Bombings close Syrian school supported by Arkansans

An underground preschool built in a Syrian city once considered a safe haven has closed as nightly bombings have forced families, teachers and others to flee the now-devastated area in the rebel-held Idlib province.

The bombings, by the Bashar al-Assad regime and Russian forces, began Christmas Day and have forced many of the 130 children who attended the Wisdom House preschool and who already had lost one or more parents to flee their homes, in some cases for a second time.

Since September 2016, Conway-area residents and other Arkansans have worked with the nonprofit Syrian Emergency Task Force to support the school and the newer but also now-shuttered Tomorrow's Dawn women's center in Idlib. Schools, churches, community groups and individuals in Florida, Virginia, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., also have joined the efforts.

"Many in our village have been displaced and are sending us horrific images and videos showing the destruction, bombardment, and even the use of white phosphorus against civilians," said the task force, headed by Mouaz Moustafa, who graduated from high school in Garland County and the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.

"On Christmas Day, I started getting these terrified, panicky messages" from teachers at the school, said Natalie Larrison, the task force's outreach director in Little Rock and the Wisdom House's project manager.

The school was in a village that's within a larger city in Idlib province. The village had a prewar population of roughly 8,000, Larrison said. But with so much bombing elsewhere in the country, Idlib province became a refuge for many and the village's population rose to 18,000, she said. Now, people are fleeing the devastation there.

A recent Wisdom House kindergarten graduate, 6-year-old Besan, was among those whose families lost their homes to the bombs earlier this month.

The bombings also took the lives of Besan's 3-year-old brother and an uncle.

A previously filmed Wisdom House video shows Besan praising "God the Merciful." But now a picture added to the video shows her head wrapped in bandages and abrasions to her face as she lies still, covered in a blanket.

"Thank God she is OK," the video says.

In the video, Besan smiled as she chanted these subtitled words as she sat in front of a school wall displaying photos of other children.

"God the Merciful created me

"He gifted me my mind and tongue

"Thank God for making humans his most beautiful creation."

The task force plans three public meetings in February to inform more Arkansans about the Syrian situation and ways they can help.

The meetings are set for Feb. 9 at the Islamic Center of Russellville, 3 p.m. presentation; Feb. 10 at the Argenta United Methodist Church in North Little Rock, 6 p.m. presentation; and Feb. 11 at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Conway, 10 a.m. presentation.

For now, the task force is giving $100 in aid to families of any displaced Syrian student, parent or staff member. And the white bus that once carried children to and from the school has been used lately for evacuations.

This weekend, the task force invited Wisdom House supporters to gather in Little Rock to prepare leaflets to mail out inviting people to the February meetings. The leaflets included a script of what the task force suggested Americans tell their congressional members.

Some of the advice will likely be more welcome among some politicians than others.

One script, for instance, begins, "I want [name of Senate or House member] to condemn on the floor of Congress Assad's offensive on Idlib Province that has forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee their homes, as well as the bombing of civilian homes and hospitals leaving dozens dead, many of them children."

Another says in part, "We call on Congress to tell the Assad regime to immediately stop the siege and allow food and medicine to reach the people of East Ghouta."

Likely more contentious is this one: "I ask [House or Senate member] to pressure the [Republican] administration to extend the temporary protected status of the 7,000 Syrians living in the U.S. beyond January 30.

These people have been vetted for admission to our country under the administration's 'strict' procedures.

If forced to return to Syria, they would be in a war zone ravaged by Assad, Russia, Iran and violent extremists. They risk being targeted for arrest by the regime and deserve to remain in the U.S."

For now, the task force is focusing its humanitarian efforts on getting emergency aid to those displaced since the bombings prevent them from reopening the underground school or establishing another one right now.

With the help of local, often English-speaking residents who the task force has come to trust, the task force has delivered such things as bread and blankets to the area, Larrison said.

There is already some early discussions with some psychiatrists in this country on how to help the devastated Syrians deal with the war's emotional trauma, even as the trauma continues.

Through an online-based audio-video service such as Skype, a psychiatrist at no charge can counsel someone in need but also teach that person how to help someone else, Larrison said.

Larrison said the task force hasn't yet accounted for everyone who attended the school but that is a goal. As of last week, she knew of no students or staff members who had been killed.

The bombings have been at night, so no one was at the school or women's center when they struck.

"This was really bad, but it could have been much worse," Larrison said.

State Desk on 01/21/2018

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