This Bombed-Out School in Syria Refuses to Close

The civil war in Syria has decimated the civilian population. The numbers are staggering–and children in particular continue to be severely impacted. The United Nations has repeatedly accused the Assad regime of targeting schools. Millions are unable to go to school because buildings have been damaged and teachers are scarce. When the war began in 2011, nearly 100% of Syrian children were enrolled in schools. Now it’s fallen to 30%. In the worst areas of fighting, only 6% attend school.

The Free Syrian Army took Vocativ on a tour of a girls’ school near Aleppo in early 2015. The school had been bombed several times but refused to close. The volunteer teachers supply the books themselves and the children are taught in classrooms that are partially destroyed. They are in constant fear of the next attack. “We get scared,” one young girl tells Vocativ. Asked when she thinks the war will end, the young girl replies, “I think when all the people die, then it will end.”