Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Nearly a year ago, the images of a young boy lying dead on a beach in Turkey showed the reality of fleeing a country ripped apart by war.
That boy was Aylan Kurdi, he was two years old and his family decided to take the risk of leaving Syria by boat to live in a more peaceful place.
Read: Artists depict Syrian toddler’s body on the beach
They never made it to safety. The boat they were on capsized and Aylan died along with his mother and four-year-old brother.
His father, Abdullah said everything he had dreamed of was now gone.
“This is Omran”
A few days ago, a video showing another Syrian boy sitting on a chair inside an ambulance, covered head to toe in dust, part of his face bloody.
His home had been hit by an airstrike and an emergency worker had pulled him out of the rubble and sat him in the ambulance where he would be safe.
Read: Little boy in Aleppo a vivid reminder of war’s horror
A lot of children would have cried, but not Omran.
The video showed him staring blankly in front of him, not flinching when he touched the bloodied side of his face, not showing any emotion when he saw the blood on his hand. He wiped the blood off on the seat and rested his hands on his lap, still staring out blankly.
The video showing Omran drove CNN anchor Kate Bolduan to tears.
She said to the people watching her, “This is Omran. He is alive. We wanted you to know.”
Situation is dire, devastating
On Friday morning, Misty Buswell, Middle East regional director of Save the Children, spoke to CNN Philippines about the situation in Syria and how children bear the brunt of the war.
Speaking with CNN Philippines anchor Claire Celdran by phone, Buswell said, “The conditions for children are very dire; the situation is devastating. As we can see at the images of little Omran, children are terrified.”
Buswell added that places considered to be safe – like hospitals and schools – are being hit and are becoming “deadly.”
The war had made food and water scarce in some places, and children have been unable to go to school.
The war in Syria has been going on for five years, and scores of people have moved out of the country. Some families find homes in places where they have peace and can rebuild their lives.
Some, like Aylan and his brother, don’t.
Buswell told CNN Philippines that they were unsure about how many people have left Syria.
However, she said, “We already have seen large numbers of families and children who have left over the course of these five years…One thing we do know for sure…children are bearing the brunt of this crisis and one of our partners working in Aleppo has reported to us that the casualties they’re seeing – over a third of the casualties are children.”
What needs to be done
A ceasefire, said Buswell, is an immediate need.
It is “a very urgent, first step,” she said, adding having one in place would erase fear from children that their homes and schools would be destroyed.
Increased access for humanitarian aid is also a necessity.
Buswell said that not enough aid was reaching Syria adding that it was “incredibly difficult” to provide aid in the country.
She said, “Our partners are risking their lives to do what they can and they’re incredibly brave working in extremely dangerous circumstances. The parties to the conflict have an obligation to allow aid to reach civilians and children who need it. And we need the parties to uphold their obligation.”
A ceasefire in Syria has been proposed, and Buswell said that “it needs to happen now.”
