The educational reality is threatened with collapse in the camps of Raqqa and Tabqa
Since the Turkish invasion in 2018 of the Afrin region and the displacement of its local population, 90% of whom are Kurds, the suffering of the people there has not ceased. After their initial displacement and settlement in simple shelters in the Tal Rifaat and Shahba areas, the region was struck by a devastating earthquake that claimed hundreds of lives in Syria and Turkey, directly affecting the residents of those shelters, which the United Nations has refused to recognize to this day.
Even in those tents, the displaced were not spared from continuous Turkish bombardment and intermittent clashes between the Afrin Liberation Forces and Turkish-backed factions over the course of six years, up until December 8, 2024, when the world woke up to the dramatic and sudden news of the fall of the Syrian regime. This event created widespread chaos and a shock that no one was prepared for.
The Turkish army and its affiliated factions took advantage of the chaos and launched a major attack on the Tal Rifaat and Shahba regions, eventually gaining control over them. This forced the Kurdish civilians in those shelters to flee for the second time to safer areas in eastern Euphrates, specifically to the cities of Raqqa and Tabqa.
This displacement occurs repeatedly due to the retaliatory practices of Turkish-backed factions and the Turkish army against Kurdish civilians, including killings, arrests, rape, theft, extortion, displacement, and seizure of private property. These crimes amount to war crimes, according to reports by Human Rights Watch, which confirm Turkey’s direct involvement in these atrocities.
On the other hand, the educational situation was severely affected during the first displacement from Afrin and completely collapsed after the second displacement from the Tal Rifaat and Shahba regions, where there were 63 schools attended by 14,000 students and 1,066 teachers, including 878 women.
The suffering of these civilians continues in the new shelters in the cities of Raqqa and Tabqa, amid a lack of tangible international support. This harsh winter, 14,000 students currently in the camps are facing tragic conditions beyond human endurance, putting them at risk of being completely deprived of their sacred right to education, as there are no schools or supplies to meet the basic educational needs required to begin rebuilding the educational situation in those shelters.
Union of Teachers of North and East Syria / Media Office
