The Syrian Crisis by Americans for UNESCO

THE SYRIAN CRISIS UNESCO’s RESPONSE

SYRIAN CRISIS CONTEXT

he Syrian conflict started in March 2011 and has generated the world’s largest humanitarian crisis in recent years. Syria’s children are the most vulnerable: suffering from emotional stress and susceptible to extremism. An estimated 3.1 million Syrian children and youth inside Syria and in neighboring countries are in need of education. In the overall picture, more than 9 million Syrians now need assistance, and 6.5 million of them are displaced inside their own country, struggling to survive. In addition, more than 2.5 million people have fled to neighboring countries, a third of them are school-aged children and youth. It is expected that by the end of 2014, the number of Syrian refugees in the region will reach 4 million. Without education there will be long-term consequences. Along with the humanitarian tragedy, another crisis unfolds. The country’s cultural heritage, a key element to Syrian identity, and an economic lynchpin for the country’s eventual recovery is in ruins. The country’s cultural heritage is continuously exposed to threats of destruction, looting and illicit trafficking; important sites and monuments, some of them World Heritage, have been destroyed or substantially damaged.

UNHCR, Syrian Refugees in the Region. March 31st 2014

UNESCO’s RESPONSE

ver the past three years, and with the help of several donors and development partners, UNESCO has been responding to urgent educational needs, providing support to Syrian children and youth in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and in Syria. In the field of culture, UNESCO has focused on monitoring, rasing awareness and providing assistance to ensure emergency protection of Syria’s cultural heritage.

Why Education in Conflict Matters?

The Syrian conflict has disrupted the education of approximately 3.1 million Syrian children and youth. Without the ability to go to school, children are deprived of skills and job opportunities, creating an unstable environment in Syria and neighboring countries. Education is not only vital as a foundation for future opportunities; it also helps prevent radicalization and extremism of young people. Schools also provide safe environments that restore normalcy in the midst of the destruction. UNESCO is constructing and rehabilitating schools, training teachers and providing Syrian refugee children with catch-up classes and psychological support, adults with literacy, life skills training and mentoring programs, making education the means for healing and empowerment.

Why Protecting Culture in Conflict Matters?

Protecting culture is a security issue. As UNESCO’s Director General, Irina Bokova stated: “Attacks against cultural heritage are attacks against the very identity of communities.” When a nation’s museums are sacked and their art pieces stolen or when its religious sites are looted, reconciliation after conflict is much harder. Peace becomes difficult to achieve. Since the onset of the crisis, UNESCO has been strongly advocating for all sides in the Syrian conflict to respect and protect the country’s cultural heritage. UNESCO has mobilized its resources to counter the illicit trafficking of cultural objects from Syria.

“Three million children and young people have dropped out of school, putting the future of an entire generation in danger,” Director General Irina Bokova

ENCOURAGING SYRIAN CHILDREN TO ENROLL IN SCHOOLS

UNESCO RESPONDS: SYRIAN REFUGEES

IN IRAQ

In addition, the “Back to School” campaign stimulated enrollment in schools while also sensitizing the host communities to the importance of a safe and protective learning environment for children in camps and host communities.

UNESCO has been encouraging Syrian refugees to enroll their children in school. By organizing catch-up classes, UNESCO is attempting to ensure that students are not left behind.

pproximately 223,113 Syrians (58% living in communities, 42% in camps-based refugees) have entered Iraq since the beginning of the conflict, with 97% concentrated in the three Northern governorates of Duhok, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah. UNESCO’s initiatives for Syrian refugees in Iraq include: secondary schools’ construction and rehabilitation, teacher training, catch up classes for out-of-school children, temporary schools, and psychosocial support in line with the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE).

ENHANCING LITERACY AND LIFE SKILLS FOR THE MOST VULNERABLE In partnership with UNHCR, the “Education and Life Skills Training Support” program was launched to improve the education and livelihood conditions of vulnerable Iraqui Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Syrian refugees. The project aims to benefit over 1,000 vulnerable refugees located in the Kurdistan Region, Mosul and Kirkuk.

THE FIRST SECONDARY SCHOOL IN DOMIZ CAMP.

Some 1,600 refugees can now put in practice the knowledge drawn from literacy classes, and informal vocational training courses improving their chances at employment.

The construction of two other secondary schools in Domiz and Dara Shakran Camps is being co-financed by UNESCO in order to offer a direct response to the educational needs of 1,000 Syrian youth in the camps.

UNESCO and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) officially opened the Derek Secondary School in Domiz Camp in Duhok in March 2014. The school has a capacity to host 600 students.

AMPLIFYING THE VOICE TO THE SYRIAN REFUGEE COMMUNITY

UNESCO RESPONDS: SYRIAN REFUGEES

UNESCO supports “Al Sa’aa Surria (the Syrian Hour) a radio program broadcasted in Irbid, Mafraq, Zarqa and Amman governorates.

IN JORDAN

ordan is bearing a significant burden in the crisis by maintaining an open border. There are 596,062 registered refugees. The country hosts Za’atri camp, the most populated camp in all host countries. However, approximately 80% of the refugees live outside the camps, which means they are placing intense pressure on government services not funded or designed to meet the needs of refugees. This sudden upsurge of more than a half million people puts unrealistic and sudden demands on Jordan’s limited resources in and near the cities and towns where the refugees now live. Local officials are struggling to provide additional public services. such as water, sanitation and education, among other municipal services. MINIMIZING THE RISK OF VIOLENCE AMONG YOUTH UNESCO and its implementing partner Questscope, are operating the Youth-Mentoring program, whereby refugees learn healthy ways to communicate and build relationships. The program will mentor 1,050 youth and will provide Informal Education (IFE) for at least 240 youth in Za’atri camp. UNESCO-sponsored mentorships help address the continuous reports of violence in the camp stemming from a lack of structured activities to occupy young people and insufficient mechanisms for community engagement.

tion about available services, including counseling and psychosocial support.

