IamA Teenager living in Syria, War is outside my window AMA! (No politics)

Have your parents discussed moving to another country where you would be safer? (or do you live in area very far from the actual war?)

We live in aleppo, the most dangerous city in syria, Yes we discussed that, we moved to Spain to live with my uncle for a few months but i had to come back to complete my education :/ My house is in a pretty safe place downtown... But after a quarter of a mile it gets pretty dangerous! But we are under constant danger of the missles that the terrorists attack every once and a while...

How hard is it to find food? Are there regular restaurants and things still open?

Last year, we got circled by terrorists that stopped every food truck from entering our town, we didn't see fresh vegetables or fruits for a whole month, but now, we 've got everything. restaurants outside of town got closed, but those who are in the safe areas are still open !

Thanks for the answer! Since we're on the subject, what's your favorite food?

Hmm, Syrian food is wonderful, You might not know this, but we have different versions of the foods you eat, We have our own style of burgers, macaronie, pizza,cheese, and chicken. If you try to eat these in syria, they would taste even better! My fav. Syrian plate is sausages. And my fav. Food is Crispy Chicken ( especially Honey Mustard Crispy Chicken)

yep that sounds fucking amazing stay safe!

Edit: In reference to Honey Mustard Crispy Chicken

Haha yeah thanks you too!

I wish you would stop refering to the armed militias as terrorists cause it has a political conotation which you wished to avoid.

Ok, but i also refuse for these ""militias"" to stop killing innocent people and stop cutting off people's heads and eating their hearts. Because it's unbearable, and due to that, they do not represent any class or range of the syrian people anymore. People here apwant to feel safe again. And that is the last political question for tonight

Sigh... Enough.

In your personal opinion: When will Syria live in peace again and do you think it can achieve peace without foreign intervention?

I really hope so, but have in mind that an intervention will only make it worse

When do you find time to spank it

Hahah, we've got enough time here... As same as you Lol

Have classes not been cancelled due to the war?

Yeah! Sometimes they cancel school for a few days due to dangerous situations. Sometimes for a whole week! Yay! Holidays!

i just have snow days. wow.

Haha you made me laugh!!

How can you enjoy not having school when hundreds of thousands of children in your country struggle to eat in Syria, let alone receive an education?

Yeah, that is sad, but if you ever live the life we have right here...you would dry from boredum, i just wanted to joke about that.. Thats all..

After you finish school, do you hope to move to another country? Where would you like to go?

Yes, i want to study in canada or the us and then go back and be a part of my country's new future

if money is a concern, choose canada.

for international student, studying in the USA is very expensive. only about half the price on average in canada. ($27,000/yr or so)

Thanks! I even have more advantages in canada, i've got a place to live with my uncle there... Lets pray for an approval :/

you'll be fine if your grades are good

Yeah they are :P

also don't forget to take your TOEFL (if you haven't already)

there shouldn't be any other standardized tests required from canadian schools (no SAT or ACT!) but if you already have SATs or ACTs that's fine too.

if you're in a IB program that helps a lot.

Yeah, i prepared for toefel and Sats... I noticed that sat is not required in canada :) I hope i could get a high toefel mark as i expect to And thanks for the advice!!! :)

Canada is great.

Alright ! :) cool

Canadian here, Canada is indeed "cool," in every sense of the word

Ahh great! You got me exited ! Cant wait to come over

go to Montreal or Ottawa, you can learn french while perfecting your english, and there is a huge population of arabs in both cities....maybe you'll find a cute hijabi wife!

I'm not muslim... But anw, i speak french fluently too, I prefer toronto, because my family lives there and my english is way better than my french :P

How old are you, and you mentioned school - if you're in college, what's your major? (or if there's a high school major?)

Im in high school, in syria we only have two majors, Scientific of literature. My major is scientific, but we are forced here to study all subjects, Chem, biology, physics and maths, and many more together! I'm turning 18 in june this is my senior year,

Dude. Im 17, I also turn 18 in june, on the 30th actually. I read through this whole thread thinking you were in college, for some reason the fact that you are my age really put this into perspective for me. I honestly hope to god you stay safe and that you can move to a more secure country. I live in Canada and this thread has taught me to stop taking that for granted. Thanks.

Man, thank you, i hope that too, our educational system is different here, so... I'm just hoping to achieve my dream someday.

I lived in Aleppo with my family for a while, we moved to Jordan when things started getting dicey. Heard gun fire and bombs going of a few times while I still lived there.

No questions, just hoping you and yours stay safe man!

Thanks! This means a lot! Stay safe too!!

