The Syrian civil war began in the early spring of 2011. What started as a nationwide protest against President Bashar al-Assad government, soon degenerated into an armed conflict.
Rebel forces have vowed to remove Assad from power. The war has now become a proxy war between the West and Russia. Saudi Arabia and Iran also have significant interests in the war.
It has been estimated that between 140,000 and 350,000 people have died so far from the conflict. In March 2015, Al Jazeera reported that some 10.9 million Syrians, almost half the population, have been displaced. Out of this figure, 3.8 million have been made refugees in other countries.
Last year, Europe was overwhelmed with refugees coming to seek for asylum. It is continuing this year. Germany has stood tall so far by accepting many of these refugees. Some European leaders have warned that the refugee crisis is a threat to the Union.
As the crisis continues, the media have taken advantage to document stories, but to its economic and political interest. Daily, we are being bombarded with chaos, trauma and fear from the crisis.
Whereas, it is true that refugees face some challenges wherever they are seeking asylum; the media sometimes exaggerate the issues. There are some refugees who still have hope that everything will be alright. They live their life full of happiness, hoping for the appropriate time to take back their rightful place in their societies.
Recently, a photographer from National Geographic, Karen Kasmauski, visited a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan to see how refugees living there are coping with their new challenges. As usual she expected to see what we see in the news every day: chaos, fear and trauma.
But her expectation was rather the opposite. Despite the awful circumstances of the Azarq Refugee Camp, Kasmauski saw hope. At the center of that hope was a group of young students she met, all of whom were seeking an education. Kasmauski then decided to take some pictures. The pictures she took are some that we have been showing you from the the beginning of this article.
Half of the refugees in the camp are teenagers. The Azarq Refugee Camp can accommodate up to 30,000 refugees, but according to Kasmauski, it is only one-third full. The students she met are all Syrians who found refuge in Jordan, and now attend remedial classes at the Relief International MakaniPlus Centre through a program funded by the Malala Fund. Malala Yousafzai is the teenage education activist who survived an attempted assassination by the Taliban. She has since become a strong advocate for children’s education.
The Malala Fund is dedicated to ensuring that every girl has the opportunity to attend 12 years of safe quality schooling. According to statistics, one-third of children in the world who are not receiving education, live in war zones like Syria.
The school’s head teacher is called Jamalat, and is also a Syrian refugee. Kasmauski reports that Jamalat volunteers her time to make sure that her students attend classes, making sure they are not left behind in school. Sometimes her classes can be as large as 50 students, consisting mainly of girls in elementary and secondary school. The secondary school will help the students enter university. If even they leave the camp any moment from now, once the war is over they can continue their education in Syria. The students also study English as their second language.
Kasmauski said about her visit to the camp, “The students’ enthusiasm for learning was obvious, their teachers inspirational. Life inside a refugee camp certainly isn’t easy. The girls I met often spoke of home with fond memories. But the remedial support they receive through the MakaniPlus Centre offers them hope and a chance to successfully graduate from the Jordanian school system. I came away from this trip feeling inspired and enlightened. These young women have faced overwhelming hardships, yet their passion for learning has only become stronger!”
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