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PART
II : EDUCATION IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS/ ACHIEVEMENTS AND CHALLENGES
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In the closing years of the twentieth century, children and
adolescents in many countries have had the promise of Jomtien
snatched from them through war and catastrophe. They have been
displaced from their homes, or their national education systems
have collapsed. Yet it is these children who have even greater
need of education than others. Education has the potential to
restore a sense of normalcy to their lives, and to help build
a stable future for them as individuals, members of their communities
and citizens. |
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In this section, we review what has been achieved in the field
of emergency education, in terms of the various population groups
whose needs have been addressed. We look first at schooling,
which is usually the priority concern of communities affected
by displacement and conflict. Here we introduce the distinction
between communities displaced across international borders,
becoming refugees; communities displaced within their own countries
or remaining in their home locations but affected by the disruption
of the education system due to natural or man-made disasters;
and communities attempting to rebuild their futures, notably
in post-conflict situations. |
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We subsequently examine other components of Jomtien's 'expanded
vision': emergency response to the needs of younger children,
in terms of promoting early childhood care and development,
and response to the needs of youth and adults, in terms of education
for literacy, life skills and livelihood (vocational training).
Finally we examine the situations of population groups of special
concern in emergency situations, such as children and adults
with disability (including injuries from war and landmines),
children separated from their families, and child soldiers and
older ex-combatants. |
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We would prefer to give an overview of the quantitative dimension
of needs and response, to indicate how many displaced and war-affected
children and adolescents are in school or out of school, for
example. It is difficult, however, to collect accurate statistics
in conflict and emergency situations, not least because affected
populations may be sheltering in their cellars, taking refuge
in hillsides, or moving from place to place. The most detailed
information we received is for refugees, and for these some
quantitative analysis is presented. In general, however, we
conclude that more analysis is needed of quantitative and qualitative
aspects of educational response in emergency and post-emergency
situations. |
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| 1. RESTORING
ACCESS TO SCHOOLING |
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Concerning this point, we review some of the achievements in
provision of education for refugees, for emergency-affected
populations within their own countries, and in post-crisis situations. |
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| 1.1
Schooling for refugee children and adolescents |
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The focus here is on refugee schooling in countries which are
in the category of developing nations or nations in transition.
These are countries where the education of national populations
is restricted by financial constraints, and where meeting the
education needs of refugee populations represents a burden for
which external assistance is required. |
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As noted earlier, governments of asylum countries are obliged
under international law to promote the access of refugee children
to education in the country of asylum. There have been occasions
when a host government has decided not to permit refugee education.
The most serious instance of such a political constraint in
the 1990s was the statement of the government of (then) Zaire
in 1994, repeated in 1996, that Rwandese refugees should not
have access to schooling. In several other cases also, host
governments have imposed limitations on refugee schooling, or
on education of children in the process of seeking asylum, which
contravene the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Normally,
however, countries of asylum permit refugee education, and welcome
humanitarian assistance in this respect, if they are unable
to meet the costs themselves. An internal UNHCR evaluation emphasised
that 'basic education must be provided no matter what the political
context'. |
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Refugees face a special situation in respect of access to education.
They are resident in a country other than their own, and are
therefore to a greater or lesser extent disconnected from their
own country's Education Ministry and institutions such as examination
boards. There have been instances of political, legal or administrative
obstacles to refugee education as well as practical problems
of access. |
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The total number of refugee students attending host country
schools, on their own initiative or with external funding, is
not known. UN agencies and NGOs assist financially with the
education of refugee students in national schools in over 40
developing countries, at primary, secondary and tertiary level.
In some locations the assistance is provided through individual
scholarships. In others, assistance is given to the education
authorities. The largest such programme is a subsidy to the
education authorities in Iran, to help meet the costs of over
100,000 refugee students, attending government schools throughout
the country. |
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Where large numbers of refugees arrive in a neighbouring country,
the displaced populations usually begin to improvise schooling
within a few weeks of displacement. This typically leads to
a situation whereby NGOs or the government of the asylum country
quickly provide educational and shelter materials, and later
take a leadership role in supporting the community-based schools
or in operating an education system for refugees. Except where
small numbers of refugees live in isolated areas, there is normally
fairly adequate physical access to schooling for refugee populations.
Where rural refugees are gathered in refugee camps, their children
may actually be living much nearer to schools than they did
in their home country. Many factors can limit effective access,
however, including difficult home circumstances, cultural factors
limiting enrolment of girls, and the sometimes poor quality
of schooling. In some cases, secondary schools are established
in refugee camps and settlements, while in some cases refugees
attend local secondary schools. Access at this level is less
comprehensive.(10) |
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The number of refugee students in developing countries has probably
been in the region of half a million to a million throughout
the decade. At the time of Jomtien, UNHCR programmes supported
some 330,000 students, including 125,000 in Pakistan, 75,000
in Malawi, 54,000 in Ethiopia, 12,000 in Zimbabwe and 10,000
in Sudan. In 1990, there were also large numbers of Afghan refugee
students attending government schools in Iran and large numbers
of Afghan refugee students in Pakistan who were attending schools
run by Afghan political parties from their own funding sources.
Adding in these students and refugee students in other countries
funded by other agencies or enrolled independently, it is clear
that the total number of refugee students was over half a million.(11) |
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There have been changes in the refugee profile during the 1990's.
