ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - As the bell rings, twelfth-grade students file into Mr. Malik Altaan’s history lesson in a small classroom in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Months earlier, this classroom and this school did not exist.
In late February, the Derik Secondary Education School opened in Domiz Camp, 20 kilometers southeast of the city of Duhok. The school has given youth who fled the war in Syria the chance to resume their education and regain some semblance of normal life, amidst the incredibly difficult conditions they experience as refugees.
Derik Secondary was established in response to the Syrian refugee crisis in Iraq and the education needs of Syrian youth. Nearly half of the estimated 250,000 Syrians who have sought refuge in the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq since the war began in 2011 are children and youth.
Several primary schools have been established in Syrian refugee camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, but Derik is the first secondary school to be established in any of the region’s nine Syrian refugee camps.
The school’s official opening ceremony was held last Monday. Senior officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Education, the Directorate of Education in Duhok, international non-governmental organization staff, students and teachers all attended the inauguration.
Prior to the school opening, youth had no chance to learn in a formal setting.
Juan Saleh, a 17-year-old student from Damascus, said youth in the Domiz Camp previously passed the days watching TV, hanging out, and, possibly -- if you were male -- doing any kind of work you could find to help support your family.
“I’m so happy that this school opened and that I’m here. I want to complete my education and go to university one day,” Saleh said.
Saleh’s 16-year-old sister Gulistan was equally enthusiastic to be back at school. “I feel so happy studying again. I dream of going to university in South Korea to study technology,” she said.
Some of the students attending Derik Secondary are living outside Domiz Camp, and while the journey to reach the school is not easy, it is a journey they are willing to make to continue their education.
The establishment of Derik Secondary was made possible by the joint efforts of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and funding from Stichting Vluchteling (Netherlands Refugee Foundation), the London-based Asfari Foundation and independent energy company, Hess Corporation.
The school contains nine classrooms, a library, a science laboratory, administration rooms and water and hygiene facilities.
Tom Van Nuffelen, UNESCO’s Field Coordinator for the Syrian Refugee Response, said the plan to establish a secondary school was first put on the table last summer, following a large influx of refugees.
“The IRC had already come up with the idea, but UNESCO added on to the idea and further expanded it,” he said.
Van Nuffelen explained that in humanitarian crises, education is always seen as a secondary priority to basic protection and health. When the situation does open up to allow for education, the first priority is primary level, which falls under the mandate of UNICEF. Secondary education, as well as technical and vocational training, all falls under the mandate of UNESCO.
Van Nuffelen noted that finding funding for the secondary school was initially problematic. But once it was secured, construction began, as did the process of selecting and training teachers.
All the teachers at Derik Secondary previously taught in Syria before arriving in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq as refugees. Teachers were first selected by residents of Domiz Camp and then received several months of training from UNESCO in modern academic methods as well as psychological support formalities for children in crisis.
At 25, Sarab Ahmed is the youngest teacher on staff. Ahmed, who used to live in Hassakah, a city in the northeast corner of Syria, teaches Arabic. For her, the return to the classroom has brought immense comfort.
“I’m so happy to be teaching again – it’s my life. It’s a great responsibility to teach children here and the students are great. Though they don’t have the same lives they did in Syria, they’re happy to be here, they’re eager to learn and they enjoy being challenged again,” Ahmed said.
Rahma, an 18-year-old student in twelfth grade, expressed her gratitude at being able to study again.
“It’s unbelievable to be back in school. It was our demand for over a year to have a school built and it’s finally happened. This is very special and I’m so grateful to all those who helped build the school. The school is helping build the future.”
Not deterred by the challenges she faces as a refugee, Rahma said she plans to attend university and study medicine after she completes high school.
There are between 1,600 to 1,800 secondary-school-aged children living in Domiz. The capacity of Derik Secondary is 600, with a maximum of 30 students per class. Given this, Van Nuffelen said that both UNESCO and the IRC were concerned that the school would not be enough.
In anticipation of greater demand, UNICEF was approached and it was agreed that if needed, UNICEF schools would add a third shift to accommodate secondary students in Domiz Camp.
Despite its capacity to hold 600 students, registration at Derik Secondary is currently around half that number -- 119 girls and 116 boys. Though, as word of the new school spreads, students continue to trickle in. Fourteen more students are expected to arrive this week.
Van Nuffelen noted there are several possible reasons why registration is currently lower than capacity. As a result of being out of school for a long time, many boys may have fallen into the labor market or the informal sector to help support their families. Another cause is that students do not think it is worthwhile to resume classes so late in the year and are waiting until the next academic year begins in the fall.
But the reasons to return mid-year are greater than just earning the marks necessary to advance to the next grade. The school environment gives students psychological relief from life in a refugee camp – a brief break from the tough realities of daily life and the chance to enjoy being a child once again. Students also benefit from learning basic but valuable life skills, such as hygiene, that are critical to the setting they are living in.
Van Nuffelen says two other secondary schools are currently being built in Kawergosk Camp and Darashakran Camp, the second and third largest Syrian refugee camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq after Domiz Camp. After their completion, UNESCO’s next priority is Arbat Permanent Camp near Sulaimani, with capacity for 10,000 people.
“Providing education is of utmost priority. Education is the most powerful weapon we have to change the world,” said UNESCO Representative to Iraq and Country Office Director Axel Plathe during the school’s opening ceremony.
And this power is even greater amidst the suffering of the Syrian children. It is the hard times that make the greatest men and women.”
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