People who were wounded in the Syrian war are suffering from physical as well as psychological trauma. Some have discovered the road to recovery from both afflictions through sports. CGTN's Alaa Ebrahim has this story.

This is no ordinary basketball practice, this practice is taking place at Al-Amal sports club in Damascus. The club's name means 'Hope'. And for Giath Zamzom and hundreds of thousands like him, this club was a vital place during their recovery from a potentially lethal injury.

GIATH 19-YEAR-OLD WAR-WOUNDED "I was hit by a mortar five years ago and was paralyzed from the waist down, it seemed my life ended then. But recently my therapist told me to come here. I started playing basketball and now things are better. I am going back to school, though I lost a couple of years. I should be in the first year of university but I'm still in the 11th grade."

The 8-year long Syrian conflict has left nearly half a million dead and many more injured. As the fighting slows down and Syria is no longer constantly in the headlines, other challenges start to haunt society. Like integrating the wounded and providing for nearly a million families that lost their breadwinners.

AMAL KADOURA, PSYCHOLOGICAL ADVISOR AL-AMAL SPORTS CLUB "Sports are very good tools to help overcome both physical and mental trauma. We are providing help to everyone we can, but the problem is our capacity is limited and we have to turn many people away."

For journalists covering the Syrian war, 2018 was definitely a decisive year in the conflict, that brought many changes and much more hope for peace.

NAIEM IBRAHIM JOURNALIST "This year has been full of events; the Sotchi congress, closing in on a constitutional committee, the government retaking all of the countryside around Damascus, but the situation still isn't easy for ordinary citizens struggling to survive the economic hardship."

For the five million people living in Damascus right now, and the rest of the population scattered across the country, war-related security challenges are still a factor. But those challenges have taken a back seat to economic hardship, as the Syrian pound has sunk to less than 10% of its value before the war started in 2011, and prices continue to soar.

ALAA EBRAHIM DAMASCUS "Half of all Syrians were displaced at least once during the 8-year-conflict, and chances are, if they do manage to return, they will find rubble and damaged houses waiting for them. These are some of the facts that mark the Syrian conflict out as one of the worst and most vicious in modern times. It now seems everyone agrees the next battle will be one of construction and finance, and one that won't be any less vicious than the other battles of the war. Alaa Ebrahim, CGTN Damascus."