Mercy Corps [to 22 August 2015]
http://www.mercycorps.org/press-room/releases

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Mercy Corps: Engaging Syrian Youth is Crucial to Stability of Region
Syria, August 10, 2015
Global organization launches new initiative to reach vulnerable youth trapped in years-long war

Portland, Ore. — Syrian teenagers are depressed, hopeless and vulnerable to dangerous influences, according to a new report by the global organization Mercy Corps evaluating the ramifications of Syria’s ongoing civil war on the country’s adolescent population. Findings show that teens are deeply affected by the lack of safety, disruption to education and economic instability. Extreme isolation and lack of support by parents compound the issues.

“Syrian adolescents express extreme hopelessness and a fear that they have no future,” says Jane Macphail, Mercy Corps’ Youth Director who oversaw the pioneering research. “They are very aware of the fact that they’ve lost their childhoods and have been forced to be adults too early in life.”…