What was Syria like before the war?

Perhaps more familiar than you think.

Not long ago, Syria was at peace.

Before the fighting broke out in 2011, Syria was a vibrant country. Over 22 million people lived here. Many led lives similar to people in other developing countries – with music, fashion and sport among the most popular pastimes.

In 2010 top searches were

Arab IdolBodybuildingSummer FashionMiley Cyrus

Syria has been a centre of art and culture since 3,000 BC.

The unique art and architecture found here has been shaped by many civilizations – including Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and Islamic.

In 2008, Damascus was honoured as the Arab Capital of Culture.

Visit Damascus in 360º

Visit Damascus

Videos of FC Barcelona were popular on YouTube.

In 2010, Gorillaz became the biggest Western band to play here.

The tourism industry was flourishing before the war.

Revenue from international tourism (current US$)

Syria drew more tourists than Australia in 2010.

And with good reason. Syria is a unique country with a rich history.

Visitors would come here to explore ancient Roman ruins, vast deserts, bustling souks, Mediterranean beaches and mosques from the early days of Islam.

Meet Nadia, whose family owned an orchard of fruit and nut trees.

See Nadia’s story

Nadia led a quiet, peaceful life in the Syrian countryside

Nadia Jedan, 37, a farmer from Kobane, in northern Syria, fled her village in November 2014, just before it was taken over by extremists. Before the war, her life was simple. Her family kept cows and harvested cherries, pistachios and olives. The olives would be sent to pressing plants in Aleppo and Afrin and then sold on as olive oil to support her family. But the fight for Kobane was fierce, and Nadia’s orchards were destroyed. Now, the trees are just burnt stumps, and Nadia lives with five of her family members in a refugee camp in northern Iraq.

One of her relatives, Shamsi Osman, 19, has just given birth to a baby boy called Mohammed. Nadia and her family dream of starting a new life in Europe.

Syria was home to six UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Explore in 360

The war has damaged or destroyed every one of them.

Great Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo 2009

Great Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo 2013

Syria as we knew it no longer exists.

What is going on in Syria?

“The biggest humanitarian and refugee crisis of our time.”

Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees

What began as a peaceful protest in 2011 quickly spiralled into deadly conflict.

Learn more about the crisis

The conflict in Syria is complex

It dates back to March 2011, when several teenagers were arrested for painting anti-government graffiti in the southern town of Daraa.

Public demonstrations calling for democratic reforms spread across the country, meeting swift government opposition. Peaceful uprisings gave way to violent clashes, and ultimately a brutal civil war.

Numerous secular and religious factions, and ethnic groups, have been drawn into the conflict. Reports of war crimes are widespread.

While peace remains elusive, Syria’s civilians continue to pay the heaviest price.

The war has lasted

YRS
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DAYS
:
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More than 2 million Syrians have been killed or injured.

Around 24,000 of those who have died are children.

Meet 7-year-old Bana, who shared her experience of war on Twitter.

Read some of her tweets

The girl who tweets for Syria

The voice of a 7-year-old on Twitter has captured the attention of the world. With help from her mother Fatima, Bana Alabed has been using Twitter to show what life is like for millions of Syrian children growing up in the war.

This is what remains of our childhood memories. - Bana #Aleppo

21 Oct 2106

Her tweets are both hopeful and harrowing. She has shared videos of bombs exploding outside the window of her home in eastern Aleppo, and posted emotional pleas for help to the President of the United States.

Next to our house, I thought the bombs hit me. I don’t know if there are people inside the house. - Bana #Aleppo

17 Nov 2016

For a child who can't remember life before the conflict, Bana's tweets demonstrate remarkable resilience and hope. In 2015, her family were evacuated from Aleppo and have since found safety in Turkey, where Bana continues to use her voice on social media to speak for the children of Syria.

Why would they bomb us and kill innocent people everyday? - Bana #Aleppo

21 Nov 2016

“This is what refugees from Syria ... have fled from.”

Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees

See Aleppo from above

One in four schools have been damaged, destroyed or used for shelter.

And 24.5 million years of education have been lost.

Over half of Syria’s hospitals are no longer functioning.

