Syria faces "brain-drain" due to growing economic hardship amid ongoing conflict

Thirteen years after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, the country is facing a huge "brain-drain" due to growing economic hardship, with many young people who grew up during the war forced to leave their homes in search of greener pastures.

The ongoing conflict is casting its shadow across the country, marked by widespread displacement, inadequate services, as well as infrastructure and economic collapse.

In the central Syrian province of Hama, towering mountains and long roads have not been able to ward off the consequences of the war from this place. Youssef is one of the most outstanding students from a remote mountainous village. After completing seven years of medical school, he decided to leave Syria and work in Germany.

Despite growing up in the midst of war, Youssef feels deeply attached to his hometown.

"I used to swim here when I was a child. I used to swim here. We used to play football on that field. I think it's obvious it's a football field. You see it, a little one. With my cousins and my neighbors and everyone, we used to play from sunrise to sunset," said Youssef.

In 2016, the war reached this remote village. Mortars sporadically landed in the village from the other side of the mountains, resulting in civilian casualties. For the next five or six years, Youssef and the others did not dare to go out.

"It's Idlib [the area controlled by armed opposition groups]. It's right there. It doesn't even have any army there, just the people. It was really sad. Some children died and women, a lot of innocent people (were killed). It's heartbreaking actually. Innocent people just standing, like we're now, having fun, suddenly a missile hit them. And this is really sad. I stayed in the house because it was really dangerous. It lasted actually from 2016 till now," said Youssef.

Before the war, Youssef's family was relatively well off. But after years of conflict, the family is left with almost nothing in hand due to currency devaluation. The average salary in the country is not enough to put food on the table, and young people see no future.

Youssef explained that aside from safety concerns, young people are forced to travel abroad to support themselves. He is his family's hope, and frequently sends money back to Syria to support them.

"The economic conditions are the main reason that force people to travel," said Youssef.

According to Syrian media, the country is losing 80 percent of its doctors and more than half of its engineers, professors and other skilled workers. The Syrian government has introduced a number of measures to help young people find jobs, in an attempt to mitigate the effects of the war.

A report in March by the United Nations (UN) said that 16.7 million people, which makes up roughly 75 percent of the Syrian population, are projected to require humanitarian assistance this year, the highest number of people in need since 2011.

Syria faces "brain-drain" due to growing economic hardship amid ongoing conflict

Syria faces "brain-drain" due to growing economic hardship amid ongoing conflict

Syria faces "brain-drain" due to growing economic hardship amid ongoing conflict

Syria faces "brain-drain" due to growing economic hardship amid ongoing conflict

Thailand's rural tradition of elephant stewardship is rapidly vanishing as livelihoods change and younger people pursue opportunities elsewhere, threatening centuries of irreplaceable elephant-care knowledge.

For generations, mahouts in the region have passed on their tradition of closely bonding with the elephants they care for. Taweesuk Lapsan is one of a dwindling number of mahouts who diligently carry on the practice.

Long before the sun rises over the fields, he was already at work, gathering bundles of food for an animal that had been part of his family for generations.

"We've had elephants since our grandparents' and great-grandparents' generations. We've been around elephants our whole lives, so we have a strong connection and experience in raising them. That's how we've been able to live with them like this," the mahout said.

Caring for his elephant was not merely a job, but an inherited way of life. Years of daily coexistence forged an intimate bond defined by an intuitive understanding of subtle movements, sounds, and hesitations that take a lifetime to master.

"We live together like this. It's like a family. We're like family; we always go through things together. Until we breathe our last, it just depends on who lives longer," said Taweesuk.

Mahouts and elephants have been woven into parts of Thailand's cultural landscape, from rural livelihoods and traditional practices. However, the tradition has been upended by the collapse of the commercial logging industry and the rapid expansion of tourism.

As fewer young people follow in their families' footsteps, conservationists warned that an intricate system of animal care, refined over centuries, faces gradual extinction.

"When a mahout disappears, they are replaced by people who simply come in to take care of the elephants, essentially, elephant keepers. There are differences in terms of the bond between the keeper and the elephant, the cultural aspects, and the passing down of knowledge and traditions from one generation to the next. So we are concerned about the quality," said Parntep Ratanakorn, Secretary General of the Asian Elephant Foundation of Thailand.

Taweesuk said that his daughters may choose paths far removed from the stables, a decision he fully respects. As the practice fades, experts warn the loss extends far beyond a vanishing cultural heritage, threatening the daily welfare safety nets upon which captive elephants rely.

Thailand's centuries-old elephant care tradition face extinction as livelihoods change