One-Third of Syrian Children Were Born During War, Unicef Report Finds
By RICK GLADSTONE

One-third of all Syrian children were born in the five years that conflict has convulsed their country, the United Nations said on Monday in a report that suggests a new lost generation.

More than 300,000 of these children, who total about 3.7 million, were born as refugees, according to the report by Unicef, the United Nations Children’s Fund. It said their lives had been “shaped by violence, fear and displacement.”

In all, Unicef estimated that 8.4 million Syrian children, or 80 percent of Syria’s 18-and-under population, are in urgent need of humanitarian aid, either in Syria or in neighboring countries.

The report added to a body of measurements about the Syrian war’s destructive effect, particularly on children, as many grow into adolescence and adulthood orphaned, uneducated, unemployed and hungry.

Last week, the charity Save the Children said in an assessment of the conflict that at least a quarter-million children lived in besieged areas of the country and that some ate animal feed and grass to survive. World Vision International, a Christian advocacy group, said the cost of the war, when calculated in stunted economic growth, including lost childhood education, could reach $1.3 trillion if peace is not achieved by 2020.

Unicef said some of the war’s worst excesses had taken place in 2015. Its report documented nearly 1,500 “grave violations against children” last year, more than half of them from explosive weapons in populated areas.

The report estimated that more than 2.1 million children in Syria were out of school last year.

“These children are receiving military training and participating in combat, or taking up life-threatening roles at the battlefront, including carrying and maintaining weapons, manning checkpoints, and treating and evacuating war wounded,” the report said. “Parties to the conflict are using children to kill, including as executioners or snipers.”

敘利亞內戰5年 最小孩子兵7歲

敘利亞內戰本周滿五周年，由聯合國斡旋的和談十四日在日內瓦展開。根據聯合國報告，敘利亞三分之一的兒童是在內戰開打後出生，約有三百七十萬，此「戰爭世代」兒童的生命中除了戰爭別無其他，也有許多兒童被徵去當「孩子兵」，最小的只有七歲。

聯合國兒童基金會的報告「沒有孩子容身處」指出，敘利亞十八歲以下人口中，超過八成，約八百四十萬人急需人道救援，基金會今年目標募款十一億六千萬美元救助這些兒童，目前只收到百分之六。

報告指出，敘利亞兒童被迫離開家和學校，許多人成為孤兒，或被徵召當兵，形成敘利亞的「戰爭世代」兒童。

報告說，約有三百七十萬敘利亞兒童在內戰開打後出生，「每個五歲以下的兒童這一生只知道戰火中的生活，目前約有兩百九十萬在國內，至少八十一萬在鄰國」。報告指出，有卅萬六千名兒童在鄰國的難民營出生，並有超過廿萬兒童身陷在敘國被圍困的地區，有人被迫吃飼料和草維生。

根據報告，孩子兵有增多趨勢，「交戰各方鼓勵兒童參戰，提供禮物和每月四百美元的薪水」。二○一四年以來，徵召入伍的兒童年齡更小，最小只有七歲，在二○一五年案例中，逾半在十五歲以下。

報告說「這些孩子兵接受軍事訓練與參與戰鬥，在前線擔負有生命危險的任務，包括搬運和維修武器、在哨站站崗、撤離和治療傷患。也有交戰團體要孩子殺人，包括當劊子手或狙擊手。」激進組織「伊斯蘭國」（IS）宣傳影片曾出現兒童當劊子手的驚悚畫面。

聯合國兒童基金會的北非和中東地區負責人薩拉馬說「內戰五年來，幾百萬兒童被迫快速長大，他們正在打一場成人的戰爭，被迫輟學，許多人當童工，女孩很小就嫁人。」

戰前敘利亞有兩千三百萬人口，戰爭已造成超過廿七萬人喪生，四百八十萬人成為難民，大部分流落到鄰國，其中約有八分之一前往歐洲。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/15/world/middleeast/syria-war-children-unicef.html

2016-03-15．聯合報．A15．國際．編譯田思怡