The Search for Syrian Refugee Child #1 Million

Number of Syrian refugees tops 2 million, some 52 per cent of this population are children aged 17 years or below, which represents more than 1 million Syrian refugee children.

Imagine you've become front-page news worldwide, but can't even read your own story because your school was bombed before you learned to read.

We set out to track down the Syrian conflict's one-millionth refugee child, to uncover the face behind the statistic. Our journey took us through makeshift refugee quarters where families who once owned double-story villas now share a single room partitioned by a curtain… To makeshift clinics where pregnant refugees suddenly go into labor in the sweltering heat… To schools where the eyes of young refugees have seen so much horror that the volunteer teachers themselves are traumatized.

After a physically and emotionally exhausting odyssey, we finally tracked down “Refugee Child #1 Million” - but in a shocking twist, we wished we never had…  

Imagine you're the millionth refugee child but you can't even count to five on your fingers, because you lost two fingers when you were pulled out of the rubble of your home.   

You do know how many ‘three' is, because that's the number of siblings you lost. You know how many ‘four' is, because that's your age.

You don't know your birthday; in fact you don't even have identification papers, because you're one of the over 100,000 awaiting registration among more than 700,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon.   

At three, you were forcibly removed from your home, right after losing your parents, and dragged covertly across a country of exploding homes and destroyed families. Now your only family is your 5-year-old sister who can't clean your clothes, and can only speak a little better than you do.

The reason we're not quoting this child, is because he hasn't uttered a single word in over a year. The trauma finally became too heavy for his innocent, fragile mind, and he has verbally shut down. It's a defense mechanism that child psychologists see more and more among refugee children.

We can wake up from such a nightmare. But these children's lives are infinitely worse, and they can't wake up from reality.

By the beginning of September, the number of Syrian refugees topped two million. UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said Syria had become "a disgraceful humanitarian calamity with suffering and displacement unparalleled in recent history." He added that "the only solace is the humanity shown by the neighbouring countries in welcoming and saving the lives of so many refugees." The 2 million figure represents Syrians who have registered as refugees or who are pending registration. As of the end August this comprised 110,000 in Egypt, 168,000 in Iraq, 515,000 in Jordan, 716,000 in Lebanon and 460,000 in Turkey.
         
To lessen the burden on the generous neighboring countries, the Big Heart Campaign was launched by Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, UNHCR Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children, who said: “Let's show these children that we stand by their side and spare no effort in giving life-changing, life-saving hope.”

Like the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the First World War, the world may never know Child Refugee #1 Million. But he is all of us.

This isn't just the story of the one-millionth child refugee, but a blend of the tragic life stories of all the other one million  Syrian refugee children.

Help these children sleep in peace:

SMS “Donate”:

Etisalat: 2000 (AED10), 2002 (AED50), 2003 (AED100)
du: 9965 (AED10), 9967 (AED50), 9968 (AED100)

Bank Details:

Account Name: Salam Ya Seghar “For Syrian Refugee Children”
Account Number: 00344 3043 0012 (Kindly write the bank account number behind your cheque)
IBAN: AE5804 100000 3443043 0012