麻豆传媒

Hamza is only 10 years old. His greatest fear is experiencing airstrikes again. He was scared when they used to rain down near his house in Syria. When 14-year-old Nour lived in Syria, she was most afraid of going to school because there might be an explosion. Nine-year-old Syrian refugee Dalal鈥檚 biggest fear is a shooting.

Meanwhile Maddy, a six-year-old Canadian girl, lists her biggest fears as spiders and the dark. Ye Kyung, 7, in South Korea is most scared that her mother won鈥檛 be around in the future. Iskander, a nine-year-old boy from Australia, is afraid of giant pythons.

The contrasts between the fears of the Syrian children and the other children are striking, says Christine Latif. She鈥檚 the northern Syria Response Manager for World Vision. Latif manages a team in Gaziantep, Turkey, nearly 50 kilometres from the Syrian border, which helps Syrian refugees within Turkey as well as in northern Syria.

Latif鈥檚 staff contributed to a called the 鈥淔ears and Dreams Report,鈥� which was released Wednesday on the sixth anniversary of the conflict in Syria, which has seen as many 386,000 killed, more than six million displaced and more than 13.5 million in desperate need of humanitarian aid, according to World Vision.

The charity talked to Syrian children living as refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and in Syria itself about their fears and dreams for the future. They compared their responses to those of children in Canada, Ireland, Germany, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Approximately 100 kids in each country between the ages of 7 and 17 were surveyed for the report.

Comparing fears:

The survey found that 43 per cent of Syrian children feared for their safety and frequently mentioned words such as airstrikes, shelling and explosions in their answers. In comparison, 31 per cent of children in Ireland feared for their safety, 35 per cent in Australia, nine per cent in South Korea and only three per cent in Canada. Children in Germany were the only ones more afraid for their safety than Syrian children at 64 per cent, with many respondents citing terrorism and the possibility of atomic war.

Latif told CTVNews.ca during a phone interview from Washington, D.C. on Tuesday that the reasons for the fears among children in different countries were illuminating. She said children in Canada listed falling through the ice or being robbed for why they were scared for their safety as opposed to airstrikes or explosions by the Syrian children.

The majority of Canadian children (73 per cent) shared typical fears such as sharks, spiders and the dark, which is not to say that Syrian children didn鈥檛 share some of those worries as well. Latif called it 鈥渉eartening鈥� that 38 per cent of them mentioned common fears such as, wild animals, ghosts and the dark.

鈥淗onestly, we were just expecting them to talk about really dark and devastating things. It鈥檚 really sad but we were kind of happy they were scared about things that most kids are scared about,鈥� she said.

Latif confessed that her team laughed when some of the Syrian children said they were even scared of the 鈥渂oogeyman鈥� under their beds.

鈥淪ometimes when you talk to the kids in Syria they鈥檙e so serious and quiet spoken,鈥� she explained. 鈥淚t was really a relief to see them acting like kids a little bit again.鈥�

Dreams for the future:

Latif said the dreams Syrian children shared during the survey offered a glimmer of hope for the future.

鈥淭he thing about the Syria conflict is you have those moments of hope and light and then there鈥檚 real awful, dark moments. But at least we still have those little moments of light,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n terms of light, the kids did still say things that kids normally say.鈥�

Some of those normal responses came when the children were asked about their ideal careers. According to the survey, 33 per cent of Syrian children dreamt of having a particular profession one day with teachers and doctors being the most common. Latif said many of the Syrian children they spoke with said they wanted to become doctors or teachers or engineers so they could return to Syria one day and rebuild their country. Half of the Syrian children in the study said they dreamed of peace and going back to Syria.

鈥淓very time I talk to a child, whether it鈥檚 in Lebanon or Jordan or Turkey, they鈥檙e always talking about going home,鈥� she said.

Doctors and teachers were also frequently listed by children in the other countries, but many of them in Australia, Canada and New Zealand mentioned becoming professional athletes in the future as well.

Latif revealed what affects her the most in the seven years she鈥檚 been working with Syrian refugees for World Vision. She said meeting the mothers and grandmothers of Syrian children living in refugee camps has been particularly difficult for her.

鈥淪ix years ago they had such different dreams for their children and for their family,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t breaks my heart to hear them talk about things now and the situation they鈥檙e in now.鈥�

Despite the crucial work by the United Nations and other NGOs, Latif said the public needs to be aware that the war is still active and Syrian families are still being exposed to real dangers on a daily basis.

鈥淪ome of these kids have known nothing but war. They鈥檙e six years old and that鈥檚 all they know and we are seeing the impact of that,鈥� Latif said.