Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The Japanese branch of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has issued a survey result showing that the crisis of the last decade has taken a heavy toll on young Syrians.

The subjects of the survey were 1,400 young people from Syria – aged 18 to 25 – who live in Syria, Lebanon or Germany.

Breaking ties with family and friends, financial hardship and anxiety about the future and everyday life were features of the report.

“It was a decade of destruction and loss for all Syrians, especially young people, deprived of their loved ones,” the report said. More than half of Syria’s population is under the age of 25.

According to the report, about half (47%) of young people living in Syria have close relatives or friends who have died in the conflict, and about one in six (16%) have parents who have been killed or seriously injured.

About half (49%) were cut off from their income sources due to conflict. Four out of five (77%) have difficulty in procuring and purchasing food and daily necessities.

Around 57 percent had their education significantly interrupted.

 The young people who responded said the things they needed most were jobs for economic activity, followed by medical care, education and mental care.

One in three women living in Syria said they had no income and could not support their families. 

Young people living in Syria have suffered from the following symptoms over the past year: sleep disorders (54%), anxiety (73%). depression (58%), solitude (46%), irritation (62%) and anguish (69%). Mental care was one of the most needed things in the three countries surveyed.

Of Syria’s total population of about 18 million, about 13.4 million are still in need of humanitarian assistance. This figure corresponds to the total population of Tokyo (about 13.9 million people), the report noted.