The World Refugee Day this year was celebrated amid a surge in anti-racism movements around the globe. But, the humanitarian response to the refugee crisis is still greatly influenced by geopolitics, racism and xenophobia which were exploited by many politicians in Lebanon for financial gain.
Nine years after the beginning of the Syrian refugee crisis, with hundreds of millions spent on public education in Lebanon by donors, the outcomes are disappointing to say the least. What was the impact of agreements between international donors and Lebanese politicians on the potential schooling outcomes for Syrian children in Lebanon?
Alas, Syrian refugee children were the victims of this informal agreement which compromised their schooling opportunities. Lebanese journalist Riad Kobeissi conducted an investigation into the education response plan lead by the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE), which was aired on 28 May 2020. Kobeissi alleged that the ministry embezzled donor funding allocated to the education of Syrian refugee children. During his investigation, Riad Kobeissi focused on the number of Syrian students enrolled in Lebanese public schools which have been inflated by MEHE in an attempt to obtain more funding from donors. Yet, enrollment rates present just one piece of the puzzle.
