14 November 2013
Children of Syria
A UNICEF update
© UNICEF/Jordan-2013/Abimeri
Bashir and his birds
Bashir likes birds so much he could be one himself: both energetic and gentle, grounded yet free.
By Krystel Abimeri ZAATARI, Jordan – Some uninformed adults, this author included, might not know that doves and pigeons belong to the same species. But one chirpy young boy in Jordan’s sprawling Za’atari Refugee Camp will happily tell you that and so much more. Bashir, age 13, likes birds so much he could be one himself: both energetic and gentle, grounded yet free. When you first meet Bashir he is protective of his companions. The idea of showing them to strangers doesn’t seem to make him comfortable. But as he leads the way to an area behind his caravan, the fluttering of wings grows louder, and his avarian eyes begin to sparkle. He has claimed a patch of the desert upon which to build www.unicef.org/mena
a large wooden cage. It’s Bashir’s very own nest. English sparrows, canaries, doves and pigeons all coexist in a peaceful manner. He attends to them regularly: a daily ritual he greatly enjoys. “I feed them hemp, seeds, rice, lentils, bulgur wheat,” reports Bashir softly, all while keeping a threatening eye on his cousins to make sure they don’t disturb the resting chicks. “Taking care of his birds keeps him sane. And when I think that I’m the one who taught him how to raise them on our rooftop back in Syria! We used to have about a hundred. He’s come a long way,” says his older cousin. While there may not be as many birds in Za’atari, there’s enough to keep Bashir busy between school
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and helping his father Nabil at the family’s “Zahret el Khaleej” (Flower of the Gulf) restaurant. Nabil, who is also called Abou Nadir (“Nadir’s father”, Nadir being his eldest son), arrived in Za’atari with his mother, wife, five sons and one daughter fifteen months ago. “I’m number three hundred. One of the very firsts registered in the camp”, he says in a tone that is both proud and weary. Back in Deraa, Nabil used to work in the restaurant industry. When he realized he would be staying in Za’atari longer than expected, he decided to open a little Falafel place on the “Champs Elysées”, the busiest street of the camp. Meanwhile his nephew, who had recently come to visit from Abu Dhabi, offered to help open a bigger, cleaner place.
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Children of Syria
14 November 2013
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“I own five restaurants in Abu Dhabi. It runs in our family, and we have high standards. When I saw the unhygienic conditions my relatives were living in, I had to do something. At least now, Zahret el Khaleej looks decent. We could have made it nicer, but we didn’t want to draw a lot of attention. It’s safer to keep a low profile around here...” Although Bashir never misses a day of school, he took two days off for the opening of the revamped restaurant. On the day of the ‘launch’, the family served free shawarmas to all refugees.
“I’m happy for my father, this place will become the new hangout in the camp!” announces Bashir.
“I miss Home so much. Birds remind me of Syria, as if I’ve taken a piece of it with me.” When asked if Za’atari will be more permanent, his face clouds over. “I
miss Home so much. Birds remind me of Syria, as if I’ve taken a piece of it with me.” The gravity of his voice, which suddenly sounds older and more mature, is haunting. As we head out, the birds begin to flutter as if they might fly away. Bashir is calm: “Birds have wings, but not all of them can fly high. Although they’re free to leave, they won’t go anywhere. They know where they belong. And even if they left, they’d probably go to Syria – to tell her to wait for me.’’ He smiles. Of course they will. After all, aren’t doves the messengers of peace?
Faces of the children of Syria In his spare time, Mustapha 14, goes to the child-friendly space in Nizip camp in Turkey, to help look after and play with the younger children. Here, he shows us “around” his village
© UNICEF/Turkey-2013/Mekki
© UNICEF/Jordan-2013/Abimeri
in Syria.
Najd, 6, “I love school, I love my teacher Abir.” Najd used not to like going to school. Now, she doesn’t miss a single day. www.unicef.org/mena
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Children of Syria
14 November 2013
A tale of two schoolgirls By Chris Niles ERBIL, Iraq – Jwana, 11, is in fifth grade. Her name means ‘beautiful’ and she intends to become an art and music teacher. “I like to draw flowers and houses and girls playing,” she says. “Also, I like to sing. I love to learn songs.” Jwana, who fled conflict in Syria eight months ago, is one of tens of thousands of Syrian children making new lives in Kurdistan. But she doesn’t live in a refugee camp. She and her family share a home in Erbil with another family. Altogether there are 15 people in the house.
