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Middle East
12:54 pm
Wed December 26, 2012

Syria's War Leaves Its Scars On The Children

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Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Maysam Selmo, 8, during her first week at Albashayer School for Syrian Refugee Children in Antakya, Turkey. She and her extended family fled their village in northwestern Syria, and now live in a crowded apartment.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Principal Sally Albunni enrolls Nureddin, 11, (right) who arrived in Antakya with his mother after his father was killed two weeks earlier in Syria.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Teacher Rahaf Al Tinawie sets up a DVD player to show a video-story to her students. Tinawie teaches human resources at Albashayer and tries to help the children overcome the trauma most have experienced.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Cousins Suleiman Selmo, 9, and Kawthar Selmo, 10, receive donated clothes on their second day at the school. Many Syrian children and families are in need of basic supplies.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Teacher Emine Kusa leads a Turkish class for eighth-graders. Albashayer opened nearly two years ago when refugees began arriving in southern Turkey. A second building was recently opened to accommodate the growing number of students.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Children often show signs of trauma from their experiences inside Syria. A U.N. team interviewing Syrian kids in a refugee camp found that most lost a loved one in the fighting, and almost half have post-traumatic stress disorder.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Teachers at the school are mostly devout Muslims. Between classes, teachers Rahaf Al Tinawie and Rola Kadi take a break to pray.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Children play during recess. The school is overcrowded with 500 students and new students constantly arriving. In one recent week, 115 new students enrolled.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Many children wrestle and participate in aggressive play during recess, while others eat snacks and socialize. This rough play can be common with traumatized children.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Rola Kadi, a Syrian-American from Michigan, has been volunteering as an art teacher at the school.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Children wait for minibuses to take them home after school. The school is free for Syrian children living in Turkey.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Maysam Selmo, 8, during her first week at Albashayer School for Syrian Refugee Children in Antakya, Turkey. She and her extended family fled their village in northwestern Syria and now live in a crowded apartment.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Some Syrian children play at wrestling and fighting during recess at the Albashayer School for Syrian Refugee Children. This type of play can be common among children who have witnessed traumatic events.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Teacher Rahaf Al Tinawie counsels a student outside class at the Albashayer School for Syrian Refugee Children. Al Tinawie says many children show signs of trauma and she sometimes meets with parents to discuss the problems the children are facing.
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Originally published on Wed December 26, 2012 7:57 pm

The war in Syria is taking a huge toll on the children. An international team of researchers that interviewed Syrian kids in a refugee camp in Turkey found that 3 out of 4 have lost a loved one. Almost half have post-traumatic stress disorder and elevated levels of depression.

There are efforts to help, but it's challenging. In the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep, the bell rings at 8 a.m. at the Friendship Elementary School. Syrian kids, in fresh school uniforms, cram into desks, with more than 40 students in every classroom.

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The Two-Way
12:33 pm
Wed December 26, 2012

N.Y. Website Posts Map Of People With Gun Permits, Draws Criticism

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The Journal News' map of gun owners in Rockland County, N.Y. At its website, the image is interactive so that users can see who has handgun permits and where they live.
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Originally published on Wed December 26, 2012 2:49 pm

The website of New York's Journal News newspapers has posted an interactive map showing the names and addresses of people with licenses to own handguns in three counties just to the north of New York City — Westchester, Rockland and Putnam.

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Music
11:47 am
Wed December 26, 2012

Baltimore Singer's Big Voice Touches Siberia

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Credit MJ Smets / Lea Gilmore
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By NPR Staff

"My Mom said, 'life isn't either, or, it's and.' And I think that's why I do so much, maybe too much."

Lea Gilmore was pregnant and married at 18. She describes herself as a "statistic." But, she tells NPR's Celeste Headlee, lessons learned from a family of "very strong Southern women" meant that she did not allow that to dictate her circumstances.

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Movies
11:37 am
Wed December 26, 2012

Will Hollywood Catch Up To A Changing Audience?

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By editor

Transcript

CELESTE HEADLEE, HOST:

Switching gears now. The year is winding down and that means Oscar season is winding up. Some movies are already getting buzz, like "Lincoln," "Argo" and "Zero Dark Thirty." That last film is about the search for Osama bin Laden. Here's a clip.

(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, "ZERO DARK THIRTY")

UNIDENTIFIED MAN ##1: (as character) Do you really believe this story? Osama bin Laden?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: (as character) Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (as character) What convinced you?

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Shots - Health News
11:29 am
Wed December 26, 2012

Dip In Preschoolers' Obesity Hints Worst May Be Past For Weight

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An overweight child reads her part during a skit that was in a 2010 program promoting healthy lifestyles sponsored by Children's Hospital near Denver.
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By Nancy Shute

Obesity among preschoolers has dropped a bit, offering hope that a decades-long trend towards dangerously overweight children may finally be on the wane. If the trend continues, it could mean healthier adults in the future.

The findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention follow a reports earlier this year that found declines in obesity rates among school-aged children.

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Around the Nation
11:17 am
Wed December 26, 2012

A Lull Until New Year's? Not So These Days

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The CambridgeSide Galleria was bustling with people exchanging gifts and taking advantage of sales the day after Christmas 2011.
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Originally published on Wed December 26, 2012 1:32 pm

Time was, the stretch following Christmas Day until New Year's Day was a quiet, sleepy spot on the American calendar. The six-day span hung like a lazy hammock between the holidays.

Not anymore.

Nowadays, the WAC — Week After Christmas — is busy and abuzzing. All around the country, Americans continue to celebrate — Kwanzaa, the Christmas afterglow and the coming New Year.

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The Two-Way
11:14 am
Wed December 26, 2012

Gunman Who Killed Two Firefighters Left Chilling Note

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William Spengler, in an undated image released by the Monroe County (N.Y.) Sheriff's Office.
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We're learning more about Monday's shooting deaths of two firefighters in Webster, N.Y., and the man who police say lured the first responders to the scene by setting fire to his home.

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Music Interviews
9:55 am
Wed December 26, 2012

Catherine Russell: The Fresh Air In-Studio Concert

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Catherine Russell.
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As part of our year-end wrap up, we are sharing the best Fresh Air interviews of 2012. This interview was originally broadcast on Feb. 21, 2012.

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The Two-Way
9:48 am
Wed December 26, 2012

'Housing Recovery Is Gathering Strength,' New Report On Prices Signals

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A "sold" sign outside a home under construction in Peoria, Ill., in October.
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Home prices were up 4.3 percent in October from the same month a year before in the 20 major U.S.

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Television
9:47 am
Wed December 26, 2012

Aziz Ansari's Latest Is 'Dangerously Delicious'

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Aziz Ansari dissects a variety of topics in his latest comedy special, Dangerously Delicious.
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By editor

Originally published on Wed December 26, 2012 9:55 am

As part of our year-end wrap up, we are sharing the best Fresh Air interviews of 2012. This interview was originally broadcast on April 2, 2012.

During a recent stand-up tour, the comedian and star of Parks and Recreation, Aziz Ansari riffed on what he calls the "fears of adulthood."

You know, babies. Marriage. That kind of stuff.

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