DAMASCUS, Syria, July 23 (UPI) -- Without a political solution in Syria, children will bear the brunt of the conflict, leaving a generation of angry, illiterate adults, a U.N. official said.
"They have lost their families, lost their house. They lost hope. They are full of anger -- I repeated this: They are full of anger, and if it continues, we will face a generation of illiterates," Leila Zerrougui, special representative of the secretary-general for children and armed conflict, said Monday in New York after she returned from the Middle East.
Zerrougui spent nearly a month visiting Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey to document and report on the impact of the more than 2-year-old conflict on children, the United Nations said in a release.
The envoy met with government officials and members of opposition groups, urging them to take urgent measures to protect children and others.
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The Syrian government is on the U.N. "list of shame" for killing and maiming children, and for attacking schools and hospitals. Opposition groups are on the list for enlisting recruits less than 18 years of age.
Among the main problems resulting from the number of displaced families is disruption to schooling, Zerrougui said.
"There is no reward to be won in Syria," she said. "The government today is feeling that they are winning. We need to work with them to let them understand that the only way to bring them together is to bring society together. And to understand that there is grievance and there is a need to move forward on a political agenda."
Since fighting began in March 2011 between the Syrian government and opposition groups seeking to oust President Bashar Assad, the United Nations estimates 100,000 people have died, 2 million have fled to neighboring countries and 4 million have been internally displaced.