See one clinic that is being rebuilt

Restoring Syria’s healthcare clinics

Abandoned boxes and shelves of medicines can still be found in the rubble of the Sakhour clinic. This health centre in Aleppo once provided support to Iraqi refugees in Syria. But after the bombing that devastated much of the city, the clinic now stands in ruins.

Basic services across eastern Aleppo were badly hit during the war, including schools, water and healthcare facilities. “Nothing can really prepare you for the scale of the destruction in east Aleppo – and especially to vital facilities like clinics, which are so badly needed in any community,” said Sajjad Malik, UNHCR’s Country Representative in Syria.

Together with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, UNHCR are restoring the Sakhour clinic, and other facilities in Syria. “We have to rebuild, we have to invest in hope, optimism and peace,” says Malik.

Millions of hectares of farmland have been destroyed or abandoned.

Causing food costs to soar by as much as 900%.

More than half of all Syrians have been forced from their homes.

Most seek refuge within Syria, if they can. They make up the second largest internally displaced population in the world.

“If you were lucky you had time to pack a bag. If not, you simply dropped everything and ran.”

Abandoned cars at the Turkish border.

28 August 2009

6 November 2014

By 2016, around 5 million Syrians had become refugees.

What is a refugee?

refugee rɛfjʊˈdʒiː/ noun

A person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution or violence.

“Planes would fly above and drop bombs. We got scared, hid and started crying.”

Meet sisters Shamsa and Thuha

The sisters who make ragdolls to keep memories of Syria alive

Shamsa and Thuha fled Aleppo with their family when they were just seven and five years old. One of the things they miss the most about Syria is playing with their cousins and making ragdolls together.

The family have been living as refugees in a tent in Lebanon for three years now. Shamsa and Thuha’s father lost his eyesight to diabetes. Their mother struggles to buy his medication and feed the family with the small amount of aid they get.

But Shamsa and Thuha are too young to understand these struggles. Using leftover fabric from their mother’s tailoring work, the girls have gone back to making ragdolls. They dream of the day they can go back home to Syria, and rescue the dolls they left behind.

There are now more people displaced by conflict or persecution than any time since World War II.

Today over 65 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes to escape danger, and find safety.

More refugees come from Syria than any other country.

Five largest refugee populations in 2015 (millions)

Many Syrians are educated, with professional backgrounds.

^*Based on Syrian immigrants living in the US

Syrians*

18 in 100

have advanced degrees

Americans

11 in 100

have advanced degrees

They’re developers like Mojahed Akil, who created an app to help refugees in Turkey.

Meet Mojahed

The developer helping refugees navigate a new life in Turkey

Mojahed Akil was a computer science student in Aleppo when the conflict in Syria began. After taking part in a demonstration he was arrested, and tortured, and finally escaped persecution by fleeing to Turkey.

Suddenly faced with a language barrier, Mojahed struggled to resettle in his new home. “Small things that were easy in Syria,” he realised, “suddenly become hard in a foreign land.” He decided to use his programming skills to help Syrians like himself with everyday tasks – like finding a doctor, or renting an apartment – and his popular app, Gherbtna, was born.

Microbiologists like Darie Alikaj, now a school teacher in Istanbul.

Meet Darie

Facing barrel bombs and mortar fire, Darie had no choice but to leave

Darie Alikaj, 40, did not want to leave Syria. She was a successful microbiologist and head of the microbiology department at the University of Aleppo. But as the bombing advanced, she had no choice but to leave her home to start a new life in Turkey.

“I left Syria for the sake of my daughter,” she said, watching her nine-year-old daughter, Mayas, retrace their route to safety on a map. “I want her to have a childhood.”

In 2015, Darie’s husband, Salahaddin, joined hundreds of thousands of refugees heading into Europe. “The Germans gave him a one-year permit, but there is no family reunification,” she said while wiping away tears. But Darie tries to remain positive. She teaches biology at a school and takes Turkish courses at a support office for Syrian refugees, funded by UNHCR and run by one of UNHCR’s partners.

“I love it here,” she said, “but this is not something permanent. My husband is not here. I miss my research. I want to teach in a university.”

Athletes like Yusra Mardini, who competed for the Refugee Olympic Team at Rio 2016.

