Original Film Title: Syria’s Schools Under Attack
Directors Name: Darren Conway
Writers Name: Darren Conway
Producers: Darren Conway, Debbie Randle, Mughira Al-Sharif, Feras Ahmed
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Country of Filming: Germany, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, United Kingdom
Language: English
Runtime: 46 minutes 30 seconds
Film Description:
On 26th August 2013 a fighter jet dropped an incendiary bomb in the courtyard of a school in Aleppo, Syria. Some pupils were killed immediately, more died of horrific injuries soon after.
A BBC team, including director / cameraman Darren Conway, was inside Syria that day, filming at a local children’s hospital when the casualties started to arrive.
This wasn’t the first time that a school has been bombed in Syria, but never before had the world seen so clearly the human impact.
There were false accusations that this attack never happened, that the BBC’s pictures were fake, and that the young victims were actors.
Eight years later, with the attacks still ongoing, Darren Conway and his team crossed back into north West Syria to meet the survivors of the attack and families of those killed.
They discover first hand the lasting damage an incendiary weapon can do and the agonising injuries it can cause.
We hear from the teacher who still sees the charred remains of his students every day and can no longer teach, the student who suffered 85% burns to his body and still lives in constant pain and the father of the girl who begged for the world to act, to stop the suffering, before she died from her injuries.
Iqra School was one of thousands of schools totally or partially destroyed during the Syrian conflict which began in March 2011. They are still being targeted today.
At least 25,000 children have been killed – that number continues to rise.