Visit to the Turkey-Syria Earthquake Recovery Site – Day 3
A School That Gives Hope and Courage (3)
On August 29, 2024, the third day of the visit to Syria, we held a meeting with White Helmets activists to discuss future plans for the Türkiye-Syria earthquake recovery efforts.
The official name of the White Helmets is the Syrian Civil Defence. Initially, it was formed by local residents as a volunteer firefighting unit to extinguish fires caused by bombings and rescue those trapped under rubble in villages devastated by the civil war. Over time, it has grown into a more professional civil defense organization.
At 9 a.m., we arrived at the White Helmets office, where the activists warmly welcomed us.
Since the Türkiye-Syria earthquake struck in February last year, JTS has been collaborating with the White Helmets on earthquake recovery efforts for over a year. The largest project is rebuilding a school that was destroyed, which serves 4,000 students.
First, the White Helmets provided a progress report on the school construction over the past year. They detailed which phases had been completed and what work remained. After reviewing the report, we discussed the date for the completion ceremony. Venerable Pomnyun advised against rushing the construction and emphasized the importance of proceeding at a steady pace.
“Safety is the top priority, so don’t rush the construction just to meet the completion ceremony date. If more time is needed, it’s okay to postpone the ceremony by a month.”
The White Helmets members responded with confidence.
“There is no issue with completing the construction by the originally planned completion ceremony date of October 9. If there are any remaining tasks, we can assign more White Helmets members to ensure everything is finished properly. Since you are concerned, we will conduct a final inspection with all our members in a few days and then reconfirm the completion ceremony date.”
We decided to finalize the completion ceremony date later and continued discussing the program for the event. First, Venerable Pomnyun suggested key elements that should be included in the ceremony.
Overcoming the pain of war and earthquakes, moving toward a new future
“I think it would be meaningful to start with a moment of remembrance for the teachers and students who lost their lives in the earthquake. After that, it would be important to provide a progress report on the school’s reconstruction. Once the ceremony is over, it would be nice to give the guests a tour of the school classrooms. In Islam, is there a blessing ceremony similar to the water-sprinkling rituals in Buddhism or Catholicism?”
“Muslims don’t have such blessing rituals. However, it would be wonderful if you could offer a blessing.”
“No, if there is no such cultural tradition, I don’t feel the need to offer a blessing. Please make sure to include the three items I mentioned in the completion ceremony program, and I will leave the rest of the program to you. Above all, it would be good to first determine the main theme of the ceremony and design the event around it.”
‘Although we have endured war, suffered from the earthquake, and experienced much pain, just as this school has been rebuilt, we too can overcome our current hardships and move toward a new future. So, let us have hope!’
The overall focus of the completion ceremony should center around this message. I hope the attendees leave the ceremony feeling hopeful and not defeated by the realities they face. Just as a new school building has risen from the ruins caused by the earthquake, we too, despite the many challenges before us, can create a new future. I hope the event will inspire this sense of possibility.
“I understand. We share the same sentiment. We are also planning for the children to perform a play or sing songs centered around the theme of hope. Although we have faced both war and earthquake damage over the past 13 years, we will prepare the ceremony in a way that gives new courage and hope to everyone.”
Venerable Pomnyun then continued to emphasize the importance of emergency evacuation training.
“In the event of an earthquake, bombing, or fire, it is essential to conduct fire drills so that children can evacuate quickly and know how to reach safety. In a single-story building, they can simply exit, but this school is a high-rise with complex hallways, and if they are not careful, the children may become disoriented and could end up injured while trying to evacuate. Therefore, we need to make sure the children are familiar with the emergency exits and evacuation plans. Most of the children live in single-story homes, so they don’t have experience with buildings like this. That’s why it is essential to conduct emergency evacuation drills.”
“Yes, I understand.”
After concluding the discussion on the school completion ceremony, we moved on to addressing the issue of how to resolve the education challenges for children in the refugee camps that have formed extensively in northern Syria.
First, the White Helmets provided a general briefing on the current state of education following the war and earthquake damage.
“Currently, 49% of all schools have been damaged due to bombings or the war, 19% are severely outdated due to poor maintenance and need repairs, and 16% were affected by the earthquake. According to INEE (Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies) statistics, 88% of schools require facility improvements. There are no storage rooms or lockers, making it difficult to store books. The school buildings only have classrooms, and there are no other facilities at all.”
