Many pupils in Kobanê are no longer able to study as they did a few weeks ago. Since the Erdogan regime opened a new war front in northern Syria, 19 schools near the border have been damaged or completely destroyed.
Hundreds of Kurdish pupils in the canton of Kobanê can no longer study as they did a few weeks ago. They have to flee from the new war front opened by the Turkish state in the autonomous region of northern and eastern Syria, or their school is in ruins. According to the education committee of the self-governing Euphrates region, a total of 16 educational institutions in Kobanê have been razed to the ground or severely damaged as a result of Turkish bombing since the new wave of attacks began more than three weeks ago. Three more schools have been closed as a precautionary measure, as shelling has already caused serious damage to the facilities.
"Due to this targeted destruction, countless children and youth in Kobanê are denied the right to education," emphasises Bekir Cerade, co-chair of the Education Committee in the Euphrates region. The committee is currently unable to create alternative learning spaces in place of the destroyed schools. Due to the continued bombardment of the civilian infrastructure in Kobanê, which according to Cerade, is "relentless and cynical", it is not possible to foresee when reconstruction will begin.
Students in the villages of Koran, Bexdîk, Xan, Qeremox, Cîşan, Werbîsan, Elîşar, Zormixar, Çarqlî, Zorava, Sivtik, Korelî, Ziyaretê, Boban, Beyade and Çilxilo are affected by the cancellation of classes. "We cannot say when the children from the affected localities will be able to go back to school and classes will start again," Cerade said. It has also become apparent, he said, that the possibilities of distributing them to other schools very quickly reach their limits due to the lack of accommodation options for families. "So it is written in the stars when classes will resume for children in villages close to the border."
A TOTAL OF 22,000 CHILDREN AFFECTED
Turkey has been attacking the population and civilian infrastructure in north-eastern Syria since 19 November. It was not only in Kobanê that classes were cancelled as a result. As of 30 November, around 22,000 pupils, including in Cizîrê, Minbic and in the not fully occupied areas of Efrîn, have been deprived of their schooling. In addition, more than 240 schools had to be closed.
