Syria

Copyright © 2015 SAGE Publications. Not for sale, reproduction, or distribution.

Syria



“difficult,” unruly or uncooperative . . . Many children and youths who were unilaterally placed this way were exploited for farm labor, or abused physically and psychologically in homes and reform schools. Others were confined in psychiatric asylums or prisons with no possibility of legal recourse. Instances of forced sterilization were also found, as well as situations of children forcibly removed from their parents to be given up for adoption. Switzerland, which keeps a precise census of all its cattle, has no record of how many children were auctioned off in this way. Among the first to end the silence around this history, Arthur Honegger, in 1974, published a book about his and other children’s experiences: Gestohlene Seelen (Stolen Souls). Between 1979 and her death in 2004, Louisette Buchard-Molteni went on repeated hunger strikes, calling for the Swiss government to open files to research this part of Swiss history. Another book appeared in 1984, Des Suisses Sans Nom (The Swiss Without Names), by Hélène Beyeler-von Burg. When some of those who shared their personal stories in this book spoke on television of their treatment, they were harassed and accused of lying. Some were evicted or confronted with petitions asking them to leave town. In 2009, Jacqueline Häusler and the Stolen Childhoods organization created a national exhibit based on interviews with 300 people who had been forcibly removed from their parents. This prompted the governments of five states of Switzerland to make formal apologies. An increasing number of people have spoken out about their traumatic memories of atrocities, torture, and slavery. They also spoke about their refusal to remain silent, their long wait for recognition, and of the need for change. Apologies from the Federal Council, the Swiss Justice Minister, and others (districts, cities, states, the Swiss farming union, social institutions, and churches) have been linked to concrete commitments. People are now allowed access to files kept about them, and administrations are banned from destroying these files. An ombudsman has been named to gather testimonies, grievances, and requests. The government has initiated detailed historical work, proceedings toward reparations, and the drafting of new legal protection against

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these situations. These commitments are vital because some children continue to be placed in foster care because of their parents’ poverty. In schools and other institutions, young people in poverty are often given heavy psychiatric medications and grouped together with the mentally disabled, with no hope of receiving training. They grow up frustrated, with no ambition for their future. The government’s apology to the people victimized by these policies was made on April 11, 2013, by Federal Councillor Simonetta Sommaruga: “You are in no way at fault for what you underwent . . . In the name of the Swiss government, I ask your forgiveness for the suffering inflicted on you.” Diana L. Skelton All Together in Dignity/ATD Fourth World See Also: Child Care; Children; Family Size and Structure. Further Readings Beyeler-von Burg, Hélène. Des Suisses Sans Nom: Les Heimatloses D’aujourd’hui. Paris: Editions Science et Service, 1984. Brand, Anne-Claire, and Beatriz Monje-Baron. Extreme Poverty Is Violence: Breaking the Silence—Searching for Peace. Pierrelaye, France: Editions Quart Monde, 2012. Ducrey, Pierre. La Nouvelle Histoire de la Suisse et des Suisses. Lausanne, Switzerland: PayotLausanne Editions, 1986.

Syria Syria (officially the Syrian Arab Republic) is an eastern-Mediterranean country bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest. According to the United Nations, more than half of the Syrian population now lives in poverty. Poverty is more widespread in rural areas. Northeastern Syria is the worst in terms of poverty. The percentage of the population below the poverty line was around 12 percent by 2006,

Copyright © 2015 SAGE Publications. Not for sale, reproduction, or distribution.

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Syria

according to Central Intelligence Agency statistics. The civil strife in the country, however, caused a significant rise in figures of poverty since 2011. The country witnessed relatively high economic growth in the 1950s and 1960s. However, since this was also accompanied by continuing rapid population increases thanks to the intentional pronatal policy of the country in most of the second half of the 20th century, the rate of the population below the poverty line remained mostly stable, even during high-growth periods. Regionally, poverty’s most severe presence is in the northeastern regions, which include the provinces of Idlib, Aleppo, Ar-Raqqah, Deir Al-Zor, and Hasakah. This is followed by the central and coastal region, which includes the provinces of Hama, Homs, Lattakia, and Tartous, which have average poverty levels. The “Third National Report on the Millennium Development Goals in Syria 2010,” prepared in cooperation with the United Nations, indicated that poverty in Syria has not declined compared to previous years. The government’s antipoverty policies have been unsuccessful. Although the country was suffering from continued problem of poverty for decades, the outbreak of civil war exacerbated the issue with international sanctions, widespread infrastructure damage, reduced domestic consumption and production, and sharply rising inflation. Inflation occurred in the consumer price index (which rose from 5 percent in 2011, to 37 percent in 2012, and to approximately 60 percent in 2013), resulting in an increase in the number of poor. Unemployed people and those with nearly stagnating salaries are highly affected by sharply increasing prices. Another result of the civil war was the increase in the rate of unemployment, which reached 18 percent in 2012. Civil war also caused a decline in the production and export of oil, one of the primary exports of Syria. Not only the trade of oil, but also the overall trade volume of Syria experienced a sharp decline since the beginning of the internal conflict. Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, the Syrian economy has been hit by massive economic sanctions, restricting trade with the outside world. Several years before the unrest, Damascus began liberalizing economic policies, including cutting lending interest rates, opening private banks, consolidating multiple exchange rates, raising prices