A major repatriation of Afghan refugees took place in the summer
of 1992, but slowed to a trickle when renewed fighting took
place in Afghanistan. Repatriation of Mozambican refugees from
Malawi and Zimbabwe was completed by the mid-1990's. By the
school year 1995/96, refugee education programmes with over
50,000 beneficiaries included Iran, Pakistan, Tanzania, Uganda,
Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire. |
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The latest estimates of refugee students assisted by UNHCR,
covering the school year 1997/98, gave a total of about 650,000,
including students in Iran (165,000), Tanzania (79,000), Pakistan
(78,000), Guinea (61,000), Uganda (53,000), Côte d'Ivoire (49,000),
Kenya (38,000), and Nepal (35,000). These totals include about
30,000 students in secondary education, notably in Guinea, Côte
d'Ivoire, Uganda and Iran. |
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Enrolments of refugee girls are lower than those of boys, especially
in the upper primary and secondary years. Often this reflects
schooling patterns in their places of origin, although the specifics
of the refugee situation also influence patterns of school attendance
and drop out. Currently some 40% of refugee students in developing
countries are girls. |
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Estimated enrolments of refugee children and adolescents in
refugee and national schools, 1997/8, under UNHCR assistance
programmes (not available) |
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It should be emphasised again that the figures given above do
not represent the full numbers of refugee students in schooling.
There is no co-ordinated system for collection of data on refugee
students receiving assistance from different sources. There
is also no record of the numbers of refugee students attending
host country schools on their own initiative, - indeed it may
often be better that refugee students are not differentiated
from their classmates. For present purposes, we may presume
that the number of refugee students attending school in developing
countries and countries in transition is just under a million.
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| Participation
levels |
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It is obviously desirable to interpret refugee education statistics
in terms of the total numbers of refugee children and adolescents
in need of schooling. Where the refugees are from a developing
country, the question is often whether the level of school enrolment
is comparable with that in the country of origin. |
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A first point is that many refugee populations in developing
countries originate from rural areas of their home country.
The levels of participation in these particular areas may have
been lower than those recorded for the country as a whole, and
not available for comparison. A second point is that population
figures for refugees are often of limited accuracy, and that
refugee education statistics are often underestimates (see above).
Yet another problem is that there is often a backlog of unmet
need, due to weaknesses in education provision in the years
before arrival as refugees, leading to anomalies in the calculation
of Gross Enrolment Ratios. (12). |
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A calculation made for a post-Jomtien inter-agency meeting in
1990 gave an overall participation rate or Gross Enrolment Ratio
(GER) of 13% for UNHCR-assisted refugee education at primary
school level. However, it seems likely that this was a substantial
underestimate. It is quite likely that in 1990, as now, most
refugee communities had primary schools in walking distance
of refugee children. Despite overcrowding, the assisted primary
school programme for Mozambican refugees in Malawi had a participation
rate estimated at 42% in 1991/2, for example.(13) |
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Education levels have been rising in most countries during the
1990s, so one would expect a higher participation rate now among
refugees also. Comparison with 1990 would also be affected by
changes in the identity of refugee groups, however. Recent calculations
give an order of magnitude of 54% (65% for boys and 44% for
girls) for refugee primary school enrolments compared to an
estimate of the corresponding age group, and of 34% (41% for
boys and 27% for girls) for primary and secondary school enrolments
compared to the age group 6 to 17. When these calculations are
performed separately for Africa (excluding North Africa), the
primary school GER is higher, at 73% (85% for boys, 60% for
girls), and the rate for primary and secondary school combined
is 47% (55% for boys, 38% for boys). |
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It should be re-emphasised that there are serious problems in
interpreting the GER in the refugee context. This may be illustrated
by the education statistics for the Bhutanese refugee population
in Nepal (which had an assisted refugee population of 94,200
in 1997). The enrolment in the refugee primary schools was about
34,000. Age group data for this population indicate that in
1997 there were about 16,890 girls and 16,760 boys aged 5 to
17 in this population, -a total of 33,650. Thus it could be
concluded that all the refugee children and adolescents over
5 and under 18 are in school, due to previously unmet need.
More realistically, however, there must be some children from
poor families not in school, and probably some young people
18 years old and above who are enrolled in the course (an 8
year course preceded by a year called 'pre-primary'). In fact
a 'bulge' of pent-up demand can be seen moving through the Bhutanese
refugee schools. The highest enrolment in 1995 was in Class
One, while the peak of enrolment subsequently moved to Class
2 (1996), Class 3 (1997) and Class 4 (1998). (14) |
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It is important that at each stage of the educational ladder
there is an opportunity for at least some students to proceed
to the next stage. Access to secondary education is an incentive
to study seriously and complete primary education, and access
to higher education provides an incentive and hope for students
at secondary level. A study of refugee access to secondary and
higher education is urgently needed. |
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The topic of higher education for refugees and other emergency-affected
populations is too vast to tackle here. Obviously it bears on
the question of capacity-building for reconstruction, for which
a pool of highly educated persons is essential. Despite the
evident need, it may be that international funding for refugee
higher education has declined during the decade. |
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On the positive side, however, the 'Einstein' or DAFI (Deutsche
Akademische Fluchtling Initiative) scholarship scheme funded
by the Federal Republic of Germany, has provided university
scholarships for some 1100 refugee students, studying in a developing
country, normally their country of first asylum. This donation
of 4 million Deutchmarks per year may represent the major source
of funding for refugee education at universities in developing
countries. The DAFI initiative is invaluable, both for its direct
beneficiaries and because it provides an incentive for refugee
students to complete their secondary education. DAFI scholarships
alone cannot meet the education needs of talented refugee students
world-wide, however, nor the manpower needs for durable solutions
in their communities. Other donors are needed, and current initiatives
in the use of distance education approaches should be encouraged
and extended. |
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The above statistics do not cover the education of Palestinian
refugees since this has been organised through the United Nations
Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), with the technical support
of UNESCO, since as early as 1950. This programme has provided
Palestinian refugee children and youth with general education,
vocational and technical education and teacher education. Donor
commitment has permitted tens of thousands of students to become
self-reliant by earning their living and supporting their families,
thus helping in the social and economic development of the region.
