Children in Rojava in Acute Distress:
On the Dramatic Mental and Physical Health Situation in North and East Syria**
The Institute for Health and Diversity Research expresses grave concern over the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian, physical, and mental health situation of the civilian population, particularly children, in the Kurdish autonomous regions of Rojava (North and East Syria).
Since the attack on Aleppo by the Syrian interim government under the leadership of Islamist forces and the subsequent shift of hostilities into Kurdish-controlled areas, the security situation in Rojava has deteriorated dramatically. Reports of assaults by armed jihadist groups against civilians evoke painful memories of the massacres committed by the so-called “Islamic State” in 2014. Once again, there is a serious risk of systematic violence, forced displacement, and grave human rights violations.
Children are disproportionately affected by this escalation.
Based on our long-standing clinical and scientific experience in crisis and war-affected regions, children living under such conditions face an extremely high risk of developing severe trauma-related disorders. Recent reports from Rojava indicate an alarming increase in mental and psychosomatic health problems among children, including:
- severe anxiety disorders and depression,
- sleep disturbances, recurrent nightmares, and persistent hyperarousal,
- social withdrawal, loss of speech, and emotional numbing,
- physical symptoms without identifiable organic causes (e.g., abdominal pain and headaches).
The situation in Kobanê is particularly critical. The city is currently effectively besieged. Large parts of the population are without access to water and electricity amid freezing temperatures. Food supplies are running dangerously low, medical care is barely available, and humanitarian assistance is unable to reach the city. Children are beginning to suffer from hunger and cold and are often left to fend for themselves, while their parents experience extreme fear, helplessness, and exhaustion.
Many families in North and East Syria have already been displaced multiple times. Since 2018, more than 500,000 people have been forced to flee due to military attacks. For countless children, this means losing their homes, schools, and social environments for the second or even third time. Schools are increasingly used as emergency shelters, and regular education has largely ceased. Access to education, protection, and child-appropriate care is severely restricted.
Current geopolitical developments, most notably the announced withdrawal of international protective forces, have further intensified the population’s sense of existential threat. Fear of renewed ethnic and religious violence permeates everyday life. Children are growing up under conditions of chronic insecurity, a situation that has been shown to cause lasting harm to their psychological, physical, and social development.
Our Urgent Demands
In light of this situation, the Institute for Health and Diversity Research urgently calls upon the international community, political decision-makers, the United Nations, and humanitarian organizations to take immediate action:
- Ensure immediate humanitarian access to all affected areas in Rojava, particularly to besieged cities such as Kobanê.
- Guarantee the rapid provision of water, food, electricity, and medical care, with special attention to children, pregnant women, and people with chronic illnesses.
- Establish and expand psychosocial and psychotherapeutic emergency services for children and families, while strengthening existing local support structures.
- Protect the civilian population, especially children, from violence, displacement, and attacks by armed groups, in accordance with international humanitarian law.
- Safeguard schools, healthcare facilities, and social institutions as protected spaces and prevent their militarization.
- Invest in long-term, trauma-sensitive health, education, and care systems to prevent the emergence of another generation of severely traumatized children.
Concluding Statement
Children in Rojava are currently paying an unbearably high price for political decisions, military escalation, and international inaction. Psychological trauma, hunger, cold, and fear are not abstract consequences of war, they shape the daily lives of thousands of children here and now.
Failing to act means knowingly accepting severe long-term physical and psychosocial consequences.
The Institute for Health and Diversity Research (GEDIV) issues an urgent appeal:
Now is the moment to act.
