Yaza has been out of school for nearly four years. His family had fled their home in the countryside near Idlib to a makeshift camp in Lebanon. Living conditions were difficult and his parents struggled to find work. So at the tender age of 12, Yaza decided to provide for his family by working for a tailor in Beirut.

“I would rather go to school,” he says, now 15. “I always asked my parents, ‘when we can finally go back to school?’ I miss my friends, my classes. English was my favorite and I could speak quite well, but I’ve forgotten. I know the reason for this war. I know why we have to leave our country. I just don’t know when we will go back. My mother tried to help us forget about the bullets and bombings. She told us not to be afraid, that we’re together and have each other.”

Nearly one million refugees and migrants from Syria, Afghanistan and other nations experiencing conflict have risked the sea journey to Europe this year, with 800,000 coming through the Greek islands. More than half of those have landed on Lesbos, the main gateway to Europe.

It’s not an easy task to console children who have had to say goodbye to their homes, witness violence and become hardened by loss, especially when parents themselves have lost control of their own lives.

Read the full story in the International Rescue Committee's 'Uprooted" publication on Medium, which shares the stories of six families and the difficult questions their children ask about the escape to Europe.