RSS Feed
June 20th, 2017 
Awake Goy 
nsnbc : The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has appointed the 19-year-old Muzoon Almellehan, who has been advocating girl’s right to education since she fled from Syria in 2013, as its newest and youngest Goodwill Ambassador.
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Muzoon Almellehan skips rope with students at the School of Peace at a internally displaced peoples site in the Lake Region, Chad. She visited the conflict-affected region in April 2017. UNICEF/Sokhin
Girls right to education is considered normal in Syria and was normal until Muslim Brotherhood-linked Syrian backed by cohorts of foreign Islamist “rebels” seized control of large swaps of the country. Recalling that when she fled, initially to Jordan, the only belongings she could take with her were school books, Muzoon Almellehan said: “As a refugee, I saw what happens when children are forced into early marriage or manual labor – they lose out on education and they lose out on possibilities for the future.”
Commenting on her appointment as Goodwill Ambassador she said “I’m proud to work with UNICEF to help get these children into school and to give them a voice.
Ms. Muzoon Almellehan, is not only the youngest, but also the first person with an official refugee status to become an Ambassador for UNICEF.
Since fleeing her homeland, she had been living in Jordan for three years, before being resettled in the United Kingdom. UNICEF noted that it was during her 18 months in the Za’atari camp (in Jordan) that she began advocating for children’s access to education, particularly for girls.
“Muzoon’s story of bravery and fortitude inspires us all,” said Justin Forsyth, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, in the release, adding: “We are very proud she will now become an Ambassador for UNICEF and children around the world.”
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Muzoon Almellehan meets students at the School of Peace at a internally displaced peoples site in the Lake Region, Chad, during her visit to the region in April 2017. Photo: UNICEF/Sokhin
Lack of access to education is “normal” in the Za’atari refugee camp, but it doesn’t stop there. There have been countless reports about forced recruitment of young males by Islamist insurgent groups – as well as by organizations euphemistically described as U.S. or Western-backed “rebels”. Girls and young women, for their part, are threatened by sexual exploitation and many underage girls are married away to older men – including Jordanians.
In April this year, Muzoon – dubbed ‘the Malala of Syria’ – travelled to areas affected by the Boko Haram conflict in the Lake Chad region where she met with children forced out of school due to the violence. Since her return, shehas been working to promote understanding of the challenges children affected and uprooted by conflict face in accessing education, noted UNICEF.
According to UNICEF data, an estimated 25 million children of primary and secondary school are out of school in conflict zones around the world. For children living as refugees, only half are enrolled in primary school and less than a quarter are enrolled in secondary school. Furthermore, education in emergencies also suffers with severe underfunding. Since 2010, less than 2 per cent of humanitarian funding has been spent on education. At present, some $8.5 billion are needed annually to close this widening gap.
CH/L – nsnbc 20.06.2017
Source Article from https://nsnbc.me/2017/06/