Jordan has announced that it will help up to 50,000 displaced Iraqi children enroll in schools this year. This will be the first structured education they will have received since the exile from their homeland. This move is being facilitated, not surprisingly, by the UN.
It is known that the King of Jordan places emphasis on education, however one can't help but wonder if he sees this as a mitigator for the instability the country is facing. Between 10 and 20% of the country's total population are now Iraqi refugees and when you add in the fact that Jordan is one of the few Middle Eastern countries that is friendly with the U.S. and moderate towards Israel, one wonders if this is a way to forestall internal violence and prevent another Black September from happening. After all, all of these refugees will need places to live and food and water and healthcare, and it's quite possible that they would see it well within their rights to demand same from a country who is perceived as an ally of the country that caused the exile.
The best thing about all of this is that the children will get a chance at a more normal life.
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No matter the alterior motives, I agree with you that it's great that the kids will get to go to school. It reminds me of the New Orleans refugees, after Hurricane Katrina, flooding into Houston. At first, Houston was openly welcoming to them but after a few months the hospitality wore off. One of the main sticklers was education. So many new kids were enrolled in the Houston schools that the schools were overwhelmed with large class sizes and students with issues. A similar situation may ensue in Jordan as the Iraqi refugees settle in.
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