“I passed the 6th grade and then we came here,” she said. “Here no one has taken me to school registration.” Peygham’s story is more common than Jwana’s. The vast majority of the approximately 100,000 Syrian refugee children in northern Iraq have not enrolled in school. A campaign by UNICEF and its sister agencies UNHCR and UNESCO, along with the Kurdistan Regional Government, aims to change that. The campaign launches on November 13 in Shandar Park in Erbil. The launch is being attended by local dignitaries as well as more than 500 Syrian and Iraqi children— including those who are not in school.
© SARC/2013
Jwana’s cousin Peygham, 11, has been in Iraq for two months and she, unlike Jwana, is not enrolled in school.
Jwana (left) plays tug of war with her cousins in Erbil, northern Iraq. Jwana left Iraq eight months ago and is enrolled in Baba Sheikh School.
only a different accent from Iraqi Kurdish, it also uses a different alphabet. “We had an exam and the exam wasn’t explained to us,” Jwana said.
“I like to draw flowers and houses and girls playing,”
Jwana’s story exemplifies some of the challenges facing Syrian children. Because there’s no bus, she and her cousins walk 15 minutes to school every day.
UNICEF and partners are working with UN Volunteers to assess needs and increase registration and enrollment in school, as well as refurbishing classrooms and training teachers.
When she gets to school, the classrooms are crowded, and she has problems understanding what’s being said. Syrian Kurdish has not
The campaign’s aim is to ensure that every child like Peygham can take her place, like her cousin, Jwana, in the classroom and receive
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an education that will ensure their future. “Children should study well,” Jwana says.
Refugees by numbers* Lebanon
814,000
Jordan
550,000
Turkey 516,000 Iraq
202,000
Egypt
127,000
North Africa 15,000 Total
2,224,000
(UNICEF estimates that 50% of these refugees are children.) - Figures have been rounded *UNHCR registered refugees and individuals awaiting registration as of 14 November 2013
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14 November 2013
Back to school in Turkey, one pair of shoes at a time By Tulay Guler ADIYAMAN, Turkey – There are many reasons why children don’t go to school. Not having shoes is rarely one of them. Yet, for many Syrian children living in Turkey’s refugee camps, lack of warm clothes can make or break their academic future. As temperatures go down, getting children the warm clothes they need is an absolute priority. That’s why UNICEF, with generous support from the State of Kuwait and other donors, is currently distributing 80,000 pairs of shoes to school-aged children in 20 refugee camps across Turkey. Recently, at a child-friendly space in this camp, Hussein, 14, received his new shoes as his younger brother Macit, just 5, looked on with envy. “When I start school I will have a new pair of shoes too,” said the younger sibling.
“When we first arrived here, we were mostly focused on surviving. We didn’t really think about the children’s education,” she says. “But life has to go on and my children’s learning cannot wait indefinitely. For us, education is as crucial as saving lives.”
© UNICEF/Turkey-2013/Gumrukcu
Their mother Nada, who fled with them to Turkey from Aleppo, says that education is crucial – although she admits that she didn’t think so at first.
As temperatures go down, getting children the warm clothes they need is an absolute priority.
Turkey is now home to half a million Syrian refugees, nearly 60 per cent of them children. Their needs are huge – going from education, health and nutrition to protection and survival.
displacement,” said Ayman AbuLaban, UNICEF Representative in Turkey. “We are particularly grateful to the State of Kuwait for its generous contribution to these efforts.”
“As the needs continue to increase, we rely on the support of our donors to help the children of Syria overcome the horrors of war and
A Kuwaiti donation of $3 million to UNICEF’s programmes for Syrian refugees in Turkey is helping create child friendly spaces in refugee
For more information:
Juliette Touma UNICEF Middle East and North Africa
jtouma@unicef.org menaro@unicef.org
camps as well as purchase winter clothes, nutritional food, school furniture and water purification tablets. This donation is part of a $55 million Kuwait grant that went to UNICEF programmes inside Syria as well as other countries affected by the Syria crisis. www.unicef.org/mena childrenofsyria.info www.twitter.com/unicefmena www.facebook.com/unicefmena