Stevie Thacker is currently a junior at Amherst College, and is spending the summer interning at the San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition after spending six months studying and volunteering in Cairo, Egypt.
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When I first walked into the African Hope School, a faith-based school set up using private donations to assist the refugee population in Cairo, Egypt, I was overwhelmed by a seeming paradox: the vibrancy and energy of the 400 students, in contrast to the crumbling, sparse building that housed their school. My job was to help students from first to eighth grade develop their English skills.
The students’ knowledge of English varied greatly, and teaching them was an uphill battle. But as frustrated as they would get, I was always impressed by each of them, as they continued on. If a student became visibly frustrated and upset, I would offer them the option to leave our group and go back to their class. Never once was I taken up on that offer. Their entire lives seemed to be of perseverance. As they told me their stories of leaving Darfur and Sudan, they conveyed accounts of arrests and violence as though these were just facts of life.
That vibrant and upbeat atmosphere was shattered on May 9th, when the results of the final examinations cam. On this day, my group of eighth graders came to the classroom full of tears and looks of defeat. They told me that of their class of 35 students, only three had passed the examination. For these kids, failing this exam meant moving forward with their education wasn’t possible.
Violations of the human rights of Darfuris and Sudanese are not confined to the political borders of Sudan. The Sudanese refugees who flee Sudan to avoid persecution are subject to violations of their basic rights outside of Sudan as well. In addition to the nearly 5 million Sudanese who have become internally displaced people, the United Nations has confirmed there are over 560,000 refugees from Sudan who have fled to seven neighboring countries. While these refugees may be relatively safe from the atrocities that are occurring in Sudan, they are continually denied basic rights as outlined in the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
Although Egypt is a signatory to this convention, there are no guarantees to education for Sudanese refugees in Egypt. The Egyptian government denies Sudanese refugees access to their public schools, as mandated by the Convention, effectively forcing Sudanese refugees to enroll in expensive private schools. As they are also often denied the appropriate work visas, and so have no legitimate income, private schools are not an option for Sudanese refugees. Instead, they are forced to rely on a network of schools established by non-governmental organizations and faith-based organizations.
These schools do not offer an adequate solution. The Egyptian government refuses to accredit these schools, meaning any education received is invalid and will not be certified or documented. Consequently, there is no opportunity for higher education for Sudanese refugees. In an attempt to reconcile this situation, in the 2008-2009 school year the African Hope School became the first school for refugees to implement a Sudanese curriculum, rather than Egyptian. The aim of this initiative was to have refugees take Sudanese examinations and receive a certificate from Sudan acknowledging their education, a certificate which would allow them access to higher education.
As the talks commence on how to provide Sudan with peace immediately following UN World Refugee Day on June 20, focus should also be on enforcing international treaties in countries with Sudanese populations, so that when peace is achieved there is a population of well-educated Sudanese to build upon the peace, and not a repatriation of a generation of Sudanese with limited education and opportunities.
