Search Here

The war in Syria has gone from bad to worse. Children in Syria, particularly in Aleppo, have been subject to post-traumatic stress and the images are shocking.

The internet broke after several pictures from Syria that included children was recently disseminated over the internet. A very popular one featured a child about 5 years old sitting blankly at the back of an ambulance covered in ash and bloodied after a recent airstrike nearby.

Syrian children are exposed to daily violence, airstrikes, and high levels of trauma. Considering the level of traumatic events these children are experiencing, that may impose a long-term effect on the children.

The children have been said to have the condition "The-one-thousand-yard stare." It is a phrase developed among army soldiers used to describe a disoriented state caused by having seen too much violence.

They don't just witness daily violence, death, and assault. But these children are suffering from malnourishment, lack of shelter among many other problems.

"The children have gone through that, they've seen and experienced too much. I saw a picture of an injured boy in an ambulance. He had what we call in the military a thousand-yard stare - his eyes had lost focus, he looked empty", an ex-British army officer said.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a psychological disorder that occurs in a person who has experienced or witnessed a traumatic event. Patients who have been clinically diagnosed with Post-Traumatic symptoms may suffer from high levels of anxiety, flashbacks, and bad dreams.

This type of stress has different effects based on age group. It may vary depending on what kind of traumatic experience they were exposed to.

The pictures are only a gist of what truly is happening in Syria. The bombing may end but the war does not end there. Post-traumatic stress may impose a serious long term effect on the children and that is another battle.