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"Classrooms of Resilience: The Struggle for Education in Conflict-Ridden Refugee Camps"

Amna Shahzad

Amidst the chaotic refugee camps widespread across these war-torn conflict driven zones, a beacon of hope fosters the most vulnerable and effected refugee kids who have a relentless pursuit to attain education. For those children, education seems like a distant dream and learning is an epistome of everything outside their textbooks or achievements, for them its a life-raft, which subsumes to promote a sense of security and stability in their worlds torn apart by conflict.

However, the pathway to acquire education for these children is yet anything but not smooth, the indignation of daunting barriers that restrict their mobility and learning, such as the prevalence of language and cultural constraints, inefficient resource availability in form of overcrowded classroom, presence of 1 textbooks across 6-8 children (UNHR,2020) and 1 ratio 60 per teacher , that too who are relatively under trained unpacks the delicacy of the multifaceted challenges that these indigenous communities encounter. Every day, they encounter obstacles that make this basic right feel nearly unattainable, yet they continue forward, demonstrating a resilience that is both deeply moving and inspiring.

Insights from the Zatari Camp in Jordan

Now lets for a moment imagine ourselves in the shoes of Syrian refugees inside the Zatari camps of Jordan, which has acted as a home towards thousands of Syrian refugees who fled among the immense bombing and conflict uprisen in Syria. In these settings, children are packed into temporary classrooms, frequently sharing a limited space with over 80 peers. Essential resources, like textbooks and writing supplies, are in short supply, and teachers, often pushed to their breaking points, handle classes that would test even the most experienced educators. Many of these teachers, themselves refugees, carry the weight of their own trauma while striving to inspire hope in the next generation. Insights from these camps as also seen in documentary in class depicts the fact how these marginalized bunch of refugee students often learn through shifts, with a handful of them attending classes in afternoon, some at dawn while a wide variety of them then wait till late evening, because of the limited capacity of refugee tents and the poorly developed infrastructure available at their disposal.

Social Integration vs Segregation

As much as these challenges that this blog post undertakes to highlight are often compounded through the role of the host countries. Countries like Lebanon, Turkey, and Uganda poses yet another challenge of social fabrication and stratification. In Lebanon, for instance, where over a million Syrian refugees have found refuge, the government has implemented "double-shift" schooling: Lebanese children attend in the morning, while Syrian children go in the afternoon. However, this separation often leads to feelings of isolation, limiting opportunities for social integration. Refugee children frequently express feeling like outsiders, struggling to form friendships and frequently encountering stigma. Moreover sometimes this divide among social integration vs assimilation often hinges on the resource constraint nature of the host countries too who are forced through multiple treaties and obligations to take in refugees. One of the biggest constraint they face is that of financial allocation, varying donor support, which results in creating instability in funding for schools and educational programs. In Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, where the Rohingya refugee community continues to expand, teachers report critical shortages of essential supplies, including basic items like pencils and notebooks. Classrooms, often set up in fragile bamboo and tarp structures, are exposed to the region's severe weather, disrupting learning frequently. Educators in these camps work creatively to make learning possible, yet even the most dedicated teachers face burnout when the system lacks the necessary support for their efforts.

A flicker of hope

There are often recounts of narration of stories from certain refugee camps which then become thresholds, ideals for the other in them to follow and break the vicious cycle of indigeneity for them. One such example, I came across was in a documentary that interviewed Amal a Syrian refugee, who forcefully had to migrate to Turkey, while losing her father in the war in Syria. Upon arriving in Turkey, she faced difficulties with the Turkish language and was frequently bullied. However, with support from a local volunteer group, she started attending Turkish language classes and eventually caught up with her classmates. Now, she’s fluent in Turkish and actively helps other refugee children adapt to school life, bridging the gap for those who feel isolated and unwelcome, just as she once did. But what’s vital to understand from the life of Amal is that it is rarely that such instances occur and that too requires sheer luck, external support and a rock-hard motivation to back upon, as this might not be the case for every single refugee in those camps because of the above established reasons unless it is ensured that these children do not remain isolated and deprived, it’s essential for the global community to invest not only in physical structures but in integrating social support systems, training educators, and offering mental health resources.

