skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Many Syrian Children Lacking Educational Opportunities

play audio
Play

Monday, August 21, 2017   

CHICAGO – While many children are now heading back to school in Illinois and around the country, many other children who are victims of the crisis in Syria are suffering and not able to attend class.

According to the United Nations, many children who have fled their war-torn countries with their families are not getting an education.

Lina Sergie Attar, co-founder of the Karam Foundation, says there are so many other issues capturing our attention that the plight of Syrian refugees has been pushed out of the spotlight, but she says they are suffering.

"There are hundreds of thousands of kids that are not able to access proper schooling, thousands of kids in child labor, and this is a problem ongoing from elementary aged kids all the way up through university," she states.

Sergie Attar says refugee children allowed into the United States are falling behind in school. She says fewer than 6 percent of those who are of college age are enrolled in universities.

Sergie Attar also says refugee children are struggling because they don't understand the language and many need tutoring. She says education helps refugees to be able to stand on their own feet.

"They're not being given the opportunities, and that's the key word here for helping Syrian refugees in the U.S. is to go beyond the basics, and to give families and kids opportunities," she stresses.

The Karam Foundation has back-to-school programs, including one that focuses on getting children out of child labor.

Another provides college scholarships, and there's one that gathers back-to-school items and winter coats for children who need them.

Sergie Attar maintains the United States could do much more to help refugees.

"In Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, they're in the millions,” she points out. “We've accepted only 15,000 out of over 5 million Syrian refugees, so the U.S. really has not taken on its fair share."





get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021