At the same time, the radio program trains Jordanian youth reThe program provides porters on community humanitarian pro- radio techniques, programming and access viding a useful skill. for Syrian refugees to lifesaving informa-

“Radio is the most powerful medium that exists to get messages across and to reach young people who are carrying the burden of this crisis.” - Director General Irina Bokova SUSTAINING QUALITY EDUCATION DURING EMERGENCIES UNESCO assists the Government of Jordan in mitigating the impact of the Syrian refugees’ presence by training teachers with new interactive pedagogical methods to cope with trauma-affected students and the management of large classes resulting from the surge of the refugee population.

Additionally, UNESCO is providing technical capabilities to the Jordanian Ministry of Education. Information gaps are being addressed by collecting basic data on a voluntary basis from Syrian refugees’ in order to provide an accurate picture of the educational needs of the refugee community in Jordan.

TEACHING CHILDREN TO VALUE HERITAGE “Safeguarding Heritage!” One thousand school kids from all over Lebanon took part in special educational workshops on “World Heritage Sites” and safeguarding heritage in periods of conflict in 2013. The program was a collaboration between UNESCO, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture-Directorate General of Antiquities and the NGO Biladi.

REPORTING FOR RADIO TRAINING FOR SYRIAN YOUTH In response to the high number of vulnerable Syrian women and youth and the limited access to information, UNESCO Beirut and the national radio broadcaster, Voice of Lebanon, initiated a radio program project named “NOUZUH WA HUMOUM” (Displacement and Worries). While providing the Syrian refugee community with information about assistance and protection services, the program also trains Syrian youth in radio editing and broadcasting.

UNESCO RESPONDS: SYRIAN REFUGEES

IN LEBANON

round 1,072,715 Syrian refugees have been registered in Lebanon since the beginning of the unrest. 86% of the refugees reside in the 225 communities that are already among the most densely populated in the country. As part of its response to the Syria crisis in Lebanon, UNESCO has enhanced the capacity of the Ministry of Education and partners through training under the Education in Emergencies program. It has also supported the Joint Education Needs Assessment and targeted mapping exercises for the Education Working Group EWG, a coordinated effort from U.N agencies and humanitarian education partners to make sure education is part of the general response to the crisis.

ENHANCING LEBANON’S EDUCATION IN EMERGENCY RESPONSE UNESCO has assisted the Ministry of Education to cope with the wave of Syrian refugee children in its educational system by providing data collection, analysis and training to over 200 trainers, school directors, and partners. The trainings focused on the right to education, minimum required standards for quality education in emergencies, and emergency and early recovery situations. UNESCO, in partnership with UN agencies and NGOs, has also coordinated in-depth discussions about Education in Emergencies, Youth Inclusion and Social Cohesion. For instance, a regional conference held in Beirut brought together education experts to generate tangible recommendations and share practices on education delivery for refugees.

SAFEGUARDING SYRIA’s

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The New York Times,

In the long run, the only way to dismantle arsenals of mass destruction and prevent genocidal wars is to pacify implacable hereditary enemies through education, communication, cooperation and other forms of civilized human intercourse.

Samuel Pisar. UNESCO’s Ambassador and Special Envoy for Holocaust and Genocide Prevention.

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March 7, 2014

The Huffington Post, October 1, 2013

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which had classified Aleppo’s old city among six World Heritage sites in Syria, launched a three-year emergency plan to mitigate the destruction and loss.

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UNESCO is now trying to catalog and recover stolen Syrian artifacts, working with scholars, collectors and law enforcement authorites in bordering countries.

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NESCO’s response in thority and networks to safeguard Syria mainly focuses on Syrian archaeological sites, hisaddressing urgent hu- toric cities, cultural landscapes, manitarian needs in ed- monuments and works of art. ucation, but we do not ignore the threats to Syria’s cultural heritage. UNESCO believes that cultural herThe armed conflict has inflicted se- itage is a force for mutual underrious damage to standing and an ecomuseums, archeo- “Damage to the nomic driver for local logical sites and re- heritage of the development. It is in ligious sites. Three this spirit, that strong country is damUNESCO World calls of warning have heritage sites- Pal- age to the soul been made to respect myra, the Crac des international convenof its people Chevaliers, and tions for protecting Aleppo- were used and its identity.” cultural properties for military purpos- Director General in times of conflict. es. Moreover, SyrCompetent organiia’s cultural heritage Irina Bokova zations have been has been systemalerted to prevent atically targeted for looting and the illicit trafficking of cultural obclandestine excavation by well-or- jects, but looted Syrian antiquiganized and often armed groups. ties continue to leave the country. The risk of imminent and irrevers- The work of UNESCO to mitigate ible destruction could not be higher. the destruction and loss of Syria’s rich cultural heritage reminds Threats to the integrity of Syria’s the world of its to future generatangible heritage in 2012, prompt- tions in Syria and around the world. ed UNESCO’s Director General to mobilize UNESCO’s expertise, au-

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CULTURAL HERITAGE

The Wall Street Journal,

April 25, 2014

ÂŠ UNESCO / Professor Maamoun Abdul Karim, Aleppo

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