Children are suffering in the latest escalation in the nine-year Syrian civil war as civilians face a bleak choice — leave for a life of misery in overcrowded makeshift camps or die. Those are the only options as the Syrian government and its Russian backers pummel the more than 3 million civilians stuck in the last opposition enclave in northwestern Syria. The crisis in northwest Syria is turning into a child protection crisis of unprecedented scale. Violence over the past week has forced 6,500 children to flee every day," said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore on Saturday. UNICEF estimates that more than 300,000 have been displaced since December and that 1.2 million children are in desperate need.
Mohammad, an 11-year-old who loves to study and hopes to grow up to be a teacher, is one of those children. He was forced to flee with his family after a barrel bomb destroyed half of his home in the town of Saraqib in Idlib province. Now, he and the family live in squalid conditions in a muddy field with open sewage and barely any clean running water. He and his friends, some without proper footwear, play in the brown puddles of water to pass the time. Mohammad told CNN if he had a magic wand, he would transform his reality. "I will get rid of the sewage water and fix the camp and won't let the regime advance in any area or let airstrikes take place" he said. Everything is in short supply including food, water, and medicine. Some families have found a place to live in public facilities like schools or mosques. Others live in buildings that are effectively unfinished construction sites. "Many are simply living in the open air including in parks, amidst heavy rains and in the freezing cold. Access to the most basic services like health, water or sanitation is either very limited or non-existent," Fore said.
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