Thanks to a comment on a LinkedIn discussion based on this blogpost, I was pointed in the direction of the work of Kiran Bir Sethi. It got me thinking about what it is that we should be teaching youth particularly in marginalised communities or refugee situations. They are surrounded by negativity of one form or another: stigma, being told they're not good enough, poverty, unrealised dreams.
What then should we be teaching them? As Kiran suggests, the concept of: I can. Now we've all heard about positive thinking, but somehow we've all assumed this is something applicable to adult life, that kids somehow sail through easily without the doubts and negative thoughts creeping in. Kiran's ideas show how important 'I can' is in youth life and the impact it can have on their lives as well as - and arguably more importantly - that of the society at large, and the community in which they live.
Here is a link to a TED talk in which Kiran explains the concept much more powerfully than I do. Well worth a watch, if only to see how the word 'infection' can be used in a positive context.
Did you guess the correct answer to this post?
The approximate 7 million people I was referring to are urban refugees. Whilst the UN's Refugee Agency UNHCR estimates a total number of 10.5 million refugees worldwide, you might be surprised to learn that roughly two-thirds of these are in fact urban refugees.
Urban Refugees
What then is an urban refugee? An urban refugee is someone who like a refugee has fled their country due to reasons outlined in the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees - see here for an exact definition. How an urban refugee differs however is where the urban refugee lives - the clue is in the name. Rather than staying in a refugee camp, urban refugees instead live amongst the local community in the cities of the host country and attempt to - in some cases successfully - integrate and forge a new life in this way.
I've talked about education in refugee camp situations in previous posts, however how much do we actually know about the educational situation of urban refugees? Are they better off than those in refugee camps?
As might be expected, keeping tabs on the numbers of urban refugees can be problematic, which in turn makes providing them with humanitarian assistance equally problematic. A refugee camp allows for categorisation and sorting of numbers, masses of people in various locations obviously does not.
Syria
The current crisis in Syria provides a relevant example, with Syrians fleeing the country into Jordan (said to be 40,000) and Turkey. Many of these refugees are urban refugees. In terms of language, little differs between Jordan and Syria (apart from regional differences in Arabic). In Turkey this is not the case. Whilst Syria is a middle income country, given the nature of a refugee situation, it needs to be remembered that jobs remain elusive in the host country.
In terms of education, Jordan provides an interesting example. It currently plays host to Palestinian refugees as well as those from Syria. UNRWA (the UN agency for Palestinian refugees) provides education in camps for Palestinian refugees, however many of the refugees have access to government schools as well. If students are back in schooling however then the education is likely not to be catered to refugee needs. Curricula remain much the same, and refugees must integrate themselves into local school life.
One of the problems it seems is the lack of focus on education even in camp situations - these tend to be better documented in comparison with urban situations, thus highlighting the general little focus upon education in these circumstances. Although UNHCR's mandate now stretches to those outside of camps, it seems focus on education overall remains low. Regular readers of the blog know this is something I mention frequently. Of course if basic provisions cannot be met, then education cannot be given priority, however given that the Syrian situation shows no sign of improving in the near future, it seems Syrian youth would benefit from returning to a sense of 'normality'.
So what can be done?
From a distance the action we can take seems limited, however it is important to keep Syria at the forefront of our minds, not only as individuals but as the international community as a whole. The situation has been going on for far too long with the world seemingly standing by to watch it unfold.
In light of the Syrian example, where does the responsibility lie? Who should ensure refugees - in particular those fleeing to urban centres - have the assistance they require, including education? Is it a risky business to start providing education? Does this simply prolong a refugee situation? How should the assistance provided to those in urban centres differ to that provided to encamped refugees?
Share your thoughts with other readers in the box below.
Something a little different today. Take a guess about what I am talking about: there are approximately 7 million of them worldwide, yet they remain relatively under-represented by the international community...
The answer is coming up in the next post - keep your eyes peeled for the correct answer, and find out more about who I am talking about, and how this is related to education in the global context.
Think you know who I am talking about? Share your guesses with other readers!
P.S. Did you know you can follow the blog on Twitter? @GEDBlog
Today is World Refugee Day 2012 and it is also Refugee Week (18-24 June) in the UK. In light of this, and to continue to raise awareness of the importance of quality education in refugee situations, below are some key points from UNHCR's recently released Global Trends Report 2011.
- In 2011, 700, 000 more people than in 2010 were receiving assistance from UNHCR (either as refugees or Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)).
- The total of those forcibly displaced worldwide was 42.5 million.
- 7.1 million people were in protracted refugee situations (defined as 'one in which 25,000 or more refugees of the same nationality have been in exile for five years or longer in any given asylum country') by the end of 2011. This amounted to three quarters of the refugee population under UNHCR's protection (yet in some cases, education - particularly above primary level - is considered incompatible with refugee situations).
- Pakistan was host to the largest number of refugees worldwide (1.7 million) at the end of 2011.
- A concerning fact is that four-fifths of the world's refugees were hosted by developing countries - countries that often cannot achieve their own educational goals, therefore putting into perspective the educational struggles in refugee situations. However, it is perhaps important to note that in some cases refugees can be better off than the host community due to 'hand-outs' they get.
- Importantly in terms of education, 46% of the world's refugees were under 18 at the end of 2011.
- The top five major source countries of refugees were Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, and DRC.
- Voluntary repatriation remains the durable solution which has benefited the most refugees. The question needs to be asked if all of these repatriations have truly been voluntary however, or whether these refugees have had little choice e.g. because of camp closures. Also, in terms of education, the focus on repatriation can result in the reproduction of poor educational practice due to the focus upon using the home country curriculum.
Unless I've missed it, I couldn't see much mention of education in the report. To read the report in full, you can get it here.
P.S. If you're on Twitter, you can follow the blog @GEDBlog
'The Kakuma News Reflector, or KANERE, is an independent news magazine produced by Ethiopian, Congolese, Ugandan, Rwandan, Somali, Sudanese and Kenyan journalists operating in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya. It is the first fully independent refugee-run news source of its kind to emerge from a refugee camp, and has attracted considerable international attention.'
A necessary platform for refugee voices. The posts on education are amongst the worthwhile reading at the magazine.