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In Pictures: The children of Syria’s Ghouta

Young people living in war-ravaged Damascus suburbs often lack basic necessities and live in fear from shelling.

Ten-year-old Mohammed dropped out from school to work and help his parents and three younger siblings. Every day, the young boy roams the streets collecting wooden doors and furniture from shelled houses as well as material like nylon. Mohammed also collects metal or anything that seems valuable and sells it for extra money.
By Yousef Albostany
Published On 10 Jan 2014

East Ghouta, Syria – Residents of East Ghouta, on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus, have witnessed terrible conditions for more than a year, with clashes and shelling from Syrian government forces causing widespread death, destruction and hardship. Rebel fighters are also blamed for violent human rights abuses in other parts of the country. 

The war’s effect on children has been especially serious. Many young Syrians in East Ghouta lack the most basic necessities and live in constant fear from the shelling. Some have become homeless, while others have dropped out of school. Many have been forced to search for anything to eat or sell, desperately trying to find firewood for heating and cooking – making them working adults before their time.

Nevertheless, many of their faces still beam with the hope and innocence of childhood.

Three children walk in front of a five-storey building destroyed by a rocket on their way home after school. In Ghouta, basements are safer than the surface, and classes are held in underground bunker schools.
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A young boy returning from school stares at his neighbours(***) garden, which was bombed only one hour earlier. The garden faces a park where children from the neighbourhood often play.
More than 50 houses in the area were completely demolished by a bombardment of rockets.
A young girl works at her father(***)s food kiosk as he takes a lunch break. The kiosk sells tomato paste, margarine and jam. Before the war this was a mainly a middle- and upper-class neighbourhood. But today, many live in poverty.
A father climbs over a pile of rubble with his four year-old daughter to reach his house. When asked what he was doing, the father said he had just taken his daughter for a walk around the block to get some fresh air.
Three children walk in an empty street in Ghouta(***)s Hijjareya neighbourhood. This rebel-held area is located next to the Al Wafedeen refugee camp, which is held by the Syrian regime. When asked what they are doing in the street, the children said their mother had sent them to buy groceries.
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A young boy poses on his bike in what has become known as al-Hurriya ("Freedom") Square, which has witnessed many protests since the war began in 2011. Children in Ghouta seem to have lost their sense of fear, playing in the streets despite the constant threat of bombardments and clashes.