on some subsidized items, and establishing the Damascus Stock Exchange. However, this partial liberalization has not translated into good for the poor because of a number of reasons, including corruption and lack of poor-sensitive social policies flanking liberalization. GDP per capita in Syria has stagnated around $5,000 in recent years. While the services sector accounts for 60 percent of the economy, industry contributes by 22 percent, and agriculture nearly 18 percent. Despite a shrinking share of agriculture in the economy, more than 40 percent of the population still lives in rural areas. Per capita income is much lower than the national average in rural regions. Industrial production in the country witnessed a 20 percent decrease in 2013, resulting in an increase of blue-collar workers in urban centers. The Syrian pound also experienced significant devaluations after the onset of conflict, making people more vulnerable as prices of imported goods sharply increased. Syria is also regarded poor in terms of water resources, which is central in the country’s economy, not only for agriculture, which ranks as the biggest water user (around 75 percent), but also for industrial use. Per capita annual available water amounted to 870 cubic meters in 2005. According to the Falkenmark index, 1000 cubic meters is the threshold of water poverty. A significant portion of Syria’s water resources are transboundary in nature. The country is midstream on the Euphrates and downstream from the Orontes, making it dependent on water resources originating outside of the country. Recent droughts have added strain on the poor in rural areas of the country, and have made it more difficult to reach official food-security targets. To conclude, poverty-related challenges in Syria include foreign trade barriers, declining oil production, high unemployment, rising budget deficits, increasing pressure on water supplies caused by heavy use in agriculture, and rapid population growth. For all these to be dealt with, a basic level of national stability and security is essential. Vakur Sumer Selcuk University See Also: Conflict; Natural Resource Management; War.

Copyright © 2015 SAGE Publications. Not for sale, reproduction, or distribution.



Systems Approach for Better Education Results

Further Reading Abu-Ismail, Khalid, Ali Abdel-Gadir, and Heba El-Laithy. “Poverty and Inequality in Syria (1997– 2007).” United Nations Development Programme (2011). http://arabstates.undp.org/content/dam /rbas/doc/poverty/BG_15_Poverty%20and%20 Inequality%20in%20Syria_FeB.pdf (Accessed September 2014). International Fund for Agricultural Development. Enabling Poor Rural People to Overcome Poverty in Syria. Rome: IFAD, 2009. Sara, Fayez. “Poverty in Syria: Towards a Serious Policy Shift in Combating Poverty.” Strategic Research and Communication Center. (2011). http://www.scpss.org/libs/spaw/uploads/files /Reports/Poverty_in_Syria_EN.pdf (Accessed September 2014).

Systems Approach for Better Education Results The World Bank launched the Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) in 2011 as part of its commitment to improving education around the world. SABER is a critical element in the strengthening of educational systems at the policy level that examines education systems and compares them with evidence-based standards. The World Bank understands that education is the key to defeating world poverty. SABER develops new diagnostic tools and creates multiple benchmarks to rate education policies and outcomes. The goal is to develop a set of global best practices to be adapted and applied in different nations and cultures. The key question throughout the SABER organization is to find out what works. The result is a snapshot of how well a given education system is performing. That snapshot is provided to all stakeholders, including administrators and teachers, government officials who set policy, and leaders in the business community. SABER collects and distributes comparative data on education policies to support national performance evaluations and enact changes in a systematic way. Education systems across the world suffer a knowledge gap. Best practices go unnoticed if

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they are not identified. SABER demonstrates the elements that support excellence in learning in other education systems. The focus is on gathering data and creating evaluation tools in an organized framework to make an actionable guidance. No ranking system to class nations is created. There is no desire to say that one system is best and another inferior. Data collection and assessments are conducted in the poorest and the wealthiest nations. Evaluations are made by benchmarking education systems that produce the highest levels of learning, not gross national product. The goal is continuous improvement to promote “learning for all.” Organization National participation is voluntary, and today SABER is in operation in 100 countries. Different countries sign up for assessment in any number of study categories, or all of them. Relevant information is generated to allow policymakers to determine the way forward, based on knowledge. It is hoped that as more countries join and participants expand their involvement, greater datasets will become available. Over the last decades, there has been considerable improvement in providing children with access to education. Inroads have been made in industrialized states and emerging economies and the third world. However, there is a startling disparity between the numbers of students in school and their level of learning. In many third-world countries, there are students who complete their education without gaining even basic literacy or math ability. In nations that are not poverty stricken (mid-income states), many students graduate without the proficiency required for employment. SABER estimates that 250 million children are illiterate after three or more years of schooling. SABER focuses on a systematic approach to education by examining a broad range of institutional factors. These include the following: financial policies, information systems, governance, and accountability. SABER organizes its data collection into policy domains, categories that include everything from early childhood development, secondary and tertiary education, student and teacher evaluation methods, and employment training programs available to the public. Policylevel examinations ask different questions and