Blog#9: Syria’s simmering crisis

Summary:

Even though they fled a war zone, the Syrian children who are on recess at the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan are no different from kids elsewhere. Even though they went through hardships of living at the camp, they were still considered the lucky ones because they were still able to receive education. While at least half of Syrian refugee children were not.  Syria was facing a lost generation because the civil war was destroying their society. The United Nations announced earlier this month that Syrians are now the largest refugee population in the world—more than 7.5 million Syrians are displaced internally, while another 3.2 million are registered refugees in neighboring countries. Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and Egypt have been remarkably generous hosts to the Syrian children. However, the influx is so large that it’s changing some countries demographics, with refugees comprising at least 20% of Lebanon’s population, 10% of Jordan’s, and 10 to 20% border areas in Turkey, according to the State Department and U.N. All this is leaving education in crisis across the host countries. Each country have allowed the children to have access to the public education system, barriers remain, including school space shortages, having to learn new languages, transportation, the need for children to work for their family’s survival, and bullying. In addition, many are putting off school in the belief that their return to Syria is imminent.

Analysis

I really feel bad for the Syrian children because they did not choose this war, the war chose them. However, they are paying for it. As I mentioned before I am a huge advocate in not only education but for quality education. I think it is a good thing that these other countries are being hosts to the Syrian children, but I do not that they are benefiting from it. In fact, they are in a way being blame for a lot of things such as overcrowded classrooms. But their education is just as much important as the next child. I think that if planned out correctly I think that the Syrian children wouldn't have to suffer from poor education.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/21/opinion/culbertson-syria-education/index.html

Candace Burton

4/22/15

3:00pm