F
ive years. It’s the time
fromblowingout the
candleon your first
birthday cake to your
first day at school. Five
years. You’vehad tochange your
passport twicebecause your looks have
changed somuch. Five years. The time
betweenbecoming a teenager to
entering adulthood. Five years is a very
long time in a child’s life.
It’s alsohow long thewar inSyria,
whichbrokeout inMarch2011, hasbeen
raging. For the youngest Syrianchildren,
the stateofwar is all they know.
Rokan, six, can recall someof her
early life inAleppo, althoughher
five-year-oldbrotherMahmoudbarely
remembers their home. But their
mother Sabeen knows how thebombs
camecloser to their house andhowher
childrenhaddifficulty sleeping. Andhow
the sounds of fighting scared them, and
howhard itwas to leaveeverything they
knewbehind.
NowRokan andMahmoud are laughing
whileplayingwithhandpuppets at
Ahlam al-Tofoola kindergarten, in the
city of Tartus, Syria. Togetherwith50
other internally displacedchildren
they arecheckingout their new toys
from Ikea. “I loveplayingwith it,” says
Rokan. “I loveeverything about the
kindergarten. I like to learn andhave
friends toplaywith.”
The family has been in Tartus for two
years now and Sabeenhas noticed a
significant improvement inher children’s
behaviour since they joined theUNICEF
kindergarten. “They are sleepingbetter,
and aremore talkative andenthusiastic
about learningnow,” she says.
U
n
icef
Calling for anend tofive yearsof suffering
NorwegianandUNICEFhavebeenworking together for children since2007. As a
SignaturePartner toUNICEF,Norwegian supports theorganisation’swork, giving
children thebest possible start in life, anda safeandhappychildhood.
WORDS: HELENE SANDBU RYENG PHOTO: UNICEF/YOUNGMEYER
Thewar inSyriabeganfiveyearsago thismonth. Ithas toendnow, saysUNICEF
Six-year-oldRokanandher
brotherMahmoud, five,
playat kindergarten in the
cityof Tartus, Syria
UNICEFprovides relief tochildren
and families living as refugees outside
Syria and families still living inside the
war-torncountry. But theonlyway to
truly end the suffering is for thewar
tocome to anend. UNICEF and theUN
are appealingnot only to governments
but toeachof you to add your voices
inurging anend to the carnage– to
encourage all parties to agreeon a
ceasefire and apath topeace.
Thosewith the ability to stop the
suffering can – and should – take
action now. Until there is a diplomatic
solution to the fighting, such action
should include unimpeded and
sustained access for humanitarian
organisations tobring immediate relief
to all those in need inside Syria. Any
action also needs to include cessation
of attacks on civilian infrastructure
so schools, hospitals andwater
supplies are kept safe.
In the nameof our sharedhumanity,
for the sakeof themillions of innocents
whohave already suffered somuch
– and for themillionsmorewhose
lives and futures hang in thebalance,
UNICEF and theUN call for actionnow.
unicef.no
n
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