Meet Yusra

Yusra swam to safety before swimming in the Olympics

As the flimsy vessel started taking on water, Yusra Mardini knew what to do. Stranded off the Turkish coast with 18 other desperate passengers, the teenager from Damascus slipped into the water with her sister, Sara, and they began pushing the boat to safety in Greece.

Yusra continued her journey to find refuge in Germany, where she started training with a club in Berlin. In 2016, she was selected to join the first ever Refugee Olympic Team, and went on to compete in the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

“Since Rio, I’ve been training hard but I’ve also been thinking a lot about what I can do to help refugees across the world.”

Yusra has addressed world leaders, met Pope Francis and President Obama and been honoured with many awards. She is determined to build and develop her voice and skills as an advocate for the refugee cause in her role as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

Millions have been torn apart from their families in their search for safety.

Follow one family's journey

Women and children make up the majority of Syrian refugees.

3.6m

are women and children

1.3m

are adult males

Each icon represents 200325k registered Syrian refugees

Men, women or children – all have legal rights under international law.

Over 144 countries have signed the 1951 Refugee Convention pledging to provide access to asylum to all refugees.

Learn more

The 1951 Refugee Convention is, in essence, an obligation to help refugees

In 1951, a diplomatic conference in Geneva adopted the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. It outlines who is a refugee and the kind of legal protection, assistance and social rights a refugee is entitled to receive.

The core principle is non-refoulement, which asserts that a refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. This is now considered a rule of customary international law.

UNHCR serves as the ‘guardian’ of the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol. According to the legislation, States are expected to cooperate in ensuring that the rights of refugees are respected and protected.

Many refugees have achieved amazing things.

Discover more prominent refugees

Albert Einstein

Physicist who fled Germany and found asylum in the US

M.I.A.

Musician who fled Sri Lanka and found asylum in the UK

Sigmund Freud

Founder of psychoanalysis who fled Austria and found asylum in the UK

Madeleine Albright

Former Secretary of State who fled Czechoslovakia and found asylum in the US

Wyclef Jean

Musician who fled Haiti and found asylum in the US

1/5

“The contribution of refugees to their new homes worldwide has been overwhelmingly positive.”

Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees

For many Syrians forced to flee the future remains uncertain.

Where are Syrian refugees going?

Anywhere, as long as it’s safe.

“Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq have been sheltering an unrelenting flood of Syrian refugees.”

António Guterres, UN Secretary-General

94% of Syrian refugees have escaped to five neighbouring countries.

Turkey

2.5m
Lebanon

1.1m
Jordan

0.6m
Iraq

0.2m
Egypt

0.1m

Total Syrian refugee population 5m in 2015

Za’atari, a refugee camp in Jordan, is home to 80,000 Syrians.

See Za’atari from above

People here have opened bakeries, pet stores and wedding dress shops.

Meet some small business owners

Pizzeria of Peace

Abu Mahmood opened Mu’ajanat Esalam, or Pizzeria of Peace, to support himself and his family while living in Za’atari. He delivers up to 50 pizzas a day to refugees and aid workers. The most popular flavour: margherita.

A taste of home

Before the crisis, Abu Rabee owned a well-known sweets brand which produced “raha”, a Syrian delicacy which means “comfort”. He now makes it for the people of Za’atari to bring back memories of home.

Finding beauty in Za’atari

Many young couples fall in love, and get married while living in Za’atari. Um Murad, a Syrian businesswoman, started the camp’s first beauty and wedding dress shop from her caravan. She has helped over 700 brides get ready for their big day.

The birdman of Za’atari

In Syria, Ayman kept pigeons, canaries and lovebirds. He lost them all when his home in Daraa was destroyed. He now breeds birds in Za’atari to help support his family, and remind him of his life before the war.

1/4

Nine in ten Syrian refugees live in cities, not camps.

The majority have resettled in urban areas within their host country. But city life poses different challenges, and many struggle to find work, pay rent or send their kids to school.

Meet Fadia, who is struggling to raise her children in Lebanon.

See Fadia's story

Like many Syrian refugee women, Fadia now faces a difficult reality

Fadia, a former nurse in Syria, survived a massacre in which her house was bombed and her husband was killed. She and her four children fled to Lebanon. Like many Syrian women, Fadia has become both breadwinner and caretaker, fending for herself and her family.

