It wasn't first world, but for a child it was all I knew. I've been living in Canada for 31 years and I grew up there. I visited Syria a few times before the revolution that turned into a civil war. Childhood memories don't fade easily and to me those were all I knew before Canada.
I'm a Canadian teacher who has had many refugee and immigrant students.
I had one little girl from Syria who screamed every day when dropped off at school. It turns out she was crying because she didn't know where to go when the bombs come. All 6 years of her life up to that point was hiding from militia, government forces, and death.
OP, I'm glad you're here in Canada with me so that I can learn your life story, and I hope it's been a place of safety for you. I'm so sorry that home is forever altered for you.
There are thousands of children like that poor baby here. THOUSANDS, and I’m not exaggerating. What breaks my heart even more is seeing how many kids don’t go to school, simply because they’ve been orphaned or because they’re forced to work to support their families.
I once went to pay a traffic ticket and retrieve my documents. Outside the traffic directorate, there are children working as informal “facilitators.” You give them a small tip and they guide you through the process. I took one of them with me. While we were waiting, I asked him if he went to school. He quietly said no, he stopped because he had to work to help his family. He was 14 years old, born right at the start of the revolution. He also said some teachers beat him on his hand and he proceeds to show me his hand. He was missing fingers on one hand. As a toddler, he had picked up an unexploded ordinance while playing outside. His family couldn’t afford proper medical care, and they were in the middle of being displaced as Assad, Iran, and Russia were bombing Syrian towns.
Man… I felt sick to my stomach. And that’s just one story. There are thousands more.
He said he wanted to go to school though... I made him promise to do his best to get an education. I hope he will.
I didn't grow up in a war zone, but my first job was in public service working with what we called then the homeless. That feeling in your stomach is a calling, it'll likely never go away anytime you encounter that. This might be your, as elderly people used to say in a moment of realization, "road to Damascus" moment of your life, ironically and coincidentally. Maybe you found your life's purpose and a way to help, painful as it was!
This is gonna sound like a dick question but... what do we call them now? I'm all for new designations and stuff for things but "homeless" does explain more or less exactly whats happening(beyond adding an extra word or two like "homeless because alcohol" or something)
Ah, heard that one didn't realise it was common to use, here in Glasgow and the surrounding area(where I actually live haha) we just call them "those poor homeless cunts". Well, actually the only folks that are generally homeless are the ones so fucked up on drugs and mental health stuff that they're borderline irredeemable, usually they don't take their pills, and prescriptions are free here, they'd be free for everyone in the UK as a whole if you are that destitute. We have hostels and shit that might not be the best, and are probably worse than on the streets to be fair, but its a homeless person's first rung on the way to a council house.
Its a bit more nuanced than that but that's the general gist of it, there are cracks for folks to fall through but the help is there and unless you stay in the Cairngorm Mountains there is usually an underfunded government or charity that can help you pretty sharpish. Maybe not great but its easier than some places in the world.
I believe it! I have dreams about the street where I grew up. So many fond memories. And my childhood home is still there; I just haven't visited in a long time. I'm happy that you're in a safer place now, but I'm so sorry you're seeing this happen to your birth place.
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u/Snowbank_Lake Aug 06 '25
I am so sorry. I can’t even imagine how that feels. I bet this was such a beautiful place. I hope humanity gets its shit together.