Less obviously, but perhaps equally important, this education
has significantly contributed to the preservation of the cultural
identity of a displaced and dispersed people. |
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Education
of Palestinian refugees
In
1997/8, UNRWA elementary, preparatory and secondary
schools numbered 649, accommodating 447,268 pupils.
Enrolments in the elementary cycle comprised 11,464
in Gaza, 88,211 in Jordan, 25,932 in Lebanon, 43,206
in the Syrian Arab Republic, 36,159 in the West Bank:
a total of 308,372 including 153,973 girls (49.9%).
UNRWA operates eight training centres (three in the
West Bank, two in Jordan and one each in Gaza, Lebanon
and the Syrian Arab Republic), with a total of 4650
training places in the training year 1997/8. In 1955,
UNRWA began providing scholarships to excelling Palestinian
students to pursue to their higher education, from the
UNRWA General Fund and extra-budgetary resources. In
1997/8, UNRWA awarded 1055 scholarships, of which 488
were for women.
(UNRWA
Department of Education: Annual Report, 1997/8)
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| 1.2
Schooling for children and adolescents displaced or otherwise
crisis-affected within their own countries |
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who are displaced but remain within their own countries face
perilous circumstances. They are often worse off than refugees,
since they may lack protection and assistance. There are an
increasing number of situations where families and communities
are chronically displaced due to localised, continued armed
conflict. …Another acute problem for internally displaced children
is access to health and education services. In contravention
of humanitarian law, the access of internally displaced persons
to humanitarian assistance is often impeded. …Even if schools
exist, the children may not be able to enrol because they lack
proper documentation, are not considered residents of the area
or are unable to pay school fees. Feelings of exclusion, as
well as the struggle for survival and protection, may lead children
to join parties to the conflict or to become street children.
…All possible measures must be taken to maintain education systems
during conflicts' (Machel Report, paras. 81/2, 203). |
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The information on education for populations within crisis-affected
countries is much less comprehensive than for refugees. For
refugees, international agencies have mandates to provide assistance,
including education. International funding is used, and reporting
is therefore needed. In contrast, in countries or regions undergoing
conflict, or in post-conflict situations, the responsibility
for education rests with national and local education authorities
that may be functioning under conditions of great difficulty
or not at all. |
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The situation of countries or regions in a state of chronic
conflict is particularly troubling. Difficulties in collecting
reliable data should not hide the fact that access to education
in parts of Somalia, Southern Sudan, the Democratic Republic
of Congo, Angola and elsewhere is minimal. An estimate of the
Gross Enrolment Ratio for Somalia, for example, suggests that
only 9 per cent of children (and only 6 per cent of girls) are
in school. (15) |
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In this situation, it is not practicable at present to give
a quantitative overview, - although we recommend that in future
there should be ongoing studies of education for populations
affected by emergencies within their own countries. It is possible,
however, to illustrate some of the efforts made by governments
and the international community to provide access to schooling
even under very difficult conditions. |
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It may be noted further that the number of 'beneficiaries' is
a less meaningful concept when assistance is given to an under-resourced
education system in a country affected by conflict, than when
applied to the donation of resources to cover the entire costs
of a system of refugee schools, for example. Often, the donation
of stationery, textbooks etc. is critical to continuation of
educational programmes in a country, town or district affected
by natural disaster or other crisis; yet the major costs, in
terms of teaching time, infrastructure etc. are borne by the
nation or community concerned. |
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Support
to education in Burundi
UNICEF,
UNESCO and other organisations provided support to the
education system in Burundi, through issue of student
kits and teachers guides, as well as support for non-formal
education including training of literacy teachers and
production of literacy materials, and support to women's
peace committees.
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One of the regions most affected by internal crisis is Southern
Sudan. Educational activities are supported by various agencies,
under the leadership of UNICEF, under the programme Operation
Lifeline Sudan. In this case, there is intermittent conflict
and internal displacement. Efforts have been made, however,
to supply basic educational materials and to provide elements
of teacher training; and teacher guides have been prepared.
Programmes of emergency outreach to displaced and conflict-affected
populations are likewise found in most emergency situations
world-wide, an example being the support to education provided
by UNESCO, UNICEF and other agencies in Somalia since 1993,
and recent programmes for children displaced due to the Kosovo
crisis. |
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Support
to education in crisis-affected areas of Angola
The
Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), in co-operation with
the Angolan Education Ministry and UNICEF, has adapted
the Teacher Emergency Package developed by UNESCO, and
has introduced additional teacher training to compensate
for low levels of teacher education in rural areas.
The NRC project provides a year-long basic education
programme in areas lacking a primary school. Afternoon
classes have extended the programme to higher grades.
Themes such as health, nutrition, environmental care,
music and human rights have been included in the programme.
The aim has been to provide access to education on an
initially low-resource basis, given the poverty and
instability in the regions concerned, providing the
basis for improved education when the situation has
improved.
