The number of Syrian children affected by the brutal civil war ravaging their country is truly disheartening. According to UN agencies, 1 million children, 75 percent of them below 11 years, have fled their country since the conflict began in March 2011. "This one millionth child refugee is not just another number. This is a real child ripped from home, maybe even from a family, facing horrors we can only begin to comprehend," said a grim Anthony Lake, executive director of the UN Children's Fund, or UNICEF.

The children's sufferings don't end here, however. Apart from the 1 million who have been forced to flee, 2 million others have been displaced within Syria, making this one of the most serious humanitarian crisis today.

The children's nightmarish situation is just a reflection of the wider conflict in their country, which so far has cost the lives of 100,000 people. Syrians of all faiths have been fleeing to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, Egypt and, increasingly, to North Africa and Europe. As a result, they have overburdened those countries' and regions' health and social services. As UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said: "The youth of Syria are losing their homes, their family members and their future."

Continuing the education of this mobile population of children is an almost impossible task. Few among them have been able to continue their education or receive psychological counseling. Many fear these children have become part of a "lost generation" and will not be able to contribute their knowledge for their country's development.

Educational problems are frequent not only among the children who remain in Syria, but also among those now living in other countries. A study conducted by CARE, a leading humanitarian organization, in Jordan found that more than 60 percent of Syrian school-age children are not attending classes despite the availability of free schooling, which reflects the problems of integration into another country's social milieu. What makes this situation particularly serious is that the longer the children stay out of school, the more difficult it will be for them to return.

In areas of more intensive fighting in Syria, one in every five schools has been destroyed, damaged or is being used as shelter for displaced families. In Aleppo, only 6 percent of the children are attending school. Classes that still function are overcrowded with as many as 100 children in one class, according to a UNICEF report. Many children are suffering the psychological consequences of seeing their family members and friends killed or injured.

Drinking water has become a precious commodity in Syria. In the most deprived areas, access to water has fallen by two-thirds, resulting in increased skin and respiratory infections. Only about 4 million people in Syria have access to safe water, and the basic infrastructure and public services have been systematically destroyed over the past year, warns UNICEF.

Many children in Syria have become victims of human rights violations, including arbitrary detention, torture and killing. Still many have been recruited by fighters and forced to fight in the conflict. And quite a number of children have been maimed after stepping on explosive remains.

Thousands of children have sought refuge in overcrowded collective shelters that lack even the most basic amenities and services. Vaccination against common diseases has become a luxury, and most parents cannot afford to pay their children's schooling costs such as transport fare, supplies and lunch.

Given the tremendous fallout on Syrian children, it is obvious that the international community has failed to protect them, to spare them the consequences of a barbaric conflict. As Lake said: "We must all share the shame."

The author is an international medical consultant and a co-winner of an

Overseas Press Club of America award.

(China Daily USA 09/02/2013 page12)