In the past week alone, more than 520 people, including 130 children, have died and thousands more have been wounded as bombs continue to fall on the rebel-held Damascus suburb of East Ghouta, Syria. 

Through seven years of never ending war and humanitarian relief to the few survivors, the Syrian War has torn the country apart. But not many people know about the crisis. 

The Syrian Civil War is an ongoing conflict in Syria between the government, which began in 2011 when protesters demanded that President Bashar al-Assad resign. The President’s supporters were from the religious group Shia, while opposers were mostly Sunni. Military battles slowly transformed into armed rebellions, leading to the deaths of both civilians and protesters.

By 2013, the Syrian government gained control of most of the country’s territory and population. However, the government was responsible for many of the recorded deaths. They began the use of chemical weapons against rebels until they were later taken away after gaining attention from international communities. Fighters would carry out mass killings of rival armed groups and conduct public executions and since then no official compromise has been made.

Although many have been affected, children and women have been reported to need the most aid. According to the United Nations, they will need “$3.2 billion to help a total of 13.5 million people,” 6 million of which are children. People in Syria do not have access to water and run on very little food supplies. UnicefUSA.org says, “2.6 million Syrian children are living as refugees or are on the run in search for safety,” and “more than 1 million children are missing out on education.”

When asked about her knowledge on the topic Senior Cameron Howard, said that she “knew very little,” but saw “gruesome images of Syrian children on twitter” that made her interested in the subject. Junior Jasmine Oyotumbe said that her friend’s family has been “donating to Unicef to help the cause.” Junior Sierra Prague was saddened to “hear of all the kids dying because it is not getting enough attention.”

Hopefully, peace can return to the people of Syria.