A failing grade on education for children affected by the Syria Crisis

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

At only 10-years of age, Edo[1] is a sole provider. He lost his childhood overnight when militants robbed him of his father, killing him in his hometown of Sinjar, in Iraq’s Ninewah province, in August, 2014.

Edo, his mother and younger siblings fled with nothing more than the clothes on their backs to Dohuk in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). Their harrowing ordeal of survival is etched in the child’s face where lines form across his brow. He worries about taking care of his family, especially his mother who witnessed his father’s killing, and hasn’t spoken since arriving in the northern Iraqi city.

“In school, I had a chance to learn, to study and to be able to become someone someday. That is all I want. I want to become someone someday — to do something.” - Edo, 10

“I must work selling cigarettes,” Edo says. Men in the shelter where Edo lives pooled enough money to help Edo start this business when they realised his mother was no longer able to support her children. Now Edo earns the equivalent of $1 USD a day – barely enough to buy food or water.

Edo’s days of running down the hallways of his school have been replaced with cautious steps through traffic. The road back to school is becoming distant, he says. “In school, I had a chance to learn, to study and to be able to become someone someday. That is all I want. I want to become someone someday — to do something.”

Caught in the crossfire of conflict

Edo’s story is not new. The conflict in Syria, and its spill violence into KRI, has put at least 2.8 million children out of school — some for three years or more[2]. Experts warn that if the immediate needs for education are not met, an entire generation could be lost.

“Many children caught in the crossfire of conflict can lose their childhood literally overnight,” says Lucy Strickland, World Vision's specialist in Education in Emergencies. “They’re forced to take on adult responsibilities and pressures, and are increasingly vulnerable to a whole range of risks endemic in this kind of crisis environment. Girls can fall prey to early marriage and pregnancy, boys may be recruited into fighting forces and all children face increased exposure to sexual and economic exploitation.”

Education protects, enables recovery and builds hope for the future

Delivering education in emergencies is a critical intervention. Despite the challenges an emergency environment can present, providing children with an opportunity to continue their education, to learn in a language they understand and to play with their friends is crucial. It can even be considered life-saving. 

"...when a child is in a safe learning environment, he or she is less vulnerable, and less likely to be exposed to exploitation and risk." - Lucy Strickland

“Communities also demand education for their kids and consider it a priority,” says Ms. Strickland. “Teachers are often directly drawn from these communities and receive training and ongoing support. We also know that when a child is in a safe learning environment, he or she is less vulnerable, and less likely to be exposed to exploitation and risk.”

In Lebanon, Jordan and KRI, World Vision runs non-formal education programmes for school-age children through Child-friendly Spaces (CFS)[3]. Through these programmes, children are able to continue their education in the hope they can re-join the formal education system in the future. “Ultimately we want to ensure disruption to children’s education is as minimal as possible, even in times of conflict and crisis,” says Ms. Strickland. “A child’s right to education should not stop just because schools may be out of their reach, have closed or, in fact, no longer exist.”

In addition to education and protection, World Vision is also helping displaced families in KRI receive the food, warm shelter, clean water, fuel and medicine they are in such desperate need of.

We’re still failing Syrian children

With the conflict in its fifth year, more than 6.6 million children have been affected.[4] Over 1.6 million have fled Syria, and another 7.6 million are displaced within the country.

Despite a deteriorating situation, the United Nation’s funding appeals are falling chronically short. Only 54 per cent of the cash appealed for in 2014 was found. So far in 2015, funding has yet to reach even 10 per cent of what is required.

“It’s heartbreaking,” says Wynn Flaten, director of World Vision’s Syria Crisis Regional Response, covering northern Syria, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon. “Syrian children need so much support to be able to recover from what they’ve been through, but the odds are against them. As they wait and hope for peace, many are missing out on an education.”

Related links

Sevil Omer served as acting communications director for the Syria Crisis Regional Response. She is currently working as senior editor with World Vision US.

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[1] Name changed to protect identity
[2]
UNICEF USA, Syrian Children  Under Seige, http://www.unicefusa.org/mission/emergencies/conflict/syria and see generally Overseas Development Institute Report: Living on hope, hoping for education, available at: http://www.odi.org/publications/8829-syria-refugee-education-crisis-hope

[3] In KRI, literacy and lifeskills classes are also provided for older out-of-school children and youth.

[4] According to UNHCR, there are currently more than 3 million Syrians refugees in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey, and more than 52 per cent of these Syrian refugees are under the age of 18 http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php