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In many countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States
(former Soviet Union), there have been major population movements
and localised conflicts. There are large numbers of internally
displaced, as well as refugees and populations affected by or
at risk of conflicts. Many agencies provide assistance, but
often funding is insufficient to ensure even basic education
supplies, or assistance to displaced families which lack the
means to provide warm clothing and shoes to enable their children
to attend school. |
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Supplementary
education programmes for IDPs and local populations
in the Caucasus
International
Rescue Committee (IRC), in consultation with the national
education authorities, has developed innovative non-formal
education programmes for IDPs and local populations
in Western Georgia and Azerbaijan, including remedial
education, health education, creation of libraries,
recreational activities and capacity-building for Parent
Teacher Committees and local NGOs.
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Humanitarian and development agencies must look to strengthening
educational support services as well as ensuring that educational
supplies reach conflict-affected populations. In Azerbaijan,
for example, an inter-agency education working group has recently
been established to help the government cope with its large
caseload of IDPs and refugees. The shortage of resources such
as textbooks, together with a district-based system of distribution,
has led to under-resourcing of IDP schools (since IDP students
and teachers are new to the district and away from their own
districts) and early school drop out. |
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The World Food Programme (WFP) has played an important role
in maintaining education systems in situations of emergency.
In Mozambique, for example, WFP's school feeding programme,
mainly for boarding school students, ensured that at least a
minimum of education could be maintained during the period of
emergency and conflict. In Sudan, WFP has provided emergency
food aid to communities, especially women, to rehabilitate primary
schools damaged by floods. In Afghanistan, WFP has provided
take-home rations in support of teacher training and school
reconstruction, as well as assisting in meeting the food needs
of boarding schools and orphanages. |
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| 1.3
Schooling as a vital component of post-conflict reconstruction |
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| 'For
refugee or internally displaced families and children returning
to their home communities, reintegration may be very difficult.
In countries disrupted by many years of conflict, there are
often tensions between returnees and residents. For children
in particular, one of the most important measures is to ensure
education and the opportunity to re-establish family life and
productive livelihoods. …Support for the re-establishment and
continuity of education must be a priority strategy for donors
and NGOs in conflict and post-conflict situations.' (Machel
Report, paras.88, 203). |
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There is increasing recognition of the time lag that can occur
between the apparent resolution of a crisis situation, such
as a peace treaty and a repatriation process, and the restoration
of effective access to education programmes. In some cases,
continuing insecurity makes the reconstruction process problematic.
Often, there is a need to rebuild and re-equip national and
local educational administration systems before community initiatives
can be reinforced with educational materials, teacher training
and supervision and eventually the reintroduction of national
examinations. |
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The damage done to educational systems by years of war can mean
that there is a lack of persons with sufficient education to
be teachers, as well as a lack of infrastructure. Donors may
be unwilling to fund reconstruction until there is clear evidence
that conflict will not be resumed. |
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Education
Development Centres in Somalia In Somalia,
UNESCO
through its Programme for Emergency Education and Reconstruction
(PEER) has developed a network of Education Development
Centres, as a technical basis for restoring structures
of education at regional level. These resource centres
provide for training of teachers, and local development
and reproduction of education materials. UNESCO and
UNICEF work hand in hand providing centralised services
such as curriculum development, textbook provision,
teacher training and promotion of sustainability and
community ownership of the school system through support
to Community Education Committees, District and Regional
Education Committees. The Somali Open Learning Unit
(SOMOLU) provides in-service training whereby teachers
can set their own pace and become qualified after 12-18
months. This training can be centre-based or, as in
Nugal, mobile tutors provide training to groups of teachers
in small towns and villages. Vacation courses enable
lower primary teachers to complete the 8th grade of
schooling. A Peace Education Package has been developed,
based on Somali culture, for use in Somali schools.
In the absence of an internationally recognised government,
the Somalia Aid Co-ordination Body promotes co-ordination
of the education sector through its Education Sectoral
Committee, with UNESCO serving as its chair and secretariat.
These initiatives and activities present a model that
has lessons for educational reconstruction elsewhere.
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At the stage of post-conflict reconstruction, there is often
a confused situation with various international agencies offering
assistance in an uncoordinated manner, a national Education
Ministry ill-equipped to coordinate them, and problems so complex
that solutions are hard to devise. A notable dilemma is that
in post-conflict situations, some national governments are unable
to fund even the operational costs of schooling. Even if international
donors agreed to provide this assistance on a temporary basis,
how would it be sustained after their funding is discontinued?
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There is an especial need for effective co-ordination mechanisms
when donors wish to support the return of refugees to their
homes and the re-establishment of basic services and livelihoods
in returnee-receiving areas. Agencies with a mandate focussed
on refugees seek to dovetail their assistance with organisations
able to provide support over the longer term. Such transitions
in donor support are easy to advocate but very difficult to
arrange in practice. This is an area where greater inter-agency
co-ordination is of the utmost importance, - as is a training
of education managers in affected countries. (16) |
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Inter-agency
co-ordination in Liberia
In
a good example of inter-agency collaboration, UNHCR,
UNICEF, UNESCO, International Rescue Committee (IRC),
ADRA (Adventists Development and Relief Association)
and other organisations co-operated with the Education
Ministry of Liberia in 1998, in planning speedy educational
response in Liberian counties receiving large numbers
of returnees from Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire. Plans included
distribution of textbooks and accelerated in-service
training of new teachers. IRC and ADRA were the NGOs
implementing refugee education in Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire
respectively, and seeking to assist rehabilitation of
education in returnee areas of Liberia.