She is grateful to have a place to live in an isolated building in Tripoli. But the stairways are dark, electricity is infrequent, and a puddle of water leaks into the entrance of her flat. Sometimes she can only afford to feed her children one meal a day. “We see meat once a month, when we get food vouchers,” she says.

She wants to work, but there are no opportunities. “Once I worked in the field here, in a village nearby,” says Fadia. “I got $10 a day, for a few days. Then the work dried up.”

“When a mother and child come across the border, what are we supposed to do?”

King Abdullah II of Jordan

Watch his speech

With help, Syrian refugees can find a safe place to call home.

How can I help Syrian refugees?

Here are 3 ways you can make a difference now.

Six years of conflict have left around 11.2 million Syrians homeless. There's lots you can do to help build a better future for Syrian refugees.

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Pledge your support and stand #WithRefugees.

What was Syria like before the war?

Perhaps more familiar than you think.

Not long ago, Syria was at peace.

In 2010 top searches were

Syria has been a centre of art and culture since 3,000 BC.

In 2008, Damascus was honoured as the Arab Capital of Culture.

Souq al-Hamidiyya

Videos of FC Barcelona were popular on YouTube.

In 2010, Gorillaz became the biggest Western band to play here.

The tourism industry was flourishing before the war.

Syria drew more tourists than Australia in 2010.

And with good reason. Syria is a unique country with a rich history.

Meet Nadia, whose family owned an orchard of fruit and nut trees.

Syria was home to six UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Ancient City of Aleppo

Ancient City of Bosra

Ancient City of Damascus

Ancient Villages of

Northern Syria

Crac des Chevaliers and

Qal'at Salah El-Din

Site of Palmyra

The war has damaged or destroyed every one of them.

Syria as we knew it no longer exists.

What is going on in Syria?

“The biggest humanitarian and refugee crisis of our time.”

What began as a peaceful protest in 2011 quickly spiralled into deadly conflict.

The war has lasted

More than 2 million Syrians have been killed or injured.

Around 24,000 of those who have died are children.

Meet 7-year-old Bana, who shared her experience of war on Twitter.

“This is what refugees from Syria ... have fled from.”

One in four schools have been damaged, destroyed or used for shelter.

And 24.5 million years of education have been lost.

Over half of Syria’s hospitals are no longer functioning.

Millions of hectares of farmland have been destroyed or abandoned.

Causing food costs to soar by as much as 900%.

More than half of all Syrians have been forced from their homes.

“If you were lucky you had time to pack a bag. If not, you simply dropped everything and ran.”

Abandoned cars at the Turkish border.

By 2016, around 5 million Syrians had become refugees.

What is a refugee?

refugee rɛfjʊˈdʒiː/ noun

“Planes would fly above and drop bombs. We got scared, hid and started crying.”

There are now more people displaced by conflict or persecution than any time since World War II.

More refugees come from Syria than any other country.

Many Syrians are educated, with professional backgrounds.

Syrians*

18 in 100

Americans

11 in 100

They’re developers like Mojahed Akil, who created an app to help refugees in Turkey.

Microbiologists like Darie Alikaj, now a school teacher in Istanbul.

Athletes like Yusra Mardini, who competed for the Refugee Olympic Team at Rio 2016.

Millions have been torn apart from their families in their search for safety.

Women and children make up the majority of Syrian refugees.

3.6m

1.3m

Men, women or children – all have legal rights under international law.

Many refugees have achieved amazing things.

Albert Einstein

M.I.A.

Sigmund Freud

Madeleine Albright

Wyclef Jean

“The contribution of refugees to their new homes worldwide has been overwhelmingly positive.”

For many Syrians forced to flee the future remains uncertain.

Where are Syrian refugees going?

Anywhere, as long as it’s safe.

“Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq have been sheltering an unrelenting flood of Syrian refugees.”

94% of Syrian refugees have escaped to five neighbouring countries.

Turkey

Lebanon

Jordan

Iraq

Egypt

Za’atari, a refugee camp in Jordan, is home to 80,000 Syrians.

People here have opened bakeries, pet stores and wedding dress shops.

Pizzeria of Peace

A taste of home