Damascus used to be one of the safest cities in the Middle East, says Lana, one of the young people working with the International Orthodox Christian Charities and the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch in Syria.
“We used to be able to stay out with friends till after dark. We were ignorant not to appreciate it more. Now we do not dare to go out after sunset.”
With her colleagues, Lana is providing essential support to the many families affected by the conflict in Damascus. Before the escalation of fighting in and around Damascus, many displaced families had fled to Syria’s capital. Now many Damascenes find themselves amongst the four million people in Syria needing assistance, including two million internally displaced.
Lana and her family is one of many who now share their home with relatives. Her uncle moved in with them when his area was no longer safe. In March 2012, Lana lost her job, with just two weeks’ notice. “It was very difficult for my colleagues and me. It felt like losing a family, and 60 families lost their income.” She feels grateful for her new opportunity to work with IOCC, a member of ACT Alliance, and GOPA, assisting fellow Syrians with necessities such as food, blankets, hygiene products and psychosocial support.
Lana represents many young Syrians who have decided to use their energy and skills helping others during the national crisis. Syria is a country of youth. One of every five Syrians is between 15 and 25 years old.
Ever-increasing instability
She describes the situation in Damascus, the world’s oldest continuously-inhabited city. She explains the challenges of finding bread for people in unsafe areas, the increasingly unreliable electricity supply, and the prices of staples, such as food and fuel, going up. “As it gets harder for people to buy gas and diesel, people rely more and more on electricity to warm up their houses and to cook their food. However, while electricity cuts last winter were scheduled and lasted only 3 to 6 hours, this winter we may be out of electricity for 10 hours or more each day.”
In this situation, it is perhaps not strange to hear that people prioritise food and material aid. However, Lana has seen how IOCC/GOPA’s psychosocial programme has changed people and how they have come to appreciate it.
She says she will never forget an old man who got upset with her because he was offered psychosocial support instead of a food parcel. “I took time to explain to him the purpose of the programme and in the end he decided to participate, together with his family. After the programme he came back to our office, gave me a kiss on my cheek, apologised for the incident and exclaimed that this was more important than food.”
Lana explains that the war creates a lot of stress and anger. “Sometimes this contributes to family conflicts. It affects the relationships between the parents and the children, the mother and the father, and with other relatives living together. This is why the IOCC/GOPA’s psychosocial programme focuses on how people can decrease stress and solve conflicts.”
Plans for psychosocial expansion
Besides lectures and workshops with adults on handling family challenges, improving communications, and defusing conflict, violent behaviour and thoughts, the IOCC/GOPA psychosocial programme also includes activities for children. The aim is to bring children together in a secure environment where they can interact and build confidence and relations through games, sports, arts, crafts, singing and music.
However, the need for psychosocial support is not limited to Damascus. Based on the many positive responses from participating families, IOCC/GOPA plans to expand its programme to other parts of Syria. At the beginning of December, several people came together for a training of trainers’ course, which also included “first aid psychology” i.e. how to counsel people who find themselves in the middle of a traumatic event. Most participants had a background in psychology or social work, and many were young.
Part of the explanation for Syrian youth’s motivation to helping fellow citizens may lie in Lana’s statement: “Every individual in Syria is now affected. When I got involved with IOCC/GOPA’s relief work, I was personally not affected. Although I could feel sorry and express sympathy, I could not fully comprehend what others were going through. Now I have myself experienced explosions, shelling and losing a friend.” Regardless of their intention, it is the social engagement of these Syrian youth that gives much hope for a country in the midst of a deep crisis.