Reflection #3

So in my search for something to write about this week I was exploring Al-Jazeera. There were the usual posts about drones and bombings and stagnant UN talks, but I felt tired from such topics and needed a break. Instead, I (accidentally) found some interest pieces on Al-Jazeera. I watched a series of videos about people struggling within Syria. The first video was about a school with internally displaced people (IDPs), children around six years old. The children were coming out of conflict zones and many of them knew someone who had died because of the war. Most were very confused about what had happened, and all were scared of walking outside. They new about Assad, and one little girl called him a dog. The teachers asked them to talk about their experiences because they believed it helped them. A test is done when a child first comes to the school where they are asked to color in a picture. The teachers noticed that most children were using very dark colors.

The second story was about a neighborhood in a conflict area. The video showed children in homes where planes could be seen overhead dropping bombs. This neighborhood in particular had run out of baby formula, and many of their medical supplies were expired and still being used. The children here were well aware of what was happening, but had no choice but to be brave an live with it. Daily they saw and heard bombs dropping nearby. One father said his child, who looked under two, cried whenever she heard a plane, or whenever she was to close to the ground. Here they showed pictures of Assad as an 'ass' (donkey). When asked, the children say they just want freedom after the war is over. One young boy said he would like to be a teacher, but his school has shut down.

The third story was about a little girl who had been hit by shrapnel while in her own house, and is now living in a Turkish hospital, paralyzed. Her father was arrested and it is unknown whether he is alive or dead. The mother is distraught and had to leave her very young son with his grandmother while she stayed with her daughter.

It is stories like these that remind me why I am interested in IR, why I care about world affairs. After watching these stories, I was motivated to go on more news sites and read about what I had previously written off as dry repetitive stories.