Posts

, , ,

Educational Access for Syrian Refugees

Educational Access for Syrian Refugees

With 1.5 million Syrian refugees in the Middle East in need of education, only half have access to it. Considering that 91 percent of children around the world attend primary school, the disparity between refugees explains the effects of the Syrian refugee crisis. The great benefits of inclusion, transformation and opportunity that education provides are being held off from refugee communities. They struggle with poverty, homelessness and many other issues. Without access to quality education, many fear the children of the Syrian refugee group will become a lost generation. Overall, it is vital to improve educational access for Syrian Refugees.

Education for Syrian Refugees: The Big Picture

The issue of educational access for Syrian refugees is far more than a humanitarian issue. It affects economic, social and security sectors on a global scale. The Syrian crisis has produced the largest current refugee group in terms of population. Likewise, the global system will communicate benefits of a positive future for such a large population.

However, without proper education, refugee children are at a greater risk of several hardships. These include child labor, extremism, and desperate poverty.

Important world figures have expressed that these risks are why the Syrian refugee crisis is of global interest. For example, UN Chief Guterres stated: “that if the world fails to support refugees, the world is only helping those [extremist groups] that use the arguments in order to be able to recruit more people to put at risk our global security. Solidarity with Syrian refugees is…not only an act of generosity, it’s an act of enlightened self-interest.”

Initiatives That Are Helping

Though a lot of refugee children are unable to access quality education, there are several initiatives in place that are providing education for children who are in need. Human rights efforts in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt are all working to provide education accessibility for Syrian refugees. These efforts are resulting in benefits of empowerment and opportunity for a population that is in great need of assistance.

A report provided by the Brussels Conference shows a strong increase in the percentage of enrolled refugee children in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq since 2015. For instance, Turkey presents one of the largest increase. This is very important considering the country is home to the largest refugee population in the world.

Temporary Protection Regulation

One of the initiatives begun by the Turkish government is the Temporary Protection Regulation. It grants free access to education for Syrian refugee children. The Turkish Ministry of National Education has also greatly increased educational access for Syrian refugees by creating and accrediting temporary education centers that are led by Syrian teachers with a curriculum specialized for the Syrian Arabic dialect. Both these initiatives can be seen as to why Turkey has the highest percentage of enrolled refugee children when compared to other countries in the Middle East region.

The Double-Shift System

Another initiative that has had strong effects in increasing education accessibility for Syrian refugees is the double-shift system created by the Jordanian Ministry of Education. This system increases the availability of Jordanian schools by adding classes outside the normal hours of the school. As of 2018, there have been a creation of 206 double-shift schools to educate Syrian refugee children. Because of this, the country was able to decrease the percentage of un-enrolled students to 41 percent. This decrease from the 50 percent average shows the system’s effectiveness in providing education accessibility for Syrian refugees. Furthermore, the Ministry is hopeful the downward trend in the number of un-enrolled students will continue.

Importance of Continuing Efforts

The Syrian refugee crisis has displaced 1.5 million Syrian refugees. Only half of these refugees have access to a proper education. Many fear this lack of education access for Syrian refugees will create a generation of men and women who will never able to become contributors to the global system. Though initiatives in countries such as Turkey and Jordan have shown hope for the crisis, continued work and support are necessary to ensure this crisis will not continue.

– Jordan AbuAljazer
Photo: Flickr

,

Social Media Affects 21st Century Political Instability

Social_Media
From a political standpoint, 2011 was a groundbreaking year that marked monumental transitions in political power on an international scale.

With the Arab Spring in the Middle East region, the authoritative regimes of Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Yemen became toppled and replaced—the effects of which are still felt today. Currently, social unrest still persists on an international scale, while the causes are embedded primarily within the economy and international media.

The Global Financial Decline

Following the 2008 global recession, unemployment hit people hard across the world. As a result, people began to address some of the pressing social issues in politics and economics. And although much of the significant political shifts occurred in the Middle East, various nations in Europe had evidence of social unrest as well.

However, the global financial decline has already begun the process of slowing, which may seem to imply that political instability is on the decline as well.

