Education of Syrian Children Discussed at BAU

Efforts for the future of young people and children who fled the war in Syria and settled in Türkiye were discussed at the "Syrian Refugees Istanbul Summit," held at Bahçeşehir University with the participation of experts from Türkiye and around the world.

Speaking at the summit, which brought together members of the Forum on Investing in Young Children Globally of the US National Academy of Sciences and experts on migration from Türkiye and around the world, Bahçeşehir University Chairman of the Board of Trustees Enver Yücelstated that Europe was bargaining instead of providing support, and that what was really sinking in the Aegean waters was not the bodies of babies but 'humanity.' Stating that as Bahçeşehir University they have kept the issue on their agenda since the first day of the civil war in Syria, Yücel said: "We have established migration centers on this issue and conducted field research. We raise this issue on every platform, not only in Türkiye but also in America and Europe. Our aim is to make the issue known to the world not only through the statements of the state in Türkiye but also with the support of universities and non-governmental organizations."

 "IT IS SHAMEFUL FOR EUROPE TO BARGAIN OVER MONEY"

Underlining that four years after the migration began, the biggest problem today is the world's perspective on this issue, Enver Yücel said: "The civil war in Syria that caused this migration is not the problem of Türkiye, Lebanon or Jordan. No person, no country, no community can or should say to people fleeing war, 'Don't enter, don't come, die.' Europe says, 'We are not taking them, let them stay with you.' And it says, 'We will even give you money.' I find this shameful. To put it most politely, the world has failed on the refugee issue. Because what is really sinking in the Aegean is not the bodies of babies, but humanity. Human values must not be lost; we must find measures and remedies that will save humanity again. What is happening does not fit the values of the European Union. You will say that world peace is very important, that humanity and intercultural dialogue are important, and at the same time you will close your borders. The EU is bargaining over the 3-5 billion dollars it will give. Then I ask Europe: how much is a refugee worth in your eyes?"

"EUROPE MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY"

Stating that the world is facing a problem of this scale for the first time since the Second World War, former Minister of National Education Nimet Başsaid: "People cannot go where they want to go. I believe the borders drawn on the earth and the sovereignty measures determined by these borders will not work while humanity is dying. As long as these children and women are on the streets, none of us will be safe. Of course this is not only Türkiye's problem, but the West needs to focus on the problem in an integrated way, allocate a budget for this problem and take responsibility for solving it."

Talking about the work carried out on the Syrian crisis, Head of the Bahçeşehir University Department of Political Science and International Relations Prof. Dr. Gülnur Aybetsaid: "We are examining the impact of this crisis on Türkiye, border migration, security, and the relationship between state and society. We are also addressing legislation and crisis management. We will conduct a great deal of research in the camps. We will accelerate our field work in the coming days. In these studies, we will target the regions with the highest concentration of refugees. There are hundreds of thousands of children in refugee camps who cannot receive proper education. The overall picture does not look very bright. The European Union has not set a policy. The map of the Middle East is updated every week. There is a need for multidimensional science."

 TURKISH LESSONS FOR 300 THOUSAND REFUGEES

Referring to the project planned regarding the issue of Syrian refugees, Founder of the Bahçeşehir University Center for Migration and Urban Studies Assist. Prof. Dr. Ulaş Sunata stated that they aim to raise awareness that Türkiye is no longer a host or sheltering country but has directly become a receiving country. Sunata said: "In this context, as Bahçeşehir University, we believe the priority is education. Because education is something that can solve many issues. For example, we can find solutions to security-related problems through education. Or, education is essential for health, different educational opportunities and access to working life. Within education, our primary focus is Turkish. As of this summer, by completing the training of trainers, we can say that we have launched a major mobilization to teach Turkish to 300 thousand Syrians. We will do this with 7,500 teachers in 15 thousand classrooms."

A REFUGEE LEAVES THEIR HOMELAND EVERY 3 MINUTES

Stating that a new refugee leaves their homeland every three minutes in the world, New York University faculty member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selçuk Şirinsaid: "According to the latest figures, there are currently more than 60 million refugees in the world. For the first time, so many people are homeless. More than half of the refugees are children under the age of 18. Those under 12 exceed 40 percent. The population aged 0-6 is growing even more. This summer, Bahçeşehir University is launching a new initiative: teaching children at least Turkish through 4 months of formal education. A significant portion of approximately 1 million children do not know Turkish. These children live not in Türkiye's border regions but in cities such as Istanbul, İzmir and Konya. Therefore, a project is being launched to provide formal Turkish education to 300 thousand of these children for 4 months this summer. About 320 hours of Turkish education will be provided. Within this project, it comes to 4 hours a day, 20 hours a week and 80 hours a month. Approximately 7,500 teachers are needed. If Türkiye cannot educate these children and solve their problems, look at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to understand what the result will be."