Syria Today | New school in Jaramana to help ease strain from Iraqi refugees

New school in Jaramana to help ease strain from Iraqi refugees

Syrian Arab Red Crescent President Abdul Rahman Attar has criticised the international community and Iraqi government, saying both were failing in their duty of care to displaced Iraqis.

“I’m not happy with the international community which has not contributed to solving this problem appropriately,” Attar said. “The world is underestimating the significance of the Iraqi refugee issue. It is not a short term matter. It has already been six years or more for some refugees and they need greater support.”

Attar made his remarks at the opening of a UN-funded school in Jaramana on November 16. The Damascus suburb is home to a large number of Iraqi refugees.

Premiere Urgence, a French NGO that implemented the project, estimates that 32 percent of pupils in the area are Iraqi and that demand for classroom space outstrips supply by more than 20 percent. In the greater Damascus area, 33,500 Iraqi children attended public schools in the 2009 academic year, according to UN figures.

“More than 50 percent of the Iraqis here are young people and, of course, they need an education,” Attar said.

“With the refugees, we are now seeing classes with 50 or 60 students in them and schools are working double shifts. It’s too much, we need more facilities.”

Premiere Urgence Syria head Sandra Luvisuttio said there was little to indicate that Iraqis are preparing to return to their country in large numbers.

Premiere Urgence Syria head Sandra Luvisuttio said there was little to indicate that Iraqis are preparing to return to their country in large numbers.

Iraqi refugees in Syria are able to access health and education facilities free of charge. Despite this policy, thousands of Iraqi children are not enrolled in schools owing to bureaucratic issues, their age or because they did not complete enough of their studies in Iraq to qualify.

Meanwhile, UNRWA opened a new school for Palestinian girls in Dera’a on November 3.

The Ein Kareen School for Girls includes classrooms specially modified for the teaching of science, computing and music and was funded by a SYP 37.8m (USD 822,600) donation from the US government.

US Embassy in Syria Chargé d’Affaires Charles Hunter inaugurated the school.

“This school underscores our [the US government’s] commitment to ensuring that Palestine refugee children in Dera’a have a space in which to learn and grow,” he said.