Syrian refugee education vital in fight against extremism

WASHINGTON

The education of Syria’s displaced youth is vital to ensure that Daesh and other extremist groups do not have a new generation of recruits, U.S. and Turkish officials said Monday.

The State Department hosted a gathering of political, civic and business leaders to discuss solutions to the gap in the numbers of Syrian youth living in Turkey who are unable to receive an education.

There are roughly 650,000 school-age Syrian children in the country with Ankara providing 250,000 with education each school year.

“We have to make sure ISIL will not steal the futures of these 400,000 kids who have already had part of their childhood stolen,” said White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough. “Those kids are Syria’s future, not ISIL, not [Syrian President Bashar al-] Assad.“

“Closing our doors, and turning a blind eye to the populations who continue to be in need is not the answer,” he said.

The solution will have to be a multinational effort not simply relegated to one country, said Ali Osman Ozturk, an adviser to Turkey’s deputy prime minister.

“Closing the education gap in Turkey is not a Turkish issue, of course. It’s about Syrian children’s future,” he said. “Turkey is pretty much using all the capacity allowing access to the education services along with other Turkish students,” he added.

WASHINGTON

The education of Syria’s displaced youth is vital to ensure that Daesh and other extremist groups do not have a new generation of recruits, U.S. and Turkish officials said Monday.

There are roughly 650,000 school-age Syrian children in the country with Ankara providing 250,000 with education each school year.

“Closing our doors, and turning a blind eye to the populations who continue to be in need is not the answer,” he said.

The solution will have to be a multinational effort not simply relegated to one country, said Ali Osman Ozturk, an adviser to Turkey’s deputy prime minister.