Students exhausted by cold in Sheikh Maqsoud schools as a result of the siege
The siege imposed on the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh affected most of the sectors of life in the two neighborhoods, including the educational sector, where teachers and students remained without means of heating in the face of the harsh winter cold and the diseases that arise from it.
When ANAH agency's lens visited the classes of the Martyr Qahraman Afrin School, which is one of the third secondary schools that teaches AANES curricula in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood in the city of Aleppo, it appears at first glance the absence of heaters from the classrooms, due to the loss of heating fuel in the two neighborhoods as a result of the siege imposed by the Damascus government.
Despite all the difficult circumstances, the Democratic Society Training and Education Committee in Aleppo preferred to continue the educational process to ensure the future of children and race against time to educate them according to democratic curricula.
However, the impact of the loss of heating means has cast a shadow on students, especially primary and middle school students who are under 15 years old, as the current cold of winter in their classrooms causes children to suffer from colds and seasonal diseases, which necessitates their absence from school for several days.
The schools of the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods are attended by 14,850 female and male students in the three stages of education.
The Education Authority in the Autonomous Administration of Afrin and Al-Shahba canton had previously announced the suspension of school hours weeks ago, as a result of the loss of fuel used in transportation and heating from the canton as a result of the siege.
The co-chair of the Democratic Society Training and Education Committee, Manan Jaafar, stressed that they are suffering in the task of managing the educational process due to the spread of diseases among students, along with teachers.
Jaafar said that they tried to study all the available solutions and proposals, but they were unable to secure the required quantity of heating fuel (diesel) as a result of its unavailability, and the lack of a sufficient quantity for the requirements of the three schools in addition to the Martyr Zozan Youssef Institute.
At the end of his speech, Manan Jaafar warned that the continuation of the policy of starvation and restrictions pursued by the Damascus government will deepen the tragedy of students who have the right to learn in their mother tongue, as providing warmth is one of the values of decent living that must be ensured for children.
The unjust siege imposed by the Damascus government prevented the passage of fuel to the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, resulting in the loss of fuel and means of heating, which contributed to an increase in the number of sick children. The siege also caused the People’s Municipality to suspend all its service work.
T/ Satt.
ANHA