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Lack of resources for educational reconstruction may even delay
repatriation, in certain circumstances. As noted in the discussion
below on curriculum, refugee schools normally use a curriculum
based on that of their country or area of origin, not least
with the objective that their students should be able to re-enter
the education system in their home area without difficulty.
At the time of writing, however, there is a major debate on
the issue of whether education for Liberian refugees, residing
in Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire, should be discontinued as an incentive
to repatriation. There have been difficulties in proceeding
speedily with the reconstruction of schools in returnee areas,
partly due to the general deterioration of infrastructure such
as roads during the years of civil strife and to under-funding
of the reconstruction programme generally. It is unclear in
this case to what extent slow repatriation reflects the practicalities
of return and reconstruction and how far it is affected by teachers'
concerns regarding conditions of employment in returnee areas
as contrasted to refugee schools. |
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As another example of the practical implications of resource
constraints, we may cite the 250 refugee students in Djibouti
who are willing to repatriate to North West Somalia when secondary
schooling is available there. |
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This problem of meeting recurrent costs on a sustainable basis
is not limited to education, of course, and is widely encountered
in repatriation and post-conflict situations. In some cases,
teachers may receive external assistance in cash or as food-for-work,
but strategies for sustainability are needed. |
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World
Food Programme (WFP) support for education in emergency
and reconstruction
The
World Food Programme plays a vital role both in emergency
situations and post-crisis reconstruction. Its policies
for education, under the rubric of Protracted Relief
and Recovery Operations (PRRO) include support for basic
education generally, including primary education, literacy,
skills training, life skills such as mine awareness,
etc. 'Often this support will be in the form of school
feeding or provision of food rations to enable people
to participate and not be distracted due to hunger.'
Secondary schools serving the poor, boarding facilities
and centres for specially disadvantaged children are
sometimes assisted on a case-by-case basis. WFP supports,
through food-for-work, the construction and repair of
key educational infrastructure which has been destroyed
or damaged during the emergency. Regarding the situation
where teachers cannot be paid a salary, WFP may provide
food basket assistance on a short-term basis. 'Where
such support is being proposed, the recovery strategy
will need to demonstrate that all alternative sources
of funding have been explored and that the rationale
for the project is strong enough to justify providing
support to teachers'. (WFP Guidelines for Protracted
Relief and Recovery Operations.)
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The international community has realised the importance of investing
in the prevention of future natural disasters, - in the case
of the cyclones and floods that recur in Bangladesh, for example.
There should be a willingness likewise to invest in the less
tangible concept of education for post-conflict renewal of hope
for the coming generations. |
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BANGLADESH
Preventive strategies against natural disasters
UNESCO's assistance in emergency situations is not merely
limited to the reconstruction of schools after the fact.
Rather, it has given considerable attention to the provision
of information and guidelines to avert any potential
damage in the event of natural disasters, and particularly
to school buildings. In cases where the damage has already
occurred, the response to assistance has been supplemented
by sub-regional training courses by leading experts.
Countries with similar climatic cycles have been encouraged
to share and broaden their experience, concerns, solutions
and emergency strategies and cooperate with one another.
Although
regions affected by fierce windstorms have been identified
and recommendations for building designs/structures/preventive
measures suited to the respective areas highlighted,
it is not always possible for countries to upgrade their
technology or design for a variety of reasons. It is
nevertheless a proven case in UNESCO's experience that
the pooled resources of international and national agencies
which went towards improved satellite warning systems
and the provision of better buildings in Bangladesh
helped mitigate the effect of the devastating cyclone
which hit the country in 1991. As the table below shows,
the projected number of deaths in 1990 would have been
double that of 1970 in proportion to the growth in population.
And even though the loss of life in reality was enormous
in the cyclone of 1991, it was much less in comparison
to what it would have been had precautionary measures
of warning systems and improved building structures
not been taken. Other countries/regions included for
safe-school structures are: Australia, Bangladesh, Caribbean,
China, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tonga
and Vietnam.
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| FLOODS,
CYCLONES, SEA SURGES IN BANGLADESH (not available) |
| Source:
UNESCO, The ABC of Cyclone Rehabilitation, K.J.Macks, 1996. |
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In some cases, as after the repatriation of refugees to Kosovo
in 1999, there is an international willingness to fund educational
reconstruction in a post-conflict situation. In the majority
of cases, in contrast, there is a scarcity of resources, and
UN Consolidated Appeals for reconstruction often fall far short
of their targets. The new awareness of the rights of children
and of prompt restoration of education as a tool for peacebuilding
may help generate greater responsiveness to the funding needs
of the education sector in the post-conflict and transition
situations. We recommend greater involvement of scholars in
this area, as a reinforcement of the calls of field-oriented
agencies for greater and more timely donor support to educational
reconstruction. |
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| 2. EARLY
CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND ADULT EDUCATION |
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Jomtien set a broad agenda for basic education, including early
childhood development, the education of children, young people
and adults; including quality as well as coverage; including
skills for living and livelihood beyond simple literacy and
numeracy. Organisations working in emergency education have
seen the necessity for this broad agenda, and there have been
good initiatives under difficult conditions. |
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| 2.1
Early childhood care and development |
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| 'Integrated
programmes in early childhood care and development provide a
sound foundation for lifelong learning. …they are 'pace-setters'
in education, often building on partnerships between government,
NGOs, communities and parents. Integrated Early Childhood Development
programmes, including parent education, interact with other
areas of children's growth such as health, hygiene and nutrition,
and offer a child-centred pedagogy that encourages the ability
to learn'. (Education for All: Achieving the Goal; Final Report
of the Mid-Decade Meeting of the International Consultative
Forum on Education for All, Amman, 1996; p. 24) |
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The principle that learning begins at birth was highlighted
as part of the Jomtien vision. The 1990's have seen world-wide
attempts to act on this insight through the development of programmes
of parent education and of child-centred activity programmes
for the young child. Young children displaced by natural and
man-made disasters need especial support, to help them cope
with traumas which may have affected them directly, -whether
injury or the loss of loved ones, or having to flee from attack.