After listening to the briefing, Venerable Pomnyun asked another question.
“500,000 children are not able to attend school.”
“If all the existing schools were to operate normally, I wonder if not only the children who were originally enrolled but also the refugee children would have access to educational opportunities. Even if we repair all the damaged schools, would there still be a need for new schools for the refugee children, regardless?”
The White Helmets activist in charge of education responded.
“Yes, that’s correct. Repairing the school facilities will benefit only the children who originally lived here. According to UN statistics, over the past 13 years of war and the recent earthquake damage, 3.5 million refugees have been displaced in northern Syria alone. While we are operating morning and afternoon classes at full capacity, we simply cannot accommodate the refugee children. Even if all the schools are repaired, there will still be a shortage of classrooms, and 500,000 refugee children will not be able to attend school.”
“Then, for the 500,000 children in the refugee camps, we should at least set up temporary tent schools to provide basic education, such as teaching them to read and do basic arithmetic. This way, they will be able to survive by going out and doing some form of work or trade to support themselves.
Therefore, we need to prioritize whether to invest first in operating temporary tent schools for 500,000 refugee children or to repair and maintain schools serving 1 million students. In my opinion, it is most urgent to open a six-month tent school for the 500,000 refugee children who are currently not receiving any education and to combat illiteracy first.”
The White Helmets members listened attentively to Venerable Pomnyun’s words. He suggested that the eradication of illiteracy among Syrians should become a national movement, where the Syrians themselves take the lead in addressing this issue.
“First, we need to set priorities to solve the education problem. Regardless of age, whether child or adult, we should start by teaching those who are illiterate to read and do basic arithmetic. Step one should be to widely expand temporary tent schools focused on this basic education. Over the next six months to a year, we should run a national illiteracy eradication program.
Step two is to ensure children attend primary school. In the temporary tent school phase, we are only teaching reading and writing, without basic education in general knowledge. However, once students graduate from the tent schools and move on to primary school, they will be able to learn subjects like science, history, and music, which are essential general knowledge.
Step three is to enable students to attend middle school or higher. This will not be mandatory, but it should be an option for those who wish to continue their education.”
Let’s eradicate illiteracy among our children ourselves!
“Since temporary tent schools only teach reading and arithmetic, there is no need for specialized teachers with advanced knowledge. Anyone who has completed high school in Syria should be able to teach. Therefore, we can solve the teacher shortage by accepting volunteers to serve as instructors in the temporary tent schools.
In such cases, JTS can provide support by setting up tents and supplying blackboards, textbooks, and other educational materials. JTS has been running many volunteer-based projects in various Southeast Asian countries, and similarly, we can encourage the people of Syria to dedicate some of their time to volunteer efforts. It would be a great idea to launch a national movement where Syrians actively participate in this cause. In simple terms, how about starting a movement called ‘Let’s eliminate illiteracy among our children, together’?
Currently, 500,000 children are unable to attend school. If we assume 50 children per class, we would need 10,000 tent schools. If we aim to carry out the program as quickly as possible, with two 6-month sessions, 5,000 tents would be required. This would mean we also need 5,000 teachers. If we were to pay salaries, the budget would be enormous. Therefore, my suggestion is to run the tent schools with volunteer teachers. The same person doesn’t have to teach every day, right?
By operating the tent schools in a volunteer-based manner, we only need to quickly set up the 5,000 tents and the necessary educational materials. This would allow us to resolve the first stage within a year, as mentioned earlier. After that, we should move on to the primary school phase. The goal is not to continue with step one indefinitely, but to quickly address the illiteracy problem within about a year and then transition to step two, which is primary education.
For this to work, all Syrians who have completed high school or higher should volunteer to teach. They could teach for just one or two days a week, for about two hours a day, helping students with reading, writing, and basic arithmetic, like multiplication tables. These tasks don’t require specialized knowledge, so there’s no need for formal teachers with degrees in education. We can start a national movement, encouraging all educated Syrians to participate in this project. JTS will provide the tents and educational materials needed for the program.
If we estimate that it will take about a year to prepare, the entire process of implementation would take another year, meaning we could completely solve Syria’s illiteracy problem within about two years. At the same time, we would need to make preparations for those who will advance to primary school.
If we try to solve everything with money alone, it will take an enormous amount of time. Education for children cannot be delayed. By following my proposal, we can achieve the goal of eradicating illiteracy for 500,000 children in a short period of time. This should not rely on support from external NGOs; instead, it should be a movement where all Syrians participate, and we take the initiative to eradicate illiteracy among our own children.”
