disorder ( PTSD ) symptoms , 79 % experienced a death in the family , and 60 % personally witnessed attacks on other people , with 44 % suffering from depression .
It is by no means inevitable that refugee youth would resort to violence or radicalization , despite the trauma many have experienced . The challenges facing Syrian refugee youth are not new and have been overcome before . Before the Syrian refugee crisis dominated the world stage following the outbreak of civil war in 2011 , the region was already rife with years of displacement . Most notably , U . S . stability operations in Iraq and subsequent exchange of violence in the insurgency precipitated a large movement of Iraqis between 2006-2008 , with a half a million Iraqis fleeing to neighboring countries of Jordan ( 300,000 ), Iran ( 200,000 ), Syria ( 40,000 ), and Saudi Arabia ( 5,000 ). During the 2008 Iraqi refugee influx into Jordan , delivering education as early as possible provided an important means of both providing essential services and establishing normalcy for traumatized children who benefit from participating in routine behaviors like attending school . These Iraqi refugees lived in urban areas amongst the Jordanian population instead of being housed in camps ; as such , schools additionally became locations for delivery of services to refugee children , such as health screenings , school feeding programs , and psychosocial support .
This lesson from the Iraqi refugee crisis is important now for the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis . Launched in 2013 , the No Lost Generation initiative , headed by the United Nations International Children ’ s Emergency Fund ( UNICEF ) but involving multiple partners , is a strategic framework to respond to such children and youth affected by the Syrian refugee crisis , on three pillars : 1 ) Education , 2 ) Child Protection , and 3 ) Adolescent / Youth Engagement . The initiative goes hand-in-hand with the Regional Refugee & Resilience Plan ( 3RP ) 2016-2017 which focuses on the education , livelihood , and social cohesion sectors , prioritizing school access , vocational training , and livelihood opportunities for both refugees and under-employed nationals . Through the No Lost Generation Initiative , programs through partners such as Mercy Corps are providing vocational training and safe spaces for youth to learn non-violent ways of dealing with the psychosocial stress they have experienced as refugees . The most effective programs consult with Syrian youth on program design and encourage Syrian youth to participate in decision-making in their own contexts . For Syrian refugee children who currently live in refugee camps such as Za ’ atari in Jordan , their daily lives are now very different ; educational services can establish a new normal and provide service opportunities for both children and their parents .
At the 3RP fundraising London Conference in February 2016 , several neighboring host country governments , including Turkey , Lebanon , and Jordan , committed to opening up more legal opportunities for refugees to access education and livelihoods . This opens a whole new world of possibility for Syrian youth coming into the work force . These youth have not given up their dreams to study and work hard in order to return and contribute to rebuilding their country
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