RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – Torn between years of displacement and hardships of providing for her family, Khatoun does not want her children to grow ignorant. She insists on providing education for them no matter how, as she believes knowledge is the only way to change their reality.
Despite scarce resources and the negligence of education in the camps, Khatoun al-Hindi, 33, an IDP from al-Maqas makeshift camp in the south of Raqqa in northern Syria, was able to hire a “private” tutor to teach her children in their tent.
The mother tried to teach her children herself, but her pursuit of making money outside the camp to provide for household needs did not spare her the time and effort to do so.
Like other makeshift camps in Raqqa, the al-Maqas camp suffers from the negligence of education of the children by NGOs and relevant authorities and lack of support.
Al-Hindi said, in general, the mothers in the camp suffer the most in dealing with their children. It is hard to guide or persuade them to do anything as they do not go to school or receive schooling.
“I do not know how to deal with my children anymore. They live in an aggressive and ignorant environment. Why should they stay ignorant?” she wondered.
The children in makeshift camps face the risk of illiteracy as they are sent to work amid the absence of schools and the inability of their parents to provide the needed identification papers.
Al-Hindi had sent her three children to a school near the camp, but it did not last long as other children did not accept them for being IDPs.
The IDPs in makeshift camps complain about not allocating a school for their children as their circumstances prevent them from sending them to nearby schools.
The number of makeshift camps in Raqqa is 62, the majority of which are within residential communities or on the outskirts of villages and agricultural fields.
Amina al-Hussein, 48, an IDP in the al-Maqas camp, finds trouble in dealing with her children because “they did not learn to read and write.”
After six years of displacement and moving, she ended up in the al-Maqas camp. Her children grow up while moving around from one place to another, and “it is too late now. My youngest son is ten years old now and does not even know how to write his name.”
There are 1,030 children in the camp, all facing the risk of illiteracy amid NGOs and relevant authorities’ negligence regarding the issue of education in camps.
There are 260 families residing in the camp, the majority of which are from the region of Ayyash, west of Deir ez-Zor, which is under the control of the Syrian government force.
Muhammad al-Hussein, 55, an IDP from the same camp, was able to enroll his children in one of the NGOs that support the schooling in one of the schools near the camp. He fears when he sends them to school. “We are strangers here, and our children face difficulties in learning,” he added.
Al-Hussein, who has four children, said, “We hope one day we will return to our village and home. I want my children to learn now, so they can continue their education when we return to our regions.”
He called on relevant authorities and international organizations to provide support for the education sector. He said,” All camps have NGOs that provide support, but no one has helped here.”
IDPs in other makeshift camps, such as Hatash, al-Hakoumiyah, and al-Yunani, demanded schools to teach their children and save them from illiteracy and ignorance. They received a limited or no response at all.