10 years on, future a source of anxiety, dread for young Syrians

DAMASCUS－Amir Dayrawan, 29, spent the golden years of his youth in war. The future is not a bright dream for him but is instead scary because of the many heartbreaks he has endured.

Like any young man, Dayrawan loves to live his life to the fullest. He wants to spend long nights out on the town or going on a fun vacation. He would want a good job so he could start a family.

But that is not possible for him. In fact, he is a vegetarian most of the time because he cannot always afford meat or chicken.

Dayrawan works several jobs to make money, barely covering a small portion of his expenses given the skyrocketing prices and economic crisis in Syria.

Life has not been easy. His father died 20 years ago. Like most Syrians, Dayrawan and his family never imagined the Syrian war would drag on for a decade, leading to endless suffering and economic hardship.

When the war began in 2011, he was thinking of a future as an anchor at prestigious Arab TV, presenting entertainment and art programs.

The war changed everything. He started reporting on the fighting and the suffering of the people across the country, which was not the "entertainment" he was hoping to deliver to the audience.

The overall death toll for Syria's civil war has passed 388,000 since it began a decade ago this month.

Years have passed and the young man ended up working as a broadcaster at a local radio, having his own morning talk show where he tackles social issues.

He tries to be funny on-air for an audience eager to find some happiness in the endless crisis.

He shares the concerns of people in the country about life and what the future may hold. He said he fears the future and also fears to hope because none of his dreams came true.

"Honestly, my expectations are always low, so I don't have to think about things that could happen in the future and get fear or anxiety and panic from overthinking what might go wrong," he said.

Aggravated sufferings

Dayrawan's story resonates with to most young Syrians. Generations are opening their eyes to crisis after crisis. The economic one is affecting them the most as a result of US sanctions on the country, aggravating the suffering of the Syrians and hindering any effort to rebuild the country.

"I can never think about starting a family now as I think bringing a child into this world in such circumstances is a crime," he said.

The United Nations says food security and livelihoods have been particularly affected in Syria, a country where 80 percent of the population already live below the international poverty line of $1.90 per day.

"When you put all of these things together, there is no surprise that we are seeing rising food insecurity, rising hunger," said Arif Hussein, chief economist at the UN World Food Program. "Not only in the breadth, meaning lots and lots of people, but also in the depth, meaning people are closer to starvation today than ever before."

Xinhua - Agencies