Abeer's story

Since 2011, the war in Syria has driven millions from their homes and left the country in ruins. With 13 million children impacted by violence, displacement and missed schooling, an entire generation is at risk of being lost. 

Nine-year-old Abeer loves coming to the IRC’s Safe Healing and Learning Space in Idlib, Syria with her 11-year-old sister Mariam. There she can learn and play with kids like her—a welcome break from the war that has been raging in her country ever since she can remember.

Abeer and Mariam fled with their family to Idlib in 2012 when violence escalated in their home city of Aleppo. The girls often ask their father, Mohammad, why they had to leave home, remembering their toys and house back in Aleppo. Sometimes they ask about bombings they hear. “We don’t tell them everything,” he explains. “We try to protect them as much as possible...but when they have questions we have to give them answers.”

When Mohammad heard that a community center was opening, he immediately signed his daughters up. “Due to the conflict my daughters grew up not being allowed to go out. My eldest daughter Mariam used to have social anxiety; she also used to stutter. I wanted them to interact more with girls their age so that they could overcome their shyness.” He was also eager for them to be exposed to art, music and sports—activities that many schools dropped after the war—and receive psychological support.

 Children living through conflict, like Abeer and Mariam, are at risk of toxic stress, a disruption of neurological and biological processes due to severe, prolonged stress. Unaddressed, toxic stress can have long-term, damaging effects on a child’s brain development, overall health and wellbeing.

Since attending activities at the center, the girls’ confidence has grown exponentially. Abeer dreams of becoming a teacher. Mariam excitedly shares that she wants to be a “doctor for children.” 

“I intend to keep them in the center as long as it’s here,” says their father. “They are happy and that is the main benefit.”

The IRC supports schools and runs safe spaces in Syria and across the region that help reverse the effects of toxic stress and build children’s social and academic skills. We also provide impacted families with healthcare, psychosocial support, protective services, special programs for women and girls, and economic and livelihoods support.