Forgotten Millions: What a civil war would do to NZ

A digitally-altered image of the Auckland War Memorial Museum shows a war-torn NZ. Photo / Leon Woods / Flame Pig

We need you to help The Forgotten Millions. The Herald and World Vision are running a major campaign to raise funds and help the millions of children left homeless by war in Syria. With your help we can make a difference to the children and their families in desperate need throughout this region

Hard to imagine in New Zealand, isn't it?

Political unrest. Conflict. The collapse of the country's social infrastructure. And then a daily struggle just to stay alive.

Your career was going well, the family was happy and you were looking forward to that summer holiday in the Coromandel. And then suddenly, through no fault of your own a conflict erupted.

It began in Wellington and spread to every major city in months. The loss of life was immense. 200,000 New Zealanders were killed. Who would be next? What about the kids?

MAKE A DONATION HERE

FAQ: WHAT IS THE FORGOTTEN MILLIONS CAMPAIGN?

In the end, the fighting came to your suburb. You knew you had to go. You packed up your life in the space of a few minutes and fled the house. You locked the front door and hoped to God everything would still be there in a couple of months' time.

It would be all over by then, surely. It couldn't drag on forever, could it?

That was four years ago. This is now your reality. This is what life looks like for your family.

You live in a refugee camp in the Auckland Domain. Your middle-class life is gone. You had a few thousand dollars that kept you going in the early years, but most of the money was tied up in the house.

There is nothing left. Your family relies on aid-agencies to sustain your miserable, impoverished lives.

There are no hospitals. No schools. The economy has collapsed. New Zealand is officially a failed state.

Of course, this is a fabrication.

Photo / Leon Woods / Flame Pig

Unless you're Syrian. If you're one of the 12.2 million Syrians in desperate need of life-sustaining aid, then this is your reality.

Think about it for a moment.

One day you had a normal middle-class life. The next you were living in a tarpaulin tent.

This is life today for Syria's Forgotten Millions.

How can I make a donation?

You can make online donations, phone donations and offline donations.

MAKE A DONATION HERE

Phone donations can be made on 0800 90 5000.

Offline donations can be made by printing off the form below and filling it out (app users tap here). Or look in the print edition of the Herald.