I would like to end this blog on the perfect pinnacle that genuine empowerment will be achieved when host countries welcome these young learners not merely as refugees but as valuable members of their communities. Through their pursuit of education, refugee children display a resilience and determination that has the power to inspire us all—if we choose to invest in their potential.

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25020402
Oct 27, 2024

Thank you for including the powerful example of the Syrian refugee, Amal. That was a much needed positive note amidst the important but dark truth about the refugee camps. Education is a long run, powerful tool to alleviate a myriad of issues. In conflict zones, it is difficult to give it importance when people are struggling for survival. However, it needs to become a part of international forums such as the United Nations that provision of educational relief should be ready to go in case of any sort of war or displacement.

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Niwal Zahid
Oct 27, 2024

Reading about the struggles faced by refugee children in places like the Zaatari Camp really hits home for me. It’s hard to imagine what it’s like to grow up in a setting where basic resources like textbooks, teachers, and even classrooms are scarce. For these kids, education isn’t just about grades or achievements; it’s a lifeline that brings some sense of stability to a world torn apart by conflict. The resilience they show—continuing to pursue learning against all odds—is incredibly moving, but it also lays bare the harsh realities they face every single day.


The situation in Lebanon, with the double-shift schooling system where local children attend classes in the morning and refugees go in the afternoon, shows how even…

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Mahnoor Gul
Oct 27, 2024

The vivid description of life in the Zatari Camp, with children crammed into temporary, under-resourced classrooms, captures an unfortunate reality that these kids endure daily. It’s heart-wrenching to think that, for many, attending school is only possible in the earliest or latest hours due to limited capacity. But their sheer drive to learn is inspiring. I’m particularly struck by the example of Amal, a young Syrian refugee who, despite the pain of her circumstances, has managed to overcome language and social barriers in Turkey. Her story reminds us that education for refugee children is more than textbooks and exams—it’s a path toward belonging, self-worth, and hope for the future.

The piece’s call for host countries to see these children not…

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Maham Asif
Maham Asif
Oct 27, 2024

The way host country address education is based on their ideology about refugees. Countries that do not want to integrate refugees into their country use segregation as a means to maintain power dynamics as well as ensure that refugees cannot attain social mobility, making it easier to otherise them. The use of double shift schooling in Lebanon to segregate Syrian refugees brings into question the long-term impact of social exclusion and what measures are being taken to mitigate this as this exclusion can result in more conflicts within Lebanon if there is no equitable distribution of resources. Moreover, in the context of Amal, it can be seen that to become part of Turkey, the host country, she had to assimilate…

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Amna Shahzad
Oct 27, 2024
Replying to

Your point about how ideology influences the treatment of refugees is so insightful. However, In terms of accountability, it’s often a shared responsibility between the host country, international bodies like the UNHCR, and NGOs. However, holding host countries accountable remains challenging, especially when financial or political constraints are involved. Ideally, international support should reinforce efforts that focus not only on meeting basic needs but also on fostering integration to ensure refugees feel valued as community members rather than outsiders.

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Abdul Moeed
Oct 27, 2024

 The determination of refugee children who see education as a lifeline amidst unimaginable hardships, is such a strong stance that it so immensely relevant to our context too and is undertaken by Amna, who i would like to thank for pointing out the invisible barrier these children face, as they’re separated from their peers in host communities.


The story of Amal is both heart-wrenching and inspiring, showing how individual support can make all the difference, even if such instances are rare, this also sent me down the memory lane to rethink of a friend called Shayan during my college, who encountered similar set of hurdles. Even at that point and today after reading this one question arises into my mind,…


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Amna Shahzad
Oct 27, 2024
Replying to

Thank you for asking my opinion. I think that culturally integrative programs could indeed be crucial in bridging the social isolation faced by refugee children. Such programs could include language and cultural orientation classes for host and refugee children alike, creating shared learning experiences that foster mutual understanding. International organizations, like UNICEF or the UNHCR, play a vital role here by providing funding, designing culturally sensitive curricula, and training local teachers to support integration. For long-term sustainability, these organizations can work with local governments to create adaptable programs that meet cultural and linguistic needs, even with limited resources. In resource-constrained camps like Cox’s Bazar, partnerships with NGOs and local community groups can also amplify the impact by providing ongoing support…

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