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Hadi Barakat

Mr. Phillips

AP Language and Composition

04 December 2017

The Psychological Toll of the Syrian Civil War on Children

It seems as if we’ve been hearing the same thing about Syria forever. For more than six years, the

Syrian civil war has raged on, with at least 400,000 fatalities, to go along with over 5 million people

fleeing the country and 6.3 million being displaced internally, making it the worst humanitarian crisis

since the Holocaust. Children have been a prime victim of this conflict, having been exposed to extreme

violence and terror. For a large part of their lives, they have not only feared for others, but they have

feared for their own lives, as well. It is easy to see somebody’s scars when they are physical, but the

psychological scars that these children have sustained have often been overlooked and gone unnoticed.

Due to the constant chaos and terror, the Syrian civil war has resulted in the severe trauma of children’s

mental health, with evidence revealing that a wide variety of psychological disorders have plagued these

children with very little medical assistance or support to help ease their pain.

Ever since 2011, children in Syria have been continuously scarred by the violence and tragedy

they experienced day in and day out. It is undeniable that some amount of psychological damage will be

done, but a recent study conducted by Save the Children gave their distress a whole new term: toxic stress

(McDonald). It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that this war had a major psychological effect on

children, but the severity of this problem shows that it was underestimated by and far.

According to Save the Children’s research, about two-thirds of Syrian children are said to have

lost a loved one. This may be why “49% said children regularly or always have feelings of grief or

extreme sadness and 78% have these feelings at least some of the time” (McDonald). Not only has grief

and sadness been a problem for Syrian children going through the war, but actual mental disorders have

plagued a great deal of them. Speech impairment has been a huge factor, with 48% of adults having seen

children who have lost the ability to speak or who have developed speech impediments since the start of
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the war. Symptoms of PTSD and other anxiety disorders have also seen a sharp increase, with 80% saying

that children and adolescents have become more aggressive, and 71% saying that children increasingly

suffer from frequent bedwetting and involuntary urination – both common symptoms of toxic stress and

PTSD among children. Additionally, according to a study by the Swedish Red Cross, 1 in 3 Syrian

refugees suffers from depression, anxiety and symptoms of PTSD (Migrant). When in need of support

and affection, children have nobody to go to, with one in four children saying that they rarely or never

have a place to go or someone to talk to when they are scared, sad, or upset. In an interview with

Huffington Post, Dr. Zaher Sahloul, former president of the Syrian American Medical Society, feared that

“we will see widespread incidents of mental health problems developing in the areas where children

witness bombings and violence.” (Bradford)

Unfortunately, the woes of these children have largely gone unnoticed, amplifying the effects of

their mental health issues. The Brookings Institution reports that there is only one partially functioning

mental hospital in all of Syria, and “in some regions of more than 1 million people, those interviewed said

there was only one professional psychiatrist” (Karasapan). There is nobody in Syria who can properly

support them; they are left alone with the mental disorders that hurt them everyday. As a result, “Children

are demonstrating symptoms of constant stress, including bedwetting, self-inflicted harm and suicide

attempts, along with aggressive and withdrawn behavior” (Epatko). Despite these reports and outcries,

conflict remains in Syria, and continues to affect these children’s mental health.

It is for this reason that some people say we can’t and shouldn’t try to help them right now.

“Some throw their hands in the air and say that the Syrian conflict is too brutal and too complicated to be

tackled” (Buswell). They don’t want to aggravate any groups or risk any lives. Misty Buswell is correct in

saying that there is no end to these children’s psychological pain without an end to the war. The risk one

would be putting themselves in by going to help them is nowhere near the risk these children are in every

second of their lives. Helping them is by no means choosing a political side, it is simply a humanitarian

mission that would be wrong for any party to oppose.

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For those who cite the presence of terrorist groups as a reason for not going to the Middle East

and helping Syrian children, it is worth knowing that those same terrorist groups exploit children

suffering from anxiety and these mental disorders. According to Dr. Zaher Sahloul, they use troubled

children by promising them a better life (and afterlife) and an ultimate victory (Bradford).

This is a strong coping mechanism for societies where religion plays a major factor, and terrorists

use this indoctrination to deal with mental health issues within their group. Sometimes people

with mental health problems who display aggression will gravitate towards groups that promote

violence because these groups allow them to vent their aggression through violence. (Bradford)

By helping the children with mental health issues, we would also be lowering the amount of youth who

get drawn into these terrorist organizations. Furthermore, by helping these disadvantaged children, we

would be one step closer to recovering Syria from this tragic war that they have endured for years. Syria

can only be truly recovered when its younger generation can think and feel normally once again.

With all of this said, the question remains: How do we help these children? Actually, progress is

already being made, according to Mike Cummings of YaleNews:

The Mercy Corps program, launched in 2014 for Syrian refugee and Jordanian youth, is a

structured program called Advancing Adolescents. It consists of group-based activities and

skills-building, led by trained adult coaches from the local area, designed to reduce the effects of

profound stress and build strong ties to family and community. (Cummings)

This program is a giant leap in the right direction, and there is another group of Syrian children who are

benefitting from these types of programs: refugees. In a study conducted by New York University in

Turkey, it was found that digital games improved the mental health and educational outcome of Syrian

refugee children (Digital). If we commit to funding research and programs such as these, there is no

telling how much progress can be made in the mental healing of these children.

With all of this in mind, it is important to note that this process will be long and painful. Some

children may never be fully healed from the images they saw in this violent, gruesome conflict. However,

for some, there is still hope. To look back on this war years from now and say that we did nothing for
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these poor children would be utterly shameful. These children are not only suffering from an exterior

pain; they have internal scars, as well. It is for this reason that the whole world should put aside its

differences and agree that this tragedy has gone unnoticed for far too long, and that the time for action is

now.

Works Cited

Bradford, Alexandra. “In Syria's War, 'Mental Health Is The Last Priority'.” The Huffington Post,

TheHuffingtonPost.com, 8 Sept. 2017,

www.huffingtonpost.com. Accessed 29 November 2017.

Buswell, Misty. “Invisible Wounds of Syria’s War-Scarred Children.” Euronews, 6 Mar. 2017,

www.euronews.com. Accessed 30 November 2017.

Cummings, Mike. “Study: Humanitarian Program Benefits Mental Health of Syrian Refugee Youth.”
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YaleNews, 4 Oct. 2017, news.yale.edu. Accessed 29 November 2017.

“Digital Game Intervention Improves Mental Health and Educational Outcomes of Syrian Refugee

Children.” NYU, NYU Web Communications, 6 June 2017, www.nyu.edu. Accessed 30

November 2017.

Epatko, Larisa. “1 In 4 Syrian Children at Risk of Mental Health Disorders, New Report Says.” PBS,

Public Broadcasting Service, 6 Mar. 2017, www.pbs.org. Accessed 30 November 17.

Karasapan, Omer. “Syria's Mental Health Crisis.” Brookings, Brookings, 28 July 2016,

www.brookings.edu. Accessed 30 November 2017.

McDonald, Alun. “Invisible Wounds.” Syrian Association for Mental Health,

www.syriasamh.com. Accessed 29 November 2017.

“Migrant Populations, Including Children, at Higher Risk of Mental Health Disorders.” WHO/Europe,

World Health Organization, 7 Apr. 2017, www.euro.who.int. Accessed 29 November 2017