Gais Zifa had lived a relatively normal childhood in his home country in Damascus, Syria up until 2011.

The Syrian conflict began in early 2011 with demonstrations demanding President Bashar al-Assad’s resignation, as his family had held presidency over Syria since 1971. Over the course of the following two years, Gais focused on earning good grades, as the last few years of high school are known to “make-or-break” a Syrian’s future. But even with the intent of successfully graduating high school, Gais and his family’s future was already in danger.