10.10.2012. In Zaatari, one of the largest camps for Syrian refugees in
the Middle East, hundreds of girls sat this week in makeshift school tents
provided by Unicef. In one, third graders were learning basic addition and
subtraction. In the next tent, fourth graders brushed up on their Arabic
vocabulary.
“No one can predict how long this will
last, but all the focus seems to be on the conflict itself, in Syria,” Anthony
Lake, executive director of Unicef, said on a visit to Jordan. “We need to look
behind the headlines to the human reality, within Syria but also in neighboring
countries.”
Unicef is a key provider of schools and
health care in the refugee camps. Mr. Lake, a former national security adviser
in the Clinton administration, said providing aid, both for refugees and the
communities hosting them, might prove crucial to maintaining stability in the
region.
“If we don’t help, with much greater
attention to the burden being placed on governments here and the local
communities, then you could see over time more difficulties in the surrounding
countries, which will have an impact on the whole region,” he said.
