By In a video created by UNICEF, ten-year-old Ansam, born blind and displaced from Damascus by Syria’s six-year-long civil war, stands among the ruins of her country. She walks out into the sunlight and begins a song, in a voice that rings like crystal, about the destruction and heartbreak that has for so many years destroyed the lives of the children of Syria.
These children, their schools and homes destroyed, their friends killed in air strikes and chemical attacks, are still the only hope for Syria’s future.
As she sings, she is joined by other children, emerging from the rubble of their decimated homes. They hold tulips, one of the first flowers of spring, of hope of renewal. These children, their schools and homes destroyed, their friends killed in air strikes and chemical attacks, are still the only hope for Syria’s future.
With kites flying above them, they grab chalk and paint, and add vibrant color to firebombed cars and toppled buildings. Everywhere is gray concrete; nothing grows. As the children paint this wasteland, adding the colors of spring to a land devoid of life, they gather their voices and sing in unison the wish of every child of Syria: “We want our childhood back.”
Watch this UNICEF video and walk through the lives of these Syrian children who want their childhood back.