Syria's bloody anniversary
What started as a peaceful protest against the Assad regime has turned into a bloody civil war.
Act of defiance
After two years of an increasingly violent conflict it's hard to recall the simple act of defiance that triggered the Syrian revolution. In March 2011 a group of teenage boys were arrested and tortured after spray-painting the walls of a school in Dara'a. The simple slogan stated that President Bashar al-Assad would be the next Arab leader to be toppled after recent events in Tunisia and Egypt.
Displaced and destitute
As the Syrian conflict enters its third year, the number of people that have fled the country has surpassed the one million mark. More dramatically, the number of internally displaced inhabitants is estimated to be three million and growing. Cities and towns are being destroyed, as a consequence millions of people will have no homes to return to.
Streets of violence
International organizations have estimated that more than 50 percent of those fleeing the violence in Syria are children. The government's violent reprisals against the simple act of rebellion by the Dara'a teenagers in March 2011 sparked a revolution. The families that took to the streets peacefully demanding democracy met an onslaught of repression carried out by the army and regime thugs.
Taking up arms
The peaceful demonstrators demanding the removal of Bashar al-Assad and his regime have seen the streets of their own towns turn into battlefields. A disparate group of opposition fighters, made up mainly of armed civilians and army defectors, carries on fighting for an increasingly desperate cause.
Learning the hard way
The education of hundreds of thousands of children is threatened by the Syrian crisis. A recent UNICEF assessment found that "one fifth of the country’s schools have suffered direct physical damage or are being used to shelter displaced persons. In cities where the conflict has been most intense, some children have already missed out on almost two years of schooling."
Seeking solace
Turkey is currently home to nearly 300,000 Syrian refugees - two thirds of them live in government-funded camps that have schools, medical centers and supplies. The remaining third is divided among those that can provide for themselves or the more desperate that find refuge in improvised shelters often lacking basic supplies and medical treatment.
Anger over aid
A controversial debate over the distribution of humanitarian aid by the UN to the Syrian government, which the international assembly still recognizes as legitimate, has incurred the wrath of the opposition. Critics claim the UN aid is only reaching the population in need in government-controlled areas, while the Northern rebel-held territories are cruelly excluded from this humanitarian chain.
Common cause
A few independent non-profit organizations are bringing aid through the Turkish border regions to the rebel-controlled areas in Northern Syria. The humanitarian aid workers claim the amount of assistance they are able to provide is but a trickle in a crisis of devastating proportions.
Propaganda machine
Discrepancies on how humanitarian aid is being handled in the rebel-held areas are exacerbated by a flow of private donations to opposition military brigades acting independently. Large sums of money sent mainly by donors from Gulf countries are reaching opposition leaders accused of wanting to tighten their military and political grip rather than providing assistance to the population in need.
Out of reach
Save the Children, an international non-profit group working inside Syria, has claimed that "[…] access to the worst-affected communities is extremely difficult, and many are beyond our reach," underlining the point that humanitarian organizations lack the legitimized access required to be able to provide relief in all needy areas.
Abandoned and forgotten
Outcry over the United Nation's obligation to administer support through al-Assad's government adds to the growing chorus of outrage from Syrians who feel abandoned by the international community.
Emerging from the shadows?
The inability of the Syrian opposition to create a united political and military force and the largely ineffective international efforts to stop the humanitarian crisis are dramatic signs that the revolution-turned-civil war is far from any type of resolution.