On the contrary, there are still prevalent issues expected to become problems down the road. Youth unemployment is the greatest concern as, “in the EU, a record of 24.4% of people under 25 are unable to find work.”

This sort of unemployment is expected to continue as residual effects of global economic recession and has even resulted in disastrous cases such as Spain and Greece where youth unemployment for their “lost generation” is nearly 60%. In the same way that unemployment and financial decline were catalysts to Arab Spring movements, they may continue to do so in the future.

Media Impacts of Social Unrest

As a generation of the information era of technological innovation and various capabilities, the youth population has been instrumental in addressing prevalent social concerns. The internet in general has allowed for open networks of information that are widely accessible and transparency has been an influential byproduct.

Additionally, when social media capabilities are thrown into the equation, the potential for collective organizing is monumental.

During the Arab Spring alone, social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter were bombarded with citizen journalism and ground level footage of political atrocities. Because the world has begun to lose its walls and become much less isolated, globalization has been on the rise.

So the world was able to watch the entire process of thousands of citizens in nations such as Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Yemen rallying in protest to voice their grievances because of social media.

Therefore, with the capabilities presented before the youth population and social issues of unemployment presented before them, it is certain that political instability and social unrest may continue to endure with the youth population.

– Jugal Patel

Sources: CNN, The Guardian, University of Washington
Photo: MRGMI

, , ,

UNICEF and Syria’s Lost Generation

UNICEF and Syria's Lost GenerationA lost generation of children is quite a dramatic phrase. One would expect it to define a group of children whose duress has gone unnoticed. For the children in Syria, it’s a slightly different case. As the reports of casualties are noted every day, the biggest issue should be the loss of not only physical life but the psychological well being of children and their futures. Their plight, however, is overshadowed by external, as well as internal, desires to cease political unrest and see a new regime replace al-Assad’s.

UNICEF has been working consistently both inside and outside of Syria to try to maintain some level of balance and peace in the lives of these children. By first addressing their basic needs, 4 million people who have remained in Syria now have access to clean drinking water. 1.5 million children have received vaccinations against polio and measles. And aside from the 6% of children who are currently still able to attend school, 75,000 have been lucky enough to attend ‘school clubs’ to keep up with their education. Even for the quarter-million refugee children, UNICEF has managed to extend its basic services as well as offering protection against abuse and exploitation, two things all too common in the chaotic and insecure camps.

Resources are limited, however. Despite its plea for $195 million to continue support until June of this year, the UN reports that only 20% of that requested funding has been given. About 2 months after this request, former Senator-now-Secretary of State John Kerry announced the $60 million apparent ‘non-lethal’ aid package to Syrian rebels. While terms of ‘non-lethal’ and ‘food and medical supplies’ are tossed around, there is no direct language addressing the key issues that are important to every single person and party involved directly and indirectly in this conflict.

The Secretary of State has made it clear that his goals are to support the rebels in preventing and stopping President Bashar al-Assad from staging attacks against his own people. While the US government is set on securing the future of Syria, it seems only logical that they would realize that without providing psychological services, safe havens of learning, and adequate medical facilities to Syrian children, there will be a bleak future for Syria.

The trauma and permanent damage UNICEF reports are inevitable for Syria’s lost generation. It is going to affect the politics, economy, and every aspect of their country once they become of age and replace the current generation.

Eliot Engel, the Senior Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee and Senators John McCain and Marco Rubio sat down to discuss how “providing military aid to Syria’s opposition would bring the humanitarian disaster to an end” in hopes of continuing a peaceful relationship with Syria after Assad’s rule. Engel is currently pushing for the US’s active involvement in training and arming ‘some’ rebels (although he graciously adds that humanitarian assistance will be provided as well).

Such an obvious focus on expanding the degree of fighting is not going to bring the civil war to an end. While that question requires a great deal more of serious thought, it would hopefully require a lot less hesitation to understand that the safety and education of Syria’s children, both in and outside of the country, require immediate attention and aid.

– Deena Dulgerian

Sources: UN News Centre, Yahoo News, NPR