Childbearing in Times of War

When you walk in Syria today, you see the pain of war and its ramifications that have surrounded the entire Syrian people from every direction, to the extent that all Syrians know they are in a state of ongoing, extended war. A real war where the fire of its bullets goes beyond killing their bodies, affecting their economy, education, livelihood, and their reality as a whole.
If we narrow down the circle a bit from the large homeland (Syria) to the smaller homeland (the family), we will see the true magnitude of suffering that all Syrian families are living! For example, in terms of education and according to statistics reported by the “Syria” website in an article titled “The Danger of the Reality of Education in Northern Syria”, 40% of schools have been damaged by the war or converted to other uses such as hospitals, etc. With waves of internal displacement, the number of students has increased without a significant rise in the number of schools, sometimes even decreasing for various reasons.
The spread of random camps far from schools, the significant decrease in teacher salaries, in addition to the decline in the economic situation and poverty, and the loss of confidence in free education, which if it exists, is under poor and backward conditions.
This forced many students’ parents to reluctantly turn to private education, all of which had and still has a negative impact!
The inability of many Syrians to bear the costs of their children’s education has led them to push their children into the early labor market. According to statistical reports by the Assistance Coordination Unit, the dropout rate from schools reached about 65%, and increased in Idlib to 69%, as stated by the Turkish National Education Ministry. About 35% of Syrian children did not receive education in Turkey in the academic year 2021-2022. Statistically, this is a terrifying number, especially when we know that one of its effects is the involvement of children, despite their young age, in military fronts as their only refuge. They join military factions, or accept work as mercenaries for countries participating in the war in Syria or abroad, depending on the employer and financier.
In the field of health, the general condition of hospitals is pitiable, with an insufficient number of doctors, in addition to the poor conditions of public hospitals, which avoid entering into difficult or complex surgeries! In a study by our scientific office in the Syrian Future Movement titled: “The Health Reality in Syria”, the magnitude of the health suffering is clear, especially in terms of the number of doctors.
There are only about 1200 doctors. In the Idlib province in northwest Syria, which is home to about 2.8 million people, there are 56 hospitals, 2000 beds, 235 operating rooms, 237 intensive care units, and 1500 doctors.
The areas of Hasakah and Raqqa need urgent intervention to address the severe shortage in the health situation. There is only one public hospital in the area stretching from Tal Abyad to Ras al-Ain, with 18 beds, 3 operating rooms, 5 intensive care rooms, and only 18 doctors. Families are forced to seek community assistance to travel abroad for treatment.
From an economic perspective, according to a study by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies titled “The Economic Crisis in Syria: Causes, Consequences, and Trends”, the economic crisis in early 2020 led to a rapid collapse in the exchange rate of the Syrian pound against the dollar, and a general rise in prices.
This led nearly one and a half million people into food insecurity.
The United Nations’ World Food Program raised its estimates of food-insecure people in Syria to 9.3 million, up from 7.9 million at the end of 2019, and about 6.5 million at the end of 2018.
Thus, Syrians are caught between two fires: the fire of unemployment and living on aid – most of which will stop this year -, and the fire of work that does not provide for the basic needs of the Syrian citizen. The direction is often towards extremist groups, drug militias, or heading to the belly of the ocean (Abu Al-Yatama), as Syrians call it.

So, the reality is that we are living in a major tragic situation, and here comes the question: why do we pass it on to our children?
Meaning, why do we see that the birth rate in Syria has become large, burdening the family and its capabilities? The Al-Nahar newspaper reported on 18/08/2022 that for every Lebanese birth, there are 6 Syrian births.
Then what is the result of all these births? Haven’t we recently seen that boy who was ground up by a large metal work machine? Don’t we see those girls who gather their daily sustenance from garbage bins, besides the hidden societal corruption not shown by camera lenses or research center statistics?
We feel and witness hidden cases of prostitution, secret organ trading, drug trafficking and smuggling, or affiliations with corrupt military factions, among many other issues.

Undoubtedly, today’s reality does not reflect our true situation as Syrians. We are a society still rooted in our customs, traditions, and religion, which saves us from complete collapse! (even though we mention some of our painful reality in this study).
In a survey conducted over a month by the Syrian Future Movement, which covered five Syrian regions in northern Syria, two areas in Idlib, an area in eastern Euphrates, and three areas under the control of the Syrian regime, we refrain from mentioning the names of the regions and assistants in this survey for security reasons.
We targeted poor families, totaling 276 families, each having more than 3 children under 18 years. One of these families had a father married to 3 wives with 16 children, all under 18, living in a camp!
The survey was personal, consisting of only one question: What is the reason for having children in these times of war? The results were as follows:
1- As a security for the future and old age, 44%.
2- God’s decree, and we are but means (religious conviction), 27%.
3- To increase offspring and strengthen family numbers (customs and traditions), 18%.
4- No answer, (without vision), 11%.

Thus, the state of war, absence of security through the absence of the state, fragmentation of the homeland, and continuing displacement, etc., were not reasons or deterrents for them to have children (we leave this particular point to sociologists to study this remarkable paradox.
We also leave it to religious scholars to hear their fatwa on the issue of having more children under such circumstances, and leaving it to religious conviction!

But on the other hand, what are the solutions to this problem of unplanned childbearing?
The first solution is to stop the war by any means, and to move Syria towards a comprehensive national political solution as soon as possible. One of the priorities of the modern Syrian national state should be to allocate most of its budget to ensure children’s rights to a decent life, and guarantee the right to education, then work.
Parallel to this step comes the role of religion and religious figures in raising awareness about children’s rights, from choosing the mother onwards.
Spreading awareness of children’s rights should include all Syrian regions, using all media means, both official and unofficial.
This is the task of journalists and activists, emphasizing that ‘building a family’ in our era, and having children, should not be left to fate alone! It requires study, thought, and planning, and is a social, legal, religious, and ethical responsibility, otherwise these children will be more prone to extremism and corruption in all its forms!
Finally, we, in the Syrian Future Movement, recommend establishing a Syrian national institution concerned with child issues, covering all different Syrian regions, attracting support from various community, religious, and humanitarian incubators, both domestically and internationally. We, at the Women and Children’s Office (Family Office) of the Syrian Future Movement, are ready to provide all civil, legal, and logistical facilities we have, serving this project aimed at the following:
1- Educating families about children’s rights before marriage and childbearing.
2- Seeking educational and advisory alternatives for families, in addition to children under 18 years, who live in poor educational and economic conditions.
3- Looking for realistic projects by attracting Syrian thinkers and sociologists, to find economic solutions and activate the role of securing old age and other issues that were the reason for having children in a way harmful to them and their society.

Researcher: Iman Al-Mohammad
Family Office
Syrian Future Movement