GENEVA, March 10 (Xinhua) -- A decade of conflicts has substantial impact on the wellbeing of young Syrians, who suffered immense economic hardship, frustrated ambitions and profound psychological toll, said a new report published by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Wednesday.
Based on a survey of 1,400 Syrians aged 18 to 25 living in Syria, Lebanon and Germany, the report detailed the grim fallout from the hostilities that started in March 2011.
Almost half of those surveyed said that a close relative or friend had been killed in the conflict and one in six reported a parent killed or injured. In Lebanon, almost seven out of ten young Syrians had lost contact with a close relative.
Moreover, half of them reported loss of income due to the conflict and 77 percent struggled to afford food. In Syria, where 13.4 million people depend on humanitarian assistance, this rate rose to 85 percent.
Women have been particularly affected by the consequences of the hostilities as almost 30 percent of those surveyed in Syria said they had no income to support their family.
Furthermore, more than half of the 1,400 Syrians surveyed said that they had lost "years" of education and one in five had to postpone marriage plans.
"This has been a decade of savage loss for all Syrians," said Robert Mardini, director-general of the ICRC. "For young people in particular, the past ten years have been marked by loss of loved ones, loss of opportunities and loss of control over their future."
However, young Syrians were still "optimistic" about the future and had "hopes and ambitions for the next decade" despite the high prevalence of sleep disorders, anxiety and depression among them, the report said.
"What is so poignant about their situation is that, having lost much of their childhood and teenage years to the violence, this generation will likely shoulder much of the responsibility and work of reconstruction," said Fabrizio Carboni, ICRC regional director for Near and Middle-East. Enditem