At that moment, the interpreter paused.
“Is the term ‘national movement’ unfamiliar in Syria? Why can’t you translate it?” (laughs)
The interpreter, Mr. Wahab, had tears in his eyes. He continued with the translation.
“No, it’s not that. Your words were so touching that I momentarily struggled with how to convey them properly.”
Venerable Pomnyun continued speaking.
“You explained that 500,000 children are unable to attend school, but I believe the actual number could be as high as 1 million. This is because, after 13 years of war, even those who missed elementary school should also be included in the target group. In other words, it’s not just the current school-age children who should be considered; even young adults, like 20-year-olds, who are beyond school age but still can’t read, should also be part of this education initiative.
However, completing the first phase program will not take much time. If we launch this as a national movement to eradicate illiteracy, we can finish it within two years.
Eradicating illiteracy among Syrians as a national movement
While running this temporary program, we must also prepare to operate primary schools normally. If we focus solely on normalizing primary schools from the start, we risk leaving behind the young people who have already missed their opportunity to learn. Above all, it’s impossible to build enough primary schools for 500,000 children within two years. Therefore, we need to solve the most urgent issues first, while gradually expanding the primary school system in the meantime.
To normalize elementary education quickly, we need to implement an online system. It’s not feasible to train thousands of regular teachers in a short period or to build thousands of new schools at once. Therefore, the solution is to install an online system in the existing schools to normalize elementary education.
If it’s difficult to establish an internet network nationwide immediately, we can use satellite internet, such as Starlink. Once the equipment is installed, internet access is possible anywhere. With this setup, online classes can be conducted, and volunteers who help in the temporary tent schools can simply manage the students in elementary schools. Excellent teachers at one central school can conduct classes, and the content can be broadcast online to the 5,000 schools.
First, let’s ensure that all Syrians are able to read and write within two years. Second, let’s ensure that all Syrians graduate from elementary school. For this to be possible, JTS and the White Helmets should serve as catalysts.
Of course, it won’t be easy. This is something that requires patriotism to accomplish. Building structures is something that can’t be done without money. However, teaching our children is something we can do even without money because we have already learned. If there are no buildings, we can teach children under a tree, or we can set up tents and teach them. Why should we keep asking foreigners to help with something we can do ourselves?
Let’s teach our children! We can teach them how to read and write our language, and how to do basic arithmetic. At the very least, we should ensure that every child born in Syria, no matter who they are, is not left out of education.
When foreigners see us taking this initiative, they will be moved and say, “Can you really study under a tree? Let us provide tents,” or “Is a tent school enough? We will build school buildings for you.” By showing the world our determination and efforts, we will not only maintain our own dignity but also instill pride in our children when the international community steps in to support us.
“I believe we must completely change the mindset of thinking, ‘The international community didn’t help, so education collapsed.’ The solution to the education problem is not the responsibility of foreign NGOs, but something Syrians must solve for themselves. That’s why I’m speaking to you all at length. We don’t need to ask others for help in teaching our children—we can do it ourselves.”
After hearing Venerable Pomnyun’s proposal, the White Helmets leader responded.
“The proposal you’ve made, Venerable Pomnyun, is a national project that cannot be achieved by the collaboration of JTS and the White Helmets alone. However, I believe it is an excellent idea. If we follow your suggestion for at least two years, we can accomplish a lot. We want to involve all Syrians and build this together. Your proposal is nothing short of a revolution in breaking the ignorance of the Syrian people.”
When Ven. Pomnyun visits Gaziantep again next month, education officials will join the discussions to dive deeper into this topic and work on solidifying the plans. The meeting concluded with this agreement.
At 1:20 PM, the meeting concluded, and we shared a lunch prepared by the White Helmets members. During the meal, the White Helmets members spoke.
“Venerable Pomnyun, thank you so much. We’ve received help from many organizations so far, but it was always just assistance. You are the first person who has made us think about becoming the ones who take ownership. Your words have completely changed our mindset.”
After expressing gratitude to Mr. Wahab, the interpreter, and taking a commemorative photo, Venerable Pomnyun concluded his schedule in Syria and headed to Gaziantep Airport.
This article was edited based on a manuscript provided by the “A Day in the Life of a Monk” team.
