Nation, Gender, and Identity: Children in the Syrian Revolution 2011

This article examines the victimization and role of Syrian children in the Syrian Revolution 2011. I claim that through engaging in a competition to provide a definitive image of the nation, both the regime and the opposition victimize Syrian children. Nevertheless, the art projects undertaken by nonviolence activists have proven to help children heal and to cope with the predicaments brought on them by the crisis. The poetry, paintings, drawings, and songs produced by these children are the best means they have of representing their victimization and their role in the revolution, and communicating their perspectives on the Syrian nation today. I argue that by producing art that conveys their perception of the revolution, Syrian children reclaim their identities as citizens of Syria.