Syria Today | Poster Children for Change

Not only did Syria's children ignite their country's upheaval, but they are also playing an active role in developing it.

By Sarah Abu Assali
Photo Adel Samara

Little Aya sang at the top of her lungs: "I cherish your land, Syria!" When asked if she understood what she was saying, my three-year-old neighbour, who can barely speak, retorted, "God, Syria, and Bashar, only!" Although young, Syrian children are not isolated from their society; nor are they immune to the wide-spread violence now afflicting it. Most controversially, they have proved to be highly effective focal points of warring media campaigns whose spotlights do nothing to shelter them from turmoil.

Songs of innocence
Accounts of children chanting the same colourful, harsh slogans that protestors use in demonstrations are increasingly common. While reciting pro- or anti-regime slogans may have been a common ritual since the unrest began, children nowadays tend to do so even on their way to school or while playing in the park, as a way of acting out their direct and intense exposure to this new culture of public expression.

On one side of the spectrum, in footage of rallies supporting the government, one can see children riding on adults' shoulders, their faces painted with the colours of the Syrian flag and their hands clutching pictures of the president.

On the other, on channels like Al-Jazeera, kids can be seen protesting along with adults, holding banners condemning the violence and calling for freedom and the "fall of the regime".

Perhaps the most disturbing image circulated by media outlets was of an infant from the blockaded city of Dera'a with black letters on his forehead reading "I'm hungry!" As a result, more than four hundred Syrian artists and cultural figures signed the "milk statement" appealing to the Syrian government to allow food and medication aid into the city.

Tragically, the scene is not as innocent as some images might imply. According to the Violation Documentation Centre, more than 200 children have been killed and more than 230 have been detained since the crisis erupted eight months ago, with many more internally and externally displaced. However, these numbers have not been recognised by the Syrian authorities who also have not published any reports or data regarding this issue.

A UN fact-finding mission on the crisis in Syria that issued its report in August cited unlawful arrests of children and the torture of young detainees. It also found children who had been "shot by snipers" and attacked during protests.

Most famously, the arrest of 15 students in Dera'a in February for having sprayed their school's walls with graffiti calling for the fall of regime turned to be one of the first sparks that ignited the uprising in Syria.

In May, 13-year-old Hamza al-Khatib became the revolution's best-known child martyr when the image of his tortured body outraged local and international activists. The Friday protests following his death were dedicated to his soul, and he was the subject of prolonged media reports and Facebook tributes.

In mid-April, an army officer in Homs, Kheder al-Tallawi, was killed by gunfire along with his two teenage sons and nephew. Their bodies were brutally mutilated by armed groups, according to state-run media, and they were, unlike Khatib, officially recognized as child martyrs.

But since then, the media has paid little attention to violence against other children.

A father whose five-year-old was killed in September in Al-Rastan, close to Homs, told the Daily Telegraph that "the entire world was concerned about the killing of Hamza Khatib, but no one cares anymore about other children that are being killed every day in order to fuel the battle."

Classroom rebels
On the first day of the new scholastic term, thousands of students in the suburbs of Damascus, Dera'a, Homs, and other cities came up with a slogan expressing their open rebellion: "no studying until the fall of the regime," according to media reports.

Since then, dozens of videos posted on YouTube show pre-teen student rallies in almost every region of the country protesting against the regime. Others show children's corpses allegedly killed by security forces during protests.

Being arrested is another threat that young protesters face. On September 28, Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported that activists announced the detention of 60 school girls in suburban Damascus following their participation in an after-school protest. After prolonged negotiations, the girls were reportedly traded for their fathers. There was no official comment on this incident.

Syria is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) which stipulates the right of children to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and protection from violence. In a press statement, UNICEF urged the Syrian government to ensure that the new school year "takes place within a safe and protective environment for children and adolescents". However, even if protesting may be considered a form of expression, without measures to protect participants, there is no doubt that it remains risky.

Wishful children, parents' plight
When asked, parents and children revealed wildly different attitudes towards this right.

Um Ibrahim, 45, a mother of five, says she refuses to let any of her children participate in protests of any kind, because she cannot afford to lose any of them, even if it was for a higher purpose.

"Amidst all the violence in the streets, who cares about the freedom of expression?" she exclaimed. "I'm not sure if all children are aware of the reason why they are going out in the first place," the mother, who lives in the troubled area of Mu'adamyeh near Damascus, added.

On the other hand, Waleed Fares, France 24's observer in Homs, argued that everyone should be part of the revolution.

"I regularly go out to protest with my wife and 4-year-old son," he said firmly. "We are ready to sacrifice whatever is necessary for this regime to fall."

Syria Today interviewed two high school students from Duma who have been taking part in children's protests since the school year started. They both agreed that they are joining their friends in this new trend to provide support and give momentum to the revolution.

"Lest the martyrs' blood go in vain," said 17-year-old Ahmed about his decision to protest. While for Ahmed taking to the streets is a personal decision, Wa'el is encouraged by his parents to do so. When asked whether they fear being arrested or killed while protesting in public, Ahmed said, "I am not the least afraid of death." His friend responded: "we are not different than our people who are dying in Dera'a or Homs."

Who is to blame?
Are these children acting on their own, imitating what they see on TV, or being organised – and manipulated – by adults?

"When school started, it was suggested that perhaps activists should encourage protests in the schools," Wissam Tarif, a researcher with the campaign group Avaaz, told The Financial Times.

However, Local Coordination Committees imply on their Facebook pages that student protests are entirely spontaneous.

Social media activists claim that while some teachers mobilise students to protest, others encourage pupils to decorate their textbooks with pictures of the president or sing anthems praising him.

Regardless of politics, Syria's younger generation is now subjected to stresses that will affect their lives irreversibly.

"During and after difficult circumstances, like political and community violence, children and adolescents may see their world as out of control and no longer dependable," a psycho-social counsellor, who wished to remain anonymous, told Syria Today. The specialist argued that traumatised children could develop radical changes of attitude, and that this could often result in "low academic achievements or dropping out of school".

According to the counsellor, "as witnesses and survivors, they [children] may feel extremely threatened, unsafe, isolated, hopeless and angry with themselves and with the adults who were supposed to protect them from harm."