Original version

BBC World Service Online

Unexpected Elements

Factual: Science & Nature

Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

The news you know, the science you don’t.

The news you know, the science you don’t. Unexpected Elements looks beyond everyday narratives to discover a goldmine of scientific stories and connections from around the globe. From Afronauts, to why we argue, to a deep dive on animal lifespans: see the world in a new way.

The Science Hour

Unexpected Elements: The Impact of War on Syrian Children

(Photo:  The Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, 18 July 2013. Photo credit:  Getty Images.)

28/12/2013

The Impact of War on Syrian Children

BBC World Service - Unexpected Elements, The Impact of War on Syrian Children

It's a misconception that children are resilient - what helps to alleviate the suffering?

Protecting young minds – the impact of war and conflict on Syrian children. Plus Norway’s novel attempts to heal its citizens two years on from the Anders Breivik murders.

It's a common misconception that children, unlike adults, are so resilient that they can bounce back from the emotional and psychological impact of war and conflict. The evidence contradicts this and world experts in the field warn that, while some children do recover fully from exposure to the horrors of war, others experience long-term mental health problems. 

As the war and fighting in Syria continues to claim more lives and destroy many others, Claudia Hammond reports from Jordan on how this latest conflict is exposing yet another generation to the traumatic impact of violence, killing and loss. She investigates what actually helps to alleviate the suffering of these children and prevent a life-time of recurring emotional distress. 

The date 22 July 2011 has been described as the day Norway cried. After detonating a car bomb in Oslo, killing eight and injuring many more, Anders Breivik took a ferry to the island of Utoya. There, dressed as a policeman, he began a murderous spree, hunting down and indiscriminately shooting young people on the island who were attending a youth camp. Seventy-seven people were killed in total, many of them teenagers, and hundreds were injured. 

This was the worst mass murder in Norwegian post-war history and the whole country was in shock. But Norway used this national tragedy to pioneer new ways of caring for their citizens. Claudia Hammond reports on the ground-breaking new ways Norway has been delivering psychological and mental health support to those who survived, and to those who lost relatives and friends.

(Photo:  The Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, 18 July 2013. Photo credit: Getty Images.)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Unexpected Elements

The Impact of War on Syrian Children

Genres

Brand

BBC World Service Online

About BBC World Service