How can you be so positive? It's amazing, I literally would fall in panic during war! Stay safe! :)

Thanks very much! We try to stay positive as much as we can, if we don't we'd be covered by depression due to this situation :! This means so much to me!!!

Yeah, all the best to you and your family from Switzerland !!!

My family aint from swiss! What made you think that :)

Oops sorry! I meant all the best for you and your family.. greetings from Switzerland (me) :)

Hahah :) ok ! Greetings from syria! It means a lot for me :)

During the war have you witnessed any acts of kindness by people or an individual you'd like to share?

Not specifically. But me and my friends go out in the weekends to give food and clothes to the refugees...and many people do this too.

Can you describe your education process throughout the war?

Yeah. Some public schools got closed by the begenning of war because thety are not in a safe place. Personally, my priv. school is outside of town, it is dangerous out there, so it got closed and they rented a building in town to continue studying there. The education is running low due to war ...

How is it that your English is so good?

Yeah! Thanks, i attended some extra english courses scince i was very little, I even developed a great accent by skyping with friends in the us and watching great tv shows without subtitles or translations, you should see how people speak english here! Pretty funny!!

I am going to sleep now ! It's almost 3 oclock in the morning. feel free to put your questions, I'll provide you with an answer as soon as i wake up. (Dont forget to step away of political questions) some of you really made me laugh, we really had fun ! GOODNIGHT !

What are the largest ways you would say war has affected your life directly?

Everything. War has affected our lifestyle. The way we think, our education and our whole lives.

Thinking more on a day to day basis.

Yeah! Exactly, We even think on an hour to hour basis, we don't know what could happen at any moment

Stay safe bro

Thank you!

What's the closest you've come to being a casualty of the war?

The closest experience was on my way back to our house from the airport, car got shot by a sniper... And once terrorists sneaked to a street near our home, we got a little scared and heard some close gunshots.

What is one thing you would like people in the rest of the world to know about living in Syria today that you feel isn't represented in the news?

Is that we live our life ! We're here! Dont forget that we have our own voice ! This is our land ! And we choose whoever rules and who doesn't. My message goes to all of the people who misunderstood the situation in syria, i hope they understand that is the exact opposite of what the media claims to say.

What's the media misunderstanding that bothers you the most?

That they only take one side of the war. The media should be focusing on people, and delivering the truth, and being neutral between the two or three sides of the war

What do you do during the free time. (Any hobbies)??

I draw a lot, listen to music, i also work on youtube videos and develop my own app that should come out sometime in summer :)

Have you felt compelled to be more aware of things like self-defence, firearms usage, and the like?

Yes, i am interested to learn how to use them, but im more interested in self-defence techniques.

Have you ever been tempted yourself to join any side in the armed conflict?

No way, i would never join any conflict, i have another dream to persue in life. And that is my love to tech and my passion to develop and innovate d faciliate the way we live and think through technology.

Can you go outside like before the war, or are you staying home more for safety? (not just you, but anyone in family, friends)

I can still go outside but we can't go far out of downtown, If its dark... We may come home early if there were any sounds of bombings or gunshots.

What's your favorite TV show?

I really love The mentalist , Two Broke Girls and the simpsons And god i miss "Friends!"

Simpsons is the best!!

Hhaha yeah! Why you Little!

Do you feel like that your every day life is covered in numbness? Lot of people describe it sort of because they can't really do anything about the situation.

Yeah. I really do, i cant wait to finish this damn school and travel to persue my goals

How do you deal with acne?

With acne Creams , Retin Pills, Special Soaps... We have a wide variety of medications to treat acne here :)

There hasn't been any shortages?

Whoa ! A lot! We spend weeks without electricity days without water. Months without connection. We now only get around 5 hours of electricity a day

Do people join sides on an ethnic basis or a religious basis or is that basically the same thing?

I think some join on a religious basis but that doesnt matter anymore and i think the war is comeing to a near end

shia?

No... Just forget about politics dude

Why do you think the war is ending soon?

Idk, elections are coming in summer.. I have a good feeling About itx

How much carnage have you witnessed, if any, and how has it affected you?

I only saw them on tv, I'm sorry i didn't witness a carnage. But on my way travelling i've seen massive destruction in buildings and whole streets!

What is your opinion on Turkey? We've had some beef but I don't know what all the hate is about. Friends? :)

No way, turkish people are friends, but the goverment helped arming and sneaking terrorists to my country . And to me, i would never ever give a single atom of respect to these people who have their hands wet in blood of violence in my beloved country

Sorry mate we aren't talking about Syria anymore. Now it's about Ukraine.

Besides Syria is a mess. Both sides are too extreme for us to want to get involved.

Hahah yeah, syria got old