to learn about their lives and aspirations.
The research, which is based on the premise that young people are more likely to be open about their thoughts and feelings with other young people, is meant to contribute to better access to education and vocational training.
The UN says the training also equips vulnerable young people with skills to address issues like early marriage, protection against violence and hazardous types of labor.
