FEATURE: Japanese UNICEF officer reflects on mission for children in Syria...

By Tadashi Tsumura
DAMASCUS, April 19, Kyodo

Iman Morooka, a UNICEF communications officer in Syria, did not hesitate to visit the strife-ridden country's battlegrounds during her recent two-month mission there, believing her task is to let the world know what is happening and that the lives of children there are in danger.

"I want people to understand their situation," Morooka said, explaining that many Syrian children have been deprived of the opportunity to receive a decent education and are traumatized by the constant sound of gunfire and frequent terrorist attacks.

During her mission in the country which ended in mid-April, the 37-year-old stayed not only in the relatively safe capital of Damascus but chose to visit regions where the fighting has been more intense to examine the situation and interview more people...

(Kyodo News)