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STORY: GENEVA / SYRIA SCHOOLS
TRT: 1.56
SOURCE: CH UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 14 SEPTEMBER 2012, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
FILE – 2011, PALAIS DES NATIONS, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, exterior Palais des Nations
14 SEPTEMBER 2012, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, press briefing
2. Cutaway, journalists
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Marixie Mercado, Spokesperson, UNICEF:
“In Syria, the Ministry of Education has confirmed that the 16th, which is Sunday, is the starting date for the new school year. According to the Ministry of Education, 2072 schools out of some 22,000 in the country have been damaged or destroyed and 801 schools are now hosting displaced families, which is 200 more than last week. UNICEF has completed light repairs on 67 schools and another 100 will be rehabilitated in the coming days and weeks.”
4. Cutaway, journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Marixie Mercado, Spokesperson, UNICEF:
“The government is moving displaced families out of schools into alternative sites, primarily large unused public buildings including sports halls. UNICEF is not involved in moving the families out but is providing support to these families.”
6. Cutaway, journalists
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Marixie Mercado, Spokesperson, UNICEF:
“It's of extreme importance that kids are able to go back to school in such a context, where ever security conditions allow. In all the conflict zones that we've worked in, putting children back in school is perhaps the best way of giving them some sort of stability, some sort of respite from conflict. It allows them to play, which is something that they haven't been able to do in months, it enables then to interact with their peers and it gives them hope for the future, which is so critical for them right now.”
8. Cutaway, journalists
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Marixie Mercado, Spokesperson, UNICEF:
“We've requested $10 million for education just within Syria. And as of now we've received just $1 million. It's clearly not enough to do what we would like to be able to do in Syria.”
10. Wide shot, meeting
UNICEF said today (14 September) that it is vital to get children back to school at the approaching start of the school year in Syria to give them hope for the future.
UNICEF spokesperson, Marixie Mercado told journalists at the United Nations (UN) in Geneva that children were due back in school in Syria this coming Sunday, 16 September.
According to Syrian Ministry of Education figures, out of the 22,000 schools in the country, more than two thousand have been damaged or destroyed, and some eight hundred are now hosting displaced families.
UNICEF is carrying out repairs on schools, providing school bags and supplies to children and assisting displaced families residing in schools, whom the government is currently moving to alternative accommodation.
It is extremely important, Mercado said, to get children back to school where security allows, as this is the best way to give them some stability and relief from the conflict. Being in school gives them the opportunity to play, which has been denied them for the past months, and, critically, she said, it gives them hope for the future.
UNICEF efforts to restore education in Syria are seriously underfunded; the organisation has received only one out of the ten million US dollars requested. The spokeswoman said "It's clearly not enough to do what we would like to be able to do in Syria."
