By Simba Shani Kamaria Russeau
BEIRUT, Oct 5 2007 (IPS)

High costs for private education following displacement has caused major gaps in provision of assistance to Iraqi refugees living in Lebanon, especially in the area of education.

Access is limited in Lebanon&#39s overcrowded public schools, and private schools are too expensive for most refugees. Those already enrolled in schools face the risk of dropout due to differences in curriculum.

"English is by far the most difficult subject for my children in school," says Fatima, mother of five from Basra. "By the time we came to Lebanon, before the war in 2003, my child had been out of school for nearly two years."

"Transport is so expensive here, nearly 50 dollars per month, and I can&#39t afford that," says Haifa, mother of three from Baghdad. She adds: "I would rather not eat or drink if it means my children could go to school. Not going to school is like being put back in time."

Ali, 14, has been in Lebanon for two years. His parents and five brothers fled Baghdad after their lives were threatened. "The conditions were very bad. They would slaughter people in front of our eyes."

Living in a mainly Shia suburb of Beirut, Ali is one of few Iraqi children with access to education. "We are learning reading, writing and how to use the computer."

Not so many others.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates there are currently over 540,000 Iraqi children of school age dispersed across the Arab region.

Last week, the agency launched a campaign to raise 220 million dollars by 2010 to allow nine million refugees of school age to get an education.

"The nine million initiative is a means of ensuring that vulnerable children are fully able to realise their right to an education," UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) António Guterres said in a statement.

Focusing on refugees from Sudan, Iraq and Colombia, the campaign seeks to address all aspects of a child&#39s educational needs, from teachers and notebooks to transportation, water and vocational training.

According to the UNHCR, nearly 2,000 Iraqis are being uprooted daily from their homes and lives. As many as half of the estimated 40,000 Iraqis in Lebanon are children.

Due to the influx of refugees since the beginning of 2006, UNHCR has stopped its earlier grant of 300 dollars per child per year to families in Lebanon. Denied access to legal employment and education for their children, many Iraqis are struggling to cope.

"There are big gaps in the provision of assistance to Iraqi refugees living in Lebanon, particularly in the field of education," says Robert Beer, Education Project Coordinator for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in Lebanon. "And the education is a big cost for families."

A recent survey by the Danish Refugee Council found that only 40 percent of Iraqi children living in Lebanon have pursued studies after elementary school. More than half of households do not send their children to school.

"They are unable to be put inside of a structured learning environment at the moment," says Robert Beer. "What these children need is an intensive programme five or six days a week.

"We academically test children through the centre," says Beer. "So they come in for a half a day&#39s academic and behavioural assessment. And then we create an individual file on each child, and the idea is that we then tailor an academic programme to filling in the gaps in their education so that they are enabled to perform at a mainstream Lebanese school."

The Norwegian Refugee Council has opened an Education Resource Centre to support the Iraqi refugee community in providing intensive learning to children. One element of this is providing mental health services and treatment.

Aid organisations like World Vision say that mental health services and treatment for psychological scars is a major concern for Iraqi refugee children.

"Without legal status, psychological rehabilitation, proper education and medical assistance, this devastated and scattered generation is trapped with little hope for the future unless meaningful assistance is provided by the international community," World Vision says.

"Iraqi children have faced problems because of the violence," says Charles Nasrallah, director of the Insan Association in Lebanon. "Here in Lebanon they are also facing problems of not being welcome."

Amnesty International has called on the international community, in particular countries involved in the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq, to immediately take responsibility for the growing refugee crisis.

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