A conflict without any solution. A generation without education. The war in Syria has soon been going on for three years and to continue your life as student is becoming more and more difficult.
“There are more than 300 checkpoints in Damascus, it is hopeless to try to get to your lecturers,” says Qais Fares who has managed to escape to Lund. It’s early morning at Café Athen. Note pads occupy the space at the tables together with cups of coffee. Sleepy students complain with loud voices and anxiety regarding tomorrow’s exam on electromagnetic fields. But at Café Athen, 4,250 kilometers from Damascus, is also Qais Fares.
“I think that the whole world has heard about suicide bombers but nobody ever talks about suicide students.” Those students attending the university might never return home again. Almost a year ago Qais Fares arrived at Lund University. As a journalist at a monthly magazine in Damascus he had been interrogated 16 times. The threats about being incarcerated in combination with the fact that he was wanted by the army forced him to finally leave the country.
“When a friend, who’s working in the government, told me that I was wanted by the army I decided to escape.” He succeeded to escape to Lebanon illegally. In Lebanon he learnt that he was admitted to the Swedish Institute’s scholarship program and was welcome to Lund.
“But I stayed in Lebanon for six months to be able to get the documents needed,” Qais Fares says. The detailed process to get all documents in order is something that Carina Jensen at Lund University External Relations division knows very well.
“Many students have contacted us and informed us that they are unable to leave their country, and we cannot exactly encourage them to climb the mountains. There is not even any working agencies that are able to approve any necessary papers,” Carina Jensen says.
Syria has been a dictatorship since 1963, led by the Baath Party. Compared to most low income countries as well as other Arab countries, Syria has a relatively well-built education system. Overall there are about ten universities run by the government and about the same amount private universities.
“But the Baath Party has a branch at every institution and all the students working for the party controls the other students and professors. You can’t trust anyone,” says Qais Fares. This is also one reason why the protests from students never have been strong in Syria.
“In the beginning of the uprising there were peaceful protests at the Aleppo University almost daily, but the government’s security forces put everything down very brutally,” says Hani Jesri, head of refugee education at Jusoor, a Syrian NGO. Qais Fares recognizes the description.
“At a university area in Damascus, which you can cross in ten minutes, they have installed 800 surveillance cameras to prevent protests,” he says.
So far more than 100,000 persons have been killed in the conflict, and according to University World News every fourth dead person is a student. At the beginning of the year 82 persons were killed and 160 were wounded when two explosions took place in the university area in Aleppo.
“Besides the risk of being at the wrong location at the wrong time there is always the risk of being arrested without probable cause,” says Qais Fares. According to the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs the universities in Syria are still open, but because of the security risk less families allow their sons and daughters to participate in the lecturers. Qais Fares tells us that young men, who has turned 18 years old, are at risk of being caught at some checkpoint and forced to enlist in the army. Before the war it was possible to postpone the obligatory military service if you had documents that certified you were a student. Today it is close to impossible.
In a white villa in the middle of Professorsstaden in Lund the Center for Middle Eastern Studies is located. Here you will find Kholoud Mansour who has been in Lund for a little over a year. When the uprising started she was abroad, and since then she has not been able to return to Syria.
“It is so sad to see that a whole generation is about to lose its education. They have been promised a prosperous future, at present they can’t even get what they had before,” says Kholoud Mansour.
“It’s unimaginable to get words from home how much pencils and papers are nowadays. I can’t see how people will be able to afford to educate their children.”
Kholoud Mansour as well as Qais Fares dream about returning to Syria. Today this possibility seems far away. The gratitude over the sanctuary at Lund University is great, but at the same time they hope to be able to do more to help more people.
“In situations like this I think it is important to ask oneself what role the Academy really has when colleagues and students are at risk.” There is a tendency to think of the Syrians as only refugees, but Syrians also care a lot about their education. In the morning tired Café Athen Qais Fares is on the same track.
“The Academy has a big influence when it comes to decision making. The chance of convincing each government to spend more money on scholarships and simplified routes into Europe should be taken,” he says. At the same time Qais Fares is dejected.
“Sitting here and discussing university and education is luxurious.” But at the same time he regrets what he just said.
“But it is also vital. Who else would rebuild the country the day we get peace?”
Text: Annika Skogar
Photo: Privat/Leif Stenberg
Translation: Lars Jansson
