UNHCR rallies support for refugee children, right to education through “Back to School” campaign

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) launched a “Back to School” campaign to raise awareness and foster community support for refugee children in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, while advocating for refugee children’s right to education. The campaign urges people to become voices in support of refugee children, so as to enlighten the greatest possible number of individuals regarding refugee children’s plight, and advocate for a better future through access to education. “Back to School” runs under UNHCR’s online campaign, “Voices for Refugees”, that seeks to mobilise support for internally displaced people and refugees in the MENA region.

Recent UNHCR statistics indicate that, at present, there are 12 million refugee children around the world. The Syrian conflict alone has forced two million children to flee their homes, leaving their memories behind. This has resulted in a population of emotionally and physically traumatized Syrian refugee children, 447,138 of whom have received psychological support to overcome the ordeals they have endured at a tender age. Without proper education, many of these children become susceptible to threats, including child labour, particularly in the informal sector, and early marriage. 

“It is deeply saddening that such high numbers of refugee children, due to circumstances out of their control, and beyond their comprehension, are unable to access education,” said Mr. Houssam Chahine, UNHCR’s Regional Private Sector Partnerships Manager for MENA region.

Highlighting the importance of access to education and the importance of the Back to School Campaign, Mr. Chahine added, “Access to education should be our greatest concern, and we should unite to counter the creation of further lost generations. The Back to School Campaign shows that together we can change this dreadful situation by becoming voices for refugees through raising awareness, driving action and inspiration. This is why the campaign is a message of unified destiny and aspiration to the affected children”

Recent statistics show that 5.6 million Syrian children are affected by conflict in Syria. People from the MENA region can help support UNHCR’s team by becoming voices for children through a simple online registration form. Supporters, after becoming voices, can communicate with Syrian refugee children, send them messages and draw a smile across their faces by signing up at http://voices.unhcr.org/. The campaign’s dedicated Facebook page communicates proactively in English and Arabic, and generates high levels of engagement among Arabic speaking communities. Voices for Refugees also highlights UNHCR’s efforts to track refugees’ stories of hope and inspiration through its online platform.