Friendship in Syria

Friendships usually grow through repeated contact, shared activities and mutual trust. A colleague or classmate, called زميل or زميلة, is not automatically a friend. رفيق or رفيقة can mean a companion or friend, while صاحب or صاحبة can have different meanings depending on context; صاحبة may sometimes suggest a romantic relationship. No Syrian authority registers friendships or issues a friendship certificate. Civil Status Law No. 13/2021 records civil-status events, not friendships. Friendship therefore does not automatically grant representation, inheritance, financial support, residence, access to documents or authority to make medical decisions for another person. General privacy, communication, assembly and protection rights still apply. People commonly meet through schools, universities, neighbourhoods, workplaces, sports and cultural groups, religious or community spaces, and online networks. Friendship is not matched through an official service. Repeated meetings, shared games, sport, art and group activities can help people form connections. UNHCR-supported community centres and partner organisations, UNICEF youth-friendly or adolescent spaces, mobile units, outreach volunteers and youth-led initiatives provide structured opportunities for social contact, peer support and group activities. These services create opportunities for connection but do not establish a legal friendship. UNHCR community centres are reported as open to men, women, children and people of different ages and backgrounds. Direct visits and contact through partner organisations are possible, but activities and opening hours vary by location and season. From 1 July 2025, 73 UNHCR centres were reported across all governorates. UNICEF reported approximately 380,000 young people aged 10 to 24 reached through 44 youth-friendly spaces between January 2025 and January 2026. Many activities for people under 18 regularly require consent from a parent or guardian. People maintain friendships through meetings, mobile phones, messaging services and social media, especially WhatsApp and Facebook. Access depends on having a device, electricity, network coverage and money for calls, data or transport. Conflict, displacement, return, insecurity, mistrust, limited resources and political, religious or ethnic polarisation can interrupt contact. Age and gender expectations can also affect access and how long friendships continue; experiences differ between communities and should not be treated as a nationwide rule. Friendship has no formal minimum duration or required contact schedule. It can continue across distance when both people want regular contact, or it can weaken through reduced contact, blocking, relocation or displacement. People may discuss a conflict directly, ask a trusted person to help communicate or reconnect through a phone, messaging service or shared local activity. No dedicated service for reuniting friends has been identified. Friendship itself has no fixed fee, but meetings, transport, phone use and internet access may cost money. UNHCR and partner services are provided free of charge. If a friendship involves threats, coercion, violence or stalking, the matter requires protection, gender-based violence, mental health and psychosocial support or legal assistance rather than informal friendship mediation. Confidential support does not remove the affected person's control over decisions.