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International
Committee
of the
Red Cross

Syrians in their own words

What they want you to
know after ten years
of life in crisis.

10 years.

Thousands missing.

Hundreds of thousands dead.

Millions displaced.

We asked 1,400 Syrians between 18 and 25 how the past decade of crisis has impacted their lives. See the results and hear from five people who share their stories.

Taher
Medical student makes his own path
Iman
Student envisions education as a positive force for change in Syria
Rami
An artist works through the pain of conflict
Amina
A business owner challenges gender norms to support her family
Fatima
A mom finds independence with growing business in refugee camp
The first day of the conflict was like a nightmare. It was a hard day to believe what was going on. It was a moment when everything changed.

Rami

I saw many people get shot by snipers while trying to work
AMINA

Iman remembers watching the news from the Middle East and talking to her dad about what would happen if similar events occurred in Syria. He told her everything would change.

57%

of the people surveyed report having missed years of education, if they went at all.

Iman’s father falls ill and dies unexpectedly before he receives treatment.

When the conflict intensifies in Hama, Rami can no longer work or go to school. He leaves his family to find opportunity in a new city.

41%
of the people surveyed in Syria declare they have lost contact with a close relative.
Ten years of loss, displacement and disconnect

3 of 5

reported having to leave their homes, relocating either within Syria or abroad.

Because he could no longer go to school in Idlib, Taher decides to leave his home and ends up in Germany. “I could no longer find hope in Idlib.”

Amina starts a motorcycle repair business. Some neighbors accept her and her unique line of work for a woman, others do not.

Information and access to jobs
is the number one need of the people surveyed in Syria (60%) and Lebanon (51%).

Following in the footsteps of his great-grandfather and father, Taher starts medical school in Germany.

Syria
Germany
Lebanon
Syria
Germany
Lebanon
The majority of people surveyed in Syria and Germany are full-time students without a job (40% Syria, 45% Germany). This percentage drops to 2% in Lebanon.

Scene of destruction after Aleppo National Hospital came under fire. - Sana Tarabishi, 2017

Scene of destruction after Aleppo National Hospital came under fire. - Sana Tarabishi, 2017

Fatima wants to go home to Syria, but the situation is getting worse. Her relatives tell her, “with no gas, diesel or bread, it’s impossible.”

68%
of people surveyed in Syria consider electricity the most difficult resource to access, before food (37%).
In Syria,
47%
of young adults have had a member of their immediate family or close friend die over the past 10 years.
Nearly
2 out of 3
young Syrians report having experienced anxiety in the past 12 months.
Many recounted missed milestones and interrupted plans, with
1 in 5
having postponed their wedding because of the conflict.
In Syria,
47%
of young adults have had a member of their immediate family or close friend die over the past 10 years.
Nearly
2 out of 3
young Syrians report having experienced anxiety in the past 12 months.
Many recounted missed milestones and interrupted plans, with
1 in 5
having postponed their wedding because of the conflict.

Learn more about

Taher
Medical student makes his own path
Iman
Student envisions education as a positive force for change in Syria
Rami
An artist works through the pain of conflict
Amina
A business owner challenges gender norms to support her family
Fatima
A mom finds independence with growing business in refugee camp

Despite the many challenges they have faced, seven out of ten young Syrians consider themselves somewhat very optimistic about the future.

Specifically, young Syrians hope to:

Achieve stability
(65%)
Find happiness
in general (39%)
Have a family
(33%)
About ICRC
Established in 1863, the ICRC operates worldwide, helping people affected by conflict and armed violence and promoting the laws that protect victims of war. An independent and neutral organization, its mandate stems from the Geneva Conventions of 1949. We are based in Geneva, Switzerland, and employ over 20,000 people in more than 80 countries. The ICRC is funded mainly by voluntary donations from governments and from National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Syria is the ICRC’s largest operation in the world. In cooperation with its local partner, the SARC, the ICRC assists communities with healthcare, mental health, economic security, water and habitat, as well as protection and prevention work. Visit our website to know more about our work in Syria and beyond.
The data featured on this website are based on a survey of 1,400 Syrians aged 18 to 25, of whom 800 live in Syria, 400 in Lebanon and 200 in Germany. The age range was chosen to represent individuals whose adolescence and early adulthood have been deeply marked by the conflict. The country locations were selected to ensure a variety of respondents in different situations.
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