Starting in March of 2011, several school boys were arrested and taken in for questioning on behalf of the Syrian government. According to cnn.com, the young men were arrested for writing graffiti on the grounds of the school supporting the Arab spring protest movement that is against dictatorship and rigged, unfair elections.

At first, many citizens responded with a peaceful protest outside government facilities. In the city of Daraa, Syrian government officials responded violently by opening fire on protesters, killing four people on the day of the event, according to pbs.org.

Due to different news stations reporting on the government responding harshly,   the news spread to the rest of the world. Other countries such as Russia, Iran, the United States and other countries were brought into the conflict of this civil war,  supporting opposing sides.

According to smh.com, Russia and Iran are both supporting the Syrian government by selling weaponry which benefits both countries by increasing their economy.

Half of the Syrian population has been deported from their homes, a total of 11.2 million citizens. Thousands of buildings have been destroyed in the process of this civil war. Syrian citizens have been affected by chemical attacks, shootings, bombing and variety of other strikes. Throughout the ongoing five years of war, there has been an estimate of over 400,000 deaths according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

“I blame the terrorists, we are innocent, kids, civilians. I just want to walk again. My heart is dead,” Mohammad Marzen said according to bbc.com.