Enab Baladi – Jana al-Issa

He left his home in Syria at the age of 17 and lived an experience of internal displacement within several towns in rural Damascus over the years.

Ahmad al-Issa describes to Enab Baladi how his early youth years passed, including six years in Turkey, where he moved, and he is now 28 years old.

He was unable to achieve any of his youthful dreams amid the war in Syria and the conditions of asylum in Turkey, according to the young man.

Al-Issa’s situation is similar to that of most young people from the 1990s generation, whose early youth coincided with the outbreak of the Syrian revolution. Some were in their first year of university and could not continue, some were forced to leave their personal lives, and others tried to contribute to the change by joining local factions, which completely altered their life paths, or they ended up being victims of the war.

Children of the 1990s are affected

The 1990s generation was affected by a war that has lasted for more than 13 years in Syria, leaving its marks on various economic, social, educational, and even cultural levels.

Who is the 1990s generation?

The 1990s generation refers to people born in the 1990s of the 20th century, from 1990 to 1999.

When the Syrian revolution began in 2011, their ages ranged from 12 to 21 years.

In 2024, this generation’s ages will range from 25 to 34 years.

War conditions and their aftermath led some to emigrate outside Syria, and among them, those whose situation on various levels is not much better than those who did not have the opportunity to migrate, given that both groups suffer from a loss of achieving their professional or educational aspirations, in addition to the absence of familial stability for many of them.

The fate of the 1990s generation of Syrians today largely depends on individual and geographical circumstances, in general. The war has left deep scars on this generation’s life and shaped their way of thinking and aspirations for the future.

As a result of the war, children of this generation are scattered around the world. Some remained inside Syria in difficult conditions that barely covered a small part of their needs, while many live in camps in northern Syria, in addition to those who found that asylum outside the country might help them build a better future.

The effects of the war have also extended to the mental health of this generation, like most Syrians, as many of them suffer from psychological traumas that need support and treatment.

Moreover, social and emotional life has not escaped the toll of the aftermath, manifested in the disintegration of families and communities due to displacement and migration. Many young people face difficulties in establishing stable romantic relationships due to economic and social conditions; some may postpone marriage, while others strive to form relationships amidst challenging circumstances.

As a result of community disintegration and emigration, many young people feel lonely and isolated, which negatively affects their mental health and increases life pressures.

28 years of instability

Ahmad al-Issa (born February 1996) believes that the 1990s generation was impacted by the war more than any other generation, for many reasons that he cannot fully explain. One of these reasons is that the period during which young people should establish their lives and careers was marked by internal displacement and travel abroad. This generation did not enjoy the stability to work towards its future.

Al-Issa, as he told Enab Baladi, attempted to settle down through various jobs in Turkey, all of which he worked in for the first time, given his young age and inability to master a particular profession after leaving Syria a month before the free high school diploma exams he intended to take after studying at home for a whole year.

In Turkey, living and economic conditions were not conducive to continuing his studies, forcing him to work sometimes more than 12 hours a day, six days a week.

For six years, the young man lived in Turkey without being able to acquire education, save enough money to establish his business, or even meet a girl for marriage and start a family.

Living conditions, economic status, as well as legal aspects led al-Issa to consider migrating to European Union countries, seeking an unknown stability he heard about from friends who had preceded him there.

On his journey of migration from Turkey to Germany through more than seven countries, al-Issa said, “I saw exhaustion, hunger, imprisonment, beating, cold, pain, racism, and animals I had only seen on television,” as a result of crossing the countries through forests and designated smuggling routes.

Since arriving in Germany in 2021, al-Issa has been trying to plan his future anew. Three years have passed during which he has been trying to learn the language and learn a profession that could lay the foundation for his own business, without yet finding the time to think about his romantic or social life, he said.

Al-Issa expresses regret that he reached the age of 28 without having the opportunity to meet a suitable girl to be his wife, attributing this, on one hand, to not feeling entirely stable enough to take this step seriously, and on the other, to being preoccupied with securing his livelihood and meeting his responsibilities towards his family, who still reside in rural Damascus.

Burning stages of life

Dima (born 1994), who lives in the city of Homs in central Syria, believes that the 1990s generation has been significantly negatively affected by the war, and that everyone has their own unique experience that has impacted all aspects of life, as she told Enab Baladi.

“The war affected us a lot, it made us burn stages of our life,” Dima described, indicating that she was supposed to continue her university studies immediately after high school, but the war delayed this step, and marriage introduced new requirements.

Dima was unable to continue her university studies in the Faculty of Education – Teacher of Classroom until after she had two daughters. Due to her social situation, she lived her university life as a burden to graduate and be done with it, instead of treating it as a dream she wished to achieve.

The 1990s generation feels they are “older than their age,” Dima observes, for several reasons, including the responsibility they carry towards themselves and their families on one hand, and the absence of stability and security in various aspects on the other.

Adnan al-Imam, born in 1993, was also forced to leave his studies at the Institute of Business Administration in the first year due to his joining the revolution and being unable to visit the city of Aleppo, where he was residing and studying.

Al-Imam, who now lives in the city of al-Dana in the Idlib countryside, confirmed the significant impact of the war on the 1990s generation, particularly concerning their educational and professional ambitions, as well as losing their real estate due to displacement and emigration, forcing them to start from scratch in geographical areas they had never visited before.

Many of al-Imam’s friends could not complete their studies due to the war, while some of them still work in temporary jobs without being able to obtain specialized professions.

Deaths and migration

There are no statistics or academic studies indicating to what extent the 1990s generation was affected by the war in various aspects. However, studies about the impact of war on the population confirm the negative effect on all residents of all ages in terms of education, mental health, social relationships, economic status, and more.

According to a 2020 study from the American National Library of Medicine on the impact of the Syrian conflict on the well-being of the population, residents of Syria are experiencing a sharp decline in their well-being during the conflict unmatched worldwide, even when compared to countries facing similar wars, protests, and disasters.

A report issued by the Syrian regime government in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund in 2020 documented a decrease in the youth population (aged 15 to 49) due to deaths and external migration.

As for the rate of singleness among youth (males and females), it has increased due to the war, varying between governorates, with the highest rate of singleness in Tartus, Daraa, Hama, and Aleppo governorates at about 46%, while the lowest is in As-Suwayda governorate at 40.4% in 2018, due to the rising costs of living, marriage, housing rents, and the difficulty of securing job opportunities.

There was also a temporary decrease in both total and marital fertility rates due to the postponement or delay of marriage or childbirth to a later period due to the instability of the population and displacement resulting from the migration of youth. The total fertility rate decreased to about three births and the marital fertility rate to about five births in 2020, which will also impact growth rates and population size.

Moreover, the youth unemployment rate for those aged 15-24 exceeded 60% on average of the labor force in this age group during the period from 2011 to 2019, which is three times what it was during the period from 2002 to 2010.