ZARQA, Jordan ― Until recently, Syrian refugee Eyad Zoulghena only had bad options.
The 22-year-old, forced to quit law school when he fled his homeland in 2012, could choose to keep working in a supermarket in Jordan to feed his parents and four siblings, effectively putting his future on hold. He could risk a dangerous sea journey to seek his luck in Europe. Or he could return to war-ravaged Syria.
Now a first opportunity has opened up for Zoulghena ― European Union-funded college scholarships for displaced Syrians in Jordan. The pilot program includes 270 such grants now, with a promise of hundreds more in the coming months.
Zoulghena has applied, along with more than 5,000 other Syrians desperate to resume higher education they could otherwise not afford.
If he doesn’t get a scholarship, “you’ll see me next summer in Germany,” said Zoulghena, speaking recently at Jordan’s Zarqa University where Syrians crammed lecture halls to hear more about the EU grants.
As the Syria conflict drags on, such scholarship programs signal an attempt by international donors to shift from mostly emergency humanitarian aid to long-term programs, including education and job creation in Middle Eastern host countries.
Coming up with ways to get hundreds of thousands of uprooted young Syrians back into schools and colleges, and to find employment for their parents will be central issues at Thursday’s annual Syria aid conference, to be held in London.
