Schools turned into shelters… When classrooms witness forced displacement

Attacks by factions of the Syrian Interim Government have forcibly displaced tens of thousands of citizens from their homes, turning schools from educational spaces into shelters where the displaced live under harsh humanitarian conditions. ANHA agency’s reporters documented some of these hardships.

SOCIETY - LIFE

7 February, 2026 10:52

NEWSDESK

Tens of thousands of displaced people from the regions of Afrin, Shahba, Aleppo, Raqqa, and Tabqa, who were forced from their homes due to attacks by Syrian Interim Government factions, are living in dire conditions inside temporary shelters set up in schools that have ceased functioning as educational institutions, becoming emergency refuges for families fleeing factional crimes.

Classrooms that were once filled with students’ voices are now overcrowded with entire families, as documented by ANHA agency’s camera during a tour of several schools converted into shelters in the cities of Girkê Legê and Derik in the Jazira Canton.

Displaced people in these shelters lack basic necessities for a dignified life, with rooms suffering from overcrowding and a severe shortage of heating, making winter an additional burden for the elderly and children.

Dozens of families share limited sanitary facilities, facing difficulties in securing clean water and basic hygiene supplies, while women bear the greatest burden in trying to organize daily life under these exceptional conditions.

Children, who have been cut off from education and now inhabit the classrooms they once studied in, endure psychological hardships but remain a small source of hope for their families.

Despite the efforts of relevant authorities and aid provided by Kurdistan people both in the country and abroad, the needs remain far greater than the available resources.

The displaced hope that these centers remain only temporary, as they await their return to their homes.

A-H

ANHA

DERIK

GRKI LEGE