They need support also because the adults in some families may
be unable to give them the care and attention that would normally
have been their birthright. |
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Communities in crisis situations have responded to early childhood
initiatives made by NGOs, -as for example, when Save the Children
Federation supported the establishment of community-based pre-school
programmes during the conflict in Bosnia. Organisations such
as Radda Barnen, Jesuit Refugee Services, Enfants Réfugiés du
Monde, Norwegian People's Aid and many others have worked to
provide early childhood care and pre-primary classes for refugees,
and for children affected by emergencies within their own countries,
as well as parent education. |
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Crucial here is the concept of capacity-building and sustainability.
In circumstances where governments or donor agencies have difficulty
in meeting the costs of schooling, the model for early childhood
interventions needs to be community-based. In some cases, an
initiating organisation was able to fund salaries or incentives
for carers and teachers at first, and then found it difficult
to sustain the necessary levels of funding. Interventions should
aim at providing training and start up materials, that can enable
parents and communities to organise early childhood programmes
and to sustain them when external assistance is withdrawn or
reduced. |
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Early childhood programmes have pay-offs beyond their direct
effects. They permit outreach to young children for nutrition
and health programmes, and the education of parents and carers
on the needs of the child (health, nutrition, sanitation, clean
water, protection and stimulation to promote psychosocial and
cognitive development). Moreover, they play a critical role
in freeing older girls in the family from child care duties
that prevent them from attending school. Hence, they are a key
element in the Education for All agenda. This is the more important
where extended family structures have been disrupted by war
and displacement. |
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Early childhood programmes, whether called day care, kindergarten,
pre-school or pre-primary, represent not only an opportunity
to promote future mental and emotional development but also
the life skills for tolerance, gender sensitivity and co-operation.
It is especially touching to see the children from different
refugee communities singing and playing together, and learning
that the conflicts that drove them from home are not the only
approach to human life on this planet. 'We are one, we are one'
-sing the children from 10 different tribes and nationalities
in the pre-schools of Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. |
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How
pre-school programmes support girls' education
In
Gambella refugee camp in Western Ethiopia, the establishment
by Radda Barnen of a largely female committee to begin
a pre-school, the intensive training of pre-school teachers,
and successful operation of the programme changed attitudes:
'Not only has the community accepted now that women
can obtain the necessary qualifications to become teachers
but they have also observed that girls can perform well
in schools.' The creation of Parent Teacher Associations
has assisted in this. Two pre-schools are moving towards
self-management by the community and the PTA. An estimated
90% of all children aged 3 to 6 participate in the pre-school
programme. This frees older girls from child care duties,
so that they can attend school.
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| 2.2
Non-formal education for youth and adults |
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Displaced communities and agencies supporting them with humanitarian
assistance normally give first priority to restoration of schooling
for their children. Subsequently, however, there are often multiple
initiatives to provide education and training for youth and
adults. Many organisations have supported literacy programmes,
programmes providing knowledge and skills regarding health and
child care, and skills training to enhance family livelihoods
or promote access to paid employment or self-employment. Often,
these various objectives are combined, as when literacy courses
include health messages, or vocational training incorporates
literacy and numeracy courses. The potential of such education
and training for the empowerment of women, and to help poor
women (often heads of household) to cope economically and socially,
has led to many literacy and skills training programmes specifically
for older girls and women. |
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Quantitative data is not available for the range of programmes
covered by this theme paper; nor is it in principle easy to
collect, since many literacy programmes are organised by community
organisations or local NGOs on a voluntary basis. The examples
which follow are indicative of the many programmes that cannot
be mentioned here: |
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In Cambodia,
a group led by UNESCO and the Ministry of Education, Youth
and Sport have conducted non-formal education programmes
since 1994, benefiting returnee, internally displaced and
other populations through literacy courses and skills training
(over 20,000 beneficiaries, 80% female). Reading houses/
libraries have been constructed by participants in the grounds
of Buddhist temples, ancient centres of learning. The literacy
manuals include health, hygiene and child care, agriculture,
human rights and environmental protection.
Save
the Children Federation (SCF) introduced an innovative 'Health
and Literacy' programme for Afghan refugee women in remote
locations in Baluchistan Province, Pakistan. Using participative
methods, the women were encouraged to reflect on issues
affecting their daily lives as well as learning important
health messages. In the North West Frontier Province, GTZ
developed new literacy materials and conducted literacy
courses for men and women, as well as child care courses,
in many of the 250 refugee camps in the province.
In
Meheba refugee camp, Jesuit Refugee Service has developed
Portuguese, French and English language courses for adults,
as well as children, including messages regarding health,
hygiene, problem solving skills, peace education, gender
awareness and sharing of traditional oral cultures and life
testimonies.
In
Karagwe, Tanzania, Jesuit Refugee Services established camp
resource centres where Rwandan youth could study languages,
librarianship etc. and edit a newsletter.
