Thousands of Syrian children return to school in Turkey

SANLIURFA, Turkey

Thousands of Syrian children who fled conflict in their country and sought refuge in Turkey went back to school Monday -- on the first day of the new academic year.

In southeastern Sanliurfa province, the city which the majority of Syrians are hosted, around 75,000 Syrian children went to school to begin the 2018/19 school year.

10-year-old Abdulhamid Leci from Syria’s northeastern Raqqah said he has been studying in Turkey for four years.

“Today is the first day of school. I have been excited since yesterday. I missed my friends and teachers a lot,” he said, adding that he wants to be a teacher in the future.

Dua Ahmad, 10, said she learned Turkish thanks to the education she received in Sanliurfa after coming to the city from Syria’s eastern Deir -Zor.

Math teacher Shebha Alfandi said that she was happy to be able to pursue her career as a teacher in Turkey.

Also in southeastern Kilis province, another 28,000 Syrian children went back to school.

Ibrahim, who came to Turkey two years ago from Syria’s northwestern Aleppo, told Anadolu Agency that she started school last year and learned Turkish in a short time.

Syrian children in southern Hatay province also headed back to school.

Coming from Syria’s northwestern Idlib, student Jana al-Hacci said she was happy to be in Turkey and that she loves her friends.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.

Turkey currently hosts nearly 3.5 million Syrian refugees, more than any other country in the world.