Entire Generation of Syrian Kids Could Be Doomed: UN

After 2 years of fighting, millions of children in serious need, says report

By Mark Russell, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 12, 2013 8:48 AM CDT

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Entire Generation of Syrian Kids Could Be Doomed: UN — In this Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013 photo, two Syrian refugee children sit outside their family tent, at Atmeh refugee camp, in the northern Syrian province of Idlib, Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

March brings the start of the third year of the Syria conflict, and UNICEF is seeing doom for the country's children. A rep for the children's aid organization warns that "the risk of a lost generation grows every hour, every day, and every month," and backs that up with specifics in a new report:

Some 20% of the country's schools have been ruined.
Nearly 2 million Syrians in serious need of help are under 18, and 536,000 are younger than 5.
The country's refugees stand at 1 million, and more than half are kids.

And UNICEF explains the risks of such an upbringing: the possibility of "creating a generation of children who have seen, or know, only fighting, and may well end up perpetuating that cycle of violence." The agency says it needs $195 million to fund vital aid through the end of June, but has so far received only 20% of that amount, reports the AFP. "The funding has been extremely disappointing on Syria compared to other emergencies," says the rep. (More UNICEF stories.)

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