Supporting Syrian Refugees: Related Resources
The following information provides background information for teachers and students on the civil war that has driven Syrians from their country, as well as an overview of some Syrian cultural customs. We also provide news headlines of stories highlighting the experiences of Syrian families and efforts made to welcome them to their new homes.
For more information about refugees, see our related resource section and recommended web resources.
Photo credit: PBS NewsHour.
Background Information
- By the Numbers: Syrian Refugees Around the World (Frontline, 2019)
- Spotlight: Syrian Refugees in the U.S. (Migration Policy Institute, 2016)
Refugees in the U.S.
- Key facts about refugees to the U.S. (Pew Research Center)
Reports and Special Projects
Invisible Wounds: The impact of six years of war on the mental health of Syria’s children (2016)
Six years of war in Syria has caused deep psychological scars among many Syrian children, increasing their long-term risk of suicide, heart disease, diabetes, substance abuse, and depression, according to a report released today by Save the Children. Save the Children and its Syrian partners interviewed more than 450 children, adolescents and adults across seven regions in Syria for "Invisible Wounds," the largest and most comprehensive study undertaken inside Syria to examine children’s mental health and well-being.
Sesame Street and the International Rescue Committee Team Up On Behalf of Refugees
Sesame Workshop and the IRC are currently developing a partnership to deliver early learning and social-emotional support to millions of refugee children in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria. You can learn more about the partnership on the Sesame Workshop website, as well as from this NPR story about the work the team is doing to solicit input from "relief organizations, trauma experts, academics, and others who have worked with refugees."
Update: Sesame Street launches TV show for children affected by Syrian civil war (PBS NewsHour)
Classroom Resources and Books
Booklist: Syrian Stories for Children
These books for children highlight the experiences of Syrian children, with a particular focus on refugees from Syria's civil war and the more general refugee experience. You can also learn more about Syria's folklore and cultural traditions in Muna Imady's collection of Syrian folktales, which she gathered from around the country.
Lesson Plans
- Lesson Plans: Teach Syria (PBS NewsHour)
- Syria: A Children’s Crisis? (Oxfam)
News Headlines
- Over half a million children in northwest Syria forced to flee amid continued violence and harsh weather (UNICEF)
- In Syria, A School Helps Children Traumatized by War (NPR)
- Bana Alabed, 7-Year-Old Syrian Girl, to Publish Memoir (CNN)
- How War and Years of Lost Education Have Devastated Syrian Children — And What Can Be Done to Help (PBS NewsHour)
- 1 in 4 Syrian Children at Risk of Mental Health Disorders, New Report Says (PBS NewsHour)
- In Nebraska, Syrian Refugees Find a Warm and Welcoming Community (Hartford Courant)
- Wonder and Worry, as a Syrian Child Transforms (The New York Times)
- For This Syrian Refugee Family, Starting Anew in the U.S. Is a Solitary Struggle (PBS NewsHour)
- For Syrian Refugees in Connecticut, A Helping Hand from Private Volunteers (NPR)
- How One Syrian Family Found a Home in Texas (WBUR)
- American Schools Offer Scholarships for Syrian Students Displaced by War (The Washington Post)
- Middle School Bullies Are Tough. They’re Even Worse If You’re A Syrian Refugee. (The Huffington Post)
- Seattleites Helping Syrian Refugees Here and Overseas (Yakima Herald)
- Syrian Children in Turkey Heal Through Storytelling (PBS NewsHour)
- ‘See you in school!’ Canadian Children Welcome Syrian Refugees (Toronto Star)
- A Teen Who Fled Syria Had High Hopes for Her Life in Lebanon: #15Girls (NPR)
- Malala Yousafzai Celebrates Birthday Opening School for Syrian Refugees (PBS NewsHour)
- Germany's Refugee Policy Tested By New Arrivals from Syria (NPR)
- UN: Generation of Syrian Children Could Be Lost (The Telegraph)
- In Syria, Not Just Bullets and Bombs Harming Children (NPR)
