More than 10 years of brutal conflict in Syria has left most of the population in need of assistance and without access to basic services in places all over the country. In part one of our special series on Syria, Intercross heard the stories of two Syrians living in Aleppo, Mouna Shawakh and Rami Asfar, in their own words.

In part two, we zoom into Northeast Syria, in a camp called Al Hol. Today Al Hol houses around 58,000 people — two thirds of whom are children, and most under the age of 5. Tens of thousands of children are spending their childhoods in appalling harsh conditions no child should experience. For the young people now growing up in camps like Al Hol, living conditions are far below international standards in terms of access to food, water, health care and education.

We talk about the seemingly insurmountable challenges of those who remain stranded living in the camp, and what the Red Cross Red Crescent movement is doing about them, such as operating a field hospital to provide emergency life-saving surgical care and medical consultations. In November 2020, the first mental health and psychosocial services tent was set up inside the field hospital to provide psycho-social support, including educational activities for the children.

What could be done to try and solve what the ICRC calls one of the most complex child protection crises of our time? Featuring ICRC’s Near and Middle East Regional Director Fabrizio Carboni and ICRC psychotherapist Alessandra Lennar. Hosted by ICRC spokesperson Sara Al-Zawqari.