In
Gambella, Ethiopia, Radda Barnen has established a Youth
Centre providing activities such as basketball, volleyball,
football, table tennis, dominoes, etc., visited by some
500 young people. A course was given there on assembly of
footballs and volleyballs. Clubs involving some 400 young
people meet there. These clubs aim at grouping those interested
in the issues but also convey messages to the community.
For example, the Health Club passes messages through drama,
theatre etc. The disability awareness club has held workshops
to lessen prejudice against the disabled and promote prevention
and rehabilitation.
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Burundi:
Adult literacy and Education for peace
After the 1993 ethnic conflict in Burundi, the NGO Action
Aid adopted the Reflect approach as one of the peace
development initiatives in the country. Reflect is a
structured participatory learning process, which facilitates
peoples' critical analysis of their environment, placing
empowerment at the heart of sustainable and equitable
development. Through the creation of democratic spaces
and the construction and interpretation of locally-generated
texts, people build their own multidimensional analysis
of local and global reality, challenging dominant development
paradigms and re-defining power relationships in both
public and private spheres.
Evaluation
of the programme revealed that the participants and
supervisors interviewed had to some extent understood
the Reflect learning concept to mean " … a new approach
that enables people to understand their village better
by first analyzing the problems that affect them and
then looking for possible solutions to those problems."
This was a good sign. And even though men performed
better than women in literacy and numeracy skills, (largely
due to the fact that men had more time at their disposal
to learn and practice as opposed to women who are overburdened
by household chores), women seemed to have developed
greater self-confidence in terms of self-expression
and had also attained better negotiation skills. Having
acknowledged that women had a heavier workload than
men, the participants did not necessarily attempt to
change the status quo. Women for their part were prepared
to participate in tasks formerly exclusively done by
men.
The
greatest caveat in using this approach is to ensure
that trainers and facilitators have themselves understood
the concept in-depth in order to train others with the
same conviction of belief and understanding of one's
environment and integrating need for integrating preservation
and development.
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| 2.3
Vocational training |
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Even during an acute emergency there may be opportunities for
skills training. Later, technical and vocational education,
and employment creation, are important elements in recovery
from natural or man-made disasters and in building a durable
peace after conflict. These programmes have substantial resource
requirements and care must be taken that they are well-designed
in relation to local needs and the absorptive capacity of the
market. The programmes must likewise be designed to ensure flexibility
to respond to the often rapidly changing circumstances of an
emergency or post-conflict situation. |
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Almost all major international agencies and donors have supported
vocational training programmes for emergency affected populations,
-some focussing on youth, some on adults of both sexes, some
on women; some on refugees and some on persons within their
own countries. |
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The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has long experience
in supporting vocational training, enterprise development, micro-credit
and cooperative schemes, training and employment of the disabled.
ILO has created programmes for victims of conflict in countries
such as Cambodia, Bosnia, Croatia, Mozambique, Haiti, Rwanda
and Somalia. Priority is given to the training of women, of
youth especially demobilised soldiers, of the disabled, and
victims of drug abuse. |
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In each case ILO has drawn upon and helped develop local expertise
for skills training and programme management. Support is given
to post-conflict capacity-building, at national and local levels,
for planning, design, execution, monitoring and evaluation of
training and income generation programmes for populations affected
by war. ILO has created a database on post-conflict training
and employment programmes, and has published an overview of
experiences in this field. (17) |
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Regarding refugees, UNHCR has reviewed and documented the experience
of skills training programmes it has funded for refugees (in
its 'Sourcebook for refugee skills training', 1996). Successful
programmes have included a major apprenticeship programme for
Afghan refugees, placed in refugee and local informal sector
workshops in Pakistan, implemented by the NGO Solidarite Afghanistan.
This programme had a very high percentage of placement of its
graduates in informal sector employment, with monitoring reports
showing that as many as 80% of those traced, or over 50% of
all trainees, were using their new skills as a source of income.
The situation is much more difficult in closed camp situations,
where earnings opportunities are limited. A modified apprenticeship
programme was nevertheless conducted in the Rwandan refugee
camps in Tanzania, using group attachment of adolescents to
skilled craftsmen working on production of relief goods and
school furniture. In many locations, graduates from skills training
centres have gained valuable work experience through the production
of school uniforms, school furniture or buildings. |
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Among the many NGOs active in this field, the Salesian Don Bosco
organisation has provided vocational training for displaced
and otherwise emergency-affected students in countries such
as Albania, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola, Kenya, Sri Lanka
and Cambodia. |
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| 3. SPECIAL
CONCERNS |
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| 3.1
Education inclusive of children, youth and adults with disability |
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| 'Millions
of children are killed by armed conflict, but three times as
many are seriously injured or permanently disabled by it. …In
Afghanistan alone, some 100,000 children have war-related disabilities,
many of them caused by landmines. …The lack of rehabilitative
care is contrary to Article 23 of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child, which lays out clearly the responsibilities of
States Parties for ensuring effective access of disabled children
to education, health and rehabilitation services.' (Machel Report,
para. 145). |
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Many children suffer disabilities as a result of conflict and
associated destruction of health facilities. Emphasis is often
given to the effects of landmines but malnutrition and disease
also flourish during war, and can lead to disability. It is
therefore imperative to provide the needed care and prostheses,
and also the education that will help disabled persons to live
as valued members of their communities. Where possible, children
with disabilities should study alongside other children from
their community, in « inclusive » schools. Teachers should be
trained accordingly. In some circumstances, special classes
and teachers may be needed. It is important also to take advantage
of the opportunity of outside expertise and resources, often
present during an emergency, to train teachers in special techniques
such as the use of Braille sign language. |
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Programmes for the education and training of refugees with disabilities,
whether from war, disease or other causes, have indeed been
developed in many locations, but the coverage is not systematic
and depends on both the interest and expertise of the organisations
implementing education programmes and the availability of resources.
