Daraa – Halim Muhammad
On crutches that became a substitute for her amputated leg due to an injury she sustained from a Syrian regime bombardment in 2016, the child Malak walks among her classmates at her school in the countryside of Daraa in southern Syria.
The regime’s shelling on Malak’s home in the town of Yadudah in western Daraa left her with an injury that has taken a psychological toll on her, accompanied by difficulties in coping with her health situation, despite nearly eight years having passed since the injury.
Malak’s brother fared no better; he lost his eyesight and suffered facial and head deformities, while their infant brother died in the bombardment.
Since their return with their family from Jordan to Daraa, the two children have not received necessary treatment, either physically or psychologically, according to their father in an interview with Enab Baladi, which reflects the situation of most war-injured children.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) documented the dropping of more than 11,000 explosive barrels on Daraa governorate between 2012 and 2018 (from the beginning of the Free Syrian Army control to the settlement agreement).
According to the report issued last September, the explosive barrels dropped on Daraa resulted in the deaths of 1,177 civilians, including children and women, accounting for 40% of the total, with the number of child victims being 272 and women 193 adult females.
First journey of treatment
Amid the sound of a shell explosion fired by a tank belonging to the regime forces at their home, Malak’s father rushed into the children’s room and rushed them to one of the regional hospitals. However, the weak medical capabilities in the area prevented them from receiving adequate treatment, so the father took them to Jordan.
During the children’s treatment in Jordan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) offered their father the option to emigrate to Canada and continue their treatment there, but he rejected the idea of emigration and returned with his children to Syria six months after the incident.
The decision to return was not in the best interest of the children, who now live in constant anxiety and fear from the sound of aircraft, shells, or clashes.
The regime took control of all of Daraa in July and August 2018 under a settlement agreement sponsored by Russia, halting the military clashes. However, the governorate remains in a state of security chaos due to ongoing operations and assassination attempts targeting various parties.
The children face harassment from their classmates at school in the absence of psychological or health support from organizations.
Psychological impact
Psychologist Abdullah al-Araj told Enab Baladi that common effects on children who have suffered war injuries, or have gone through life-threatening events, include perceiving the world around them as dangerous.
These children exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress, manifesting as “high levels of anxiety and physical arousal, as well as physical responses resembling startle reactions” when they sense any threat around them, such as rapid heartbeat, sweating, shortness of breath, and muscle tension, according to the psychologist.
Regarding the impact of war injuries on children, the psychologist stated that psychological effects vary in degree, and do not necessarily lead to negative outcomes; rather, the injured individual might adapt to their reality.
Facing bullying
To hide the scars from his injuries, Malak’s brother grows his hair long to cover burns on his neck, in an effort to avoid upsetting comments from classmates, while Malak faces pushing from her peers.
Their father, Saad, mentioned that his children asked him not to send them to school due to bullying from their classmates, despite Malak’s academic excellence.
Psychologist Abdullah al-Araj noted that bullying is a problem that lies primarily with society, beginning with parents who should raise their children to accept and respect others, penalizing any bullying behavior, and acting as role models for their children.
In Syria and similar countries where religious institutions play a moral role to some extent, the next step is for religious institutions to instill ethics, fostering love and respect for others in children and advocating against mockery and bullying.
According to al-Araj, the primary responsibility falls on the educational system, which should create a safe environment free from bullying. The educational staff should monitor student behavior, prevent any harm, and reward positive interactions among students.
Regarding solutions to alleviate the psychological impact on victims, al-Araj emphasized that psychological and physical rehabilitation through treating injuries and their effects is vital for acceptance of one’s situation. This can include providing prosthetics or sessions of psychological support or enhancing the capabilities of the injured.
Organizations indifferent
After the Syrian regime’s control over Daraa governorate in July 2018, the family reviewed the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) in Damascus and Daraa, providing health reports regarding the children’s condition, but the Red Crescent offered little in their treatment other than collecting data and filling out forms, according to their father, Saad.
Malak needs a prosthetic limb that must be replaced every year to keep up with her growth, while her brother requires skin reconstruction surgeries.
A physical therapist residing in Daraa, who requested to remain anonymous, treated cases of children resulting from injuries caused by military operations, clarifying that some war-related injuries have led to mobility paralysis, resulting in the inability to perform certain physical functions, such as limb contractures, or nerve injuries that caused partial paralysis.
Additionally, the therapist explained to Enab Baladi that delays in first aid and administering injections incorrectly in the quadriceps muscle can lead to scarring of this muscle, resulting in motion restrictions in the knee joint, weakened leg muscles, difficulty in walking, and the inability to perform squatting movements. These cases require surgeries and intensive physical therapy over an extended period.
Landmines increase war casualties
The random spread of landmines in Daraa governorate and their explosions have led to numerous casualties, most of whom are children. The engineering units have not removed them, leaving them a danger to civilians, especially in agricultural lands.
On October 3 of this year, a landmine exploded in an agricultural vehicle in the eastern Daraa countryside, resulting in the deaths of two children from Deir Ezzor who were working in agricultural labor in Daraa.
In June 2022, 11 individuals were killed and 35 were injured, including children and women, due to a landmine explosion in a vehicle transporting them to one of the agricultural groves in northern Daraa.
The therapist explained to Enab Baladi that mine injuries, especially those to individuals, often affect the feet, leading to amputations, and tampering with war remnants can result in loss of sight or cause movement or nerve damage, or shrapnel injuries in the body of the affected person.
The SNHR documented in a report issued last April that 3,471 civilians, including 919 children, have been killed since the start of the Syrian revolution due to landmine explosions.