Scars to Heal: First skate park brings joy to Syrian children

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The current generation of Syrian children were born during wartime, without any idea of what a normal childhood is like. But now some of them finally have a chance to play and forget about the conflict around them. CGTN correspondent Zhu Xuesong visits the first skate park in the Syrian capital Damascus, to see how it's bringing children joy after years of war.

Sliding, turning and flipping. Local children gather in this newly built skate park after school to experience this relatively new and exciting sport.

ANAS KOWARA 14-YEAR-OLD SKATER "I am displaced here, and I used to see this sport on TV and wished to try it. When this park was established, Qudsaya became really nice. In the beginning, it was very difficult, but now I know how to skate very well."

The skate park was built by SOS Children's Villages in Syria, the German Skate Aid Foundation, and Wonders Around the World, an international and independent non-profit organization with the aim of improving the situation of the traumatized children of Damascus.

ZHU XUESONG DAMASCUS "The skate park was built in an abandoned park surrounded by buildings where many displaced families live. It is also close to a public school with more than 2,000 students, and it is not far from one of the two SOS Children's Villages in Damascus."

Every day from dawn to dusk, skate-aid volunteers introduce skateboarding to the boys and girls. For those children, the sport has become a way for them to release the stress they experience from the enduring woes of war and the occasional loneliness at home.

WASEEM SHERKA SKATE-AID VOLUNTEER "The kids have gone through a lot of things. The kids need something to make them feel happy again. The organizers thought of this project to bring happiness, which the war has stripped away, back to kids."

ANAS KOWARA 14-YEAR-OLD SKATER "I feel strong when I play this sport. I want to be a skateboarding trainer in the future."

The skate park is only a starting point. With the reconstruction going deeper, more and more safe projects and facilities will be provided to local children, helping them strengthen their sense of belonging and overcome hardships. Zhu Xuesong, CGTN, Damascus, Syria.