Where possible, the principle of integration in education and
training programmes alongside other students is preferred (and
is more economic), but in some instances specialised programmes
are more appropriate. |
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In Pakistan,
refugee social welfare committees organised 'child groups'
for severely disabled children, who meet for structured
activities three times a week. Some of these children have
subsequently been able to enter normal schools or vocational
training programmes. Vocational training/apprenticeship
and income generation projects for refugees receiving UNHCR
funding were required to include a quota of disabled, often
ex-combatant, refugees among their beneficiaries. Apprenticeships
and mobile training programmes in some skills such as tailoring
were specifically limited to disabled men and needy female
heads of household.
In
the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya, special classes are held
in selected schools, for deaf students and blind children
and adults. Two teachers per camp were trained for teaching
of mentally handicapped children and three teachers were
trained to integrate blind, deaf and physically handicapped
adults into the adult literacy programme.
In
Bhutanese refugee camps in Nepal, there are seven Special
Needs Resource Teachers (one per two schools). These teachers
receive a one-day training twice a month and an orientation
workshop of 3 days at the beginning of the school year.
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| 3.2
Separated children |
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In many crisis situations, children get separated from their
parents or primary caregivers. UNESCO, UNICEF, UNHCR, Save the
Children and other agencies have developed different new systems
for identifying such children and tracing their close relatives,
on the basis that family reunion is normally in the best interests
of the child. |
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It is not normally desirable to set up special orphanages and
schools for such children. This can in fact lead to family separations,
whereby parents deposit their children as 'orphans' so that
they can have a better future than the family can provide in
times of hunger and displacement. Best practice guidelines encourage
the fostering of children with responsible members of the community,
combined with monitoring of the care provided and support for
the foster families in sending the children to school. |
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Sometimes, displaced and separated children are forced to act
as servants or to work in mines etc in return for food. Others
may become street-children, and earn their livelihood through
prostitution. It is important that humanitarian agencies develop
an awareness of these problems so that protection can be provided
to children displaced and traumatised by conflict. In this connection,
UNHCR and the Save the Children movement have developed a training
programme entitled 'Action for the Rights of the Child', which
is intended for the training of UN and NGO staff working with
refugees and other conflict-affected populations. |
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| 3.3
Child soldiers and ex-combatants |
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The problem of child soldiers has become acute during the 1990's,
with an estimated 300,000 child soldiers in the world today.
Far too many adolescent boys in the age under 18 have been recruited
as soldiers. As educators, we support the moves to raise the
minimum age of recruitment to 18. The problem of child soldiers
is wider than this, however. There has been widespread use of
children of age 10 and above, or indeed of any age that can
serve the purposes of the militias that have engaged in civil
combat during the 1990's. Both boys and girls have been recruited,
often forcibly, to fight or to provide militias with services,
including carrying, cooking and sexual services. They are often
victims of physical abuse, malnutrition, drug abuse and AIDS.
Children and adolescents have been forced to commit terrible
atrocities, and worst of all, these atrocities have sometimes
involved mutilating or killing their own family members. |
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Many young people who have been able to escape to refugee camps,
who have been demobilised under campaigns led by international
or national organisations, or who have otherwise been able to
begin a new life, have benefited from access to emergency education
and training programmes of the type described above. Often,
these young people have the resilience to join with others of
their age group in the shared life of schools and training centres.
In such cases, staff training to cope with the special needs
of ex-combatants is needed, -although this has often been neglected.
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In other cases, the degree of traumatisation, and sometimes
social exclusion, of ex-combatant children, has required the
establishment of special programmes combining education, training,
cultural and sports activities and intensive group and individual
counselling programmes. Don Bosco, Save the Children Fund and
other organisations have set up centres or 'homes' in Liberia,
for example, to meet the needs of child soldiers, taught to
kill and mutilate, many of them addicted to drugs. In Sierra
Leone, the NGO Children Against War provides counselling, 'special
conversations' and informal educational activities to ex-child
soldiers before helping them to re-enter their communities of
origin. |
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While statistics are not to hand, it is likely that many more
young people, both boys and girls, need such help than currently
receive it. The international community and national governments,
as well as leaders of militias, must realise that the future
is imperilled wherever there is a generation of children who
cannot read or write and only know the respect that is earned
from the barrel of a gun. |
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The re-integration of adult ex-combatants into civil life is
a challenge after any conflict. For young people who have grown
up as soldiers or in militias, the coming of peace may leave
them with no skills and no prospects for the future. Agencies
such as ILO and UNESCO have supported national programmes for
ex-combatants in countries such as Cambodia and Mozambique.
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Mozambique:
Reintegration of ex-combatants in a post-conflict situation
At the signing of the Mozambique Peace accords in 1992,
75,000 regular soldiers and 11,000 other combatants,
including many young men and women, needed to be reintegrated
into society. The objective was to provide these young
people with literacy and work skills that would prevent
them from regressing into a state of abject poverty
and perhaps undermining the peace. A collaborative project
under the auspices of UNESCO developed a literacy programme
linked to management and skills training , which responded
to labor and market needs. Project management was gradually
handed over to the young people who were quick to reject
participation of the more disruptive youth among them.
The esprit de corps was a driving force in reinforcing
a sense of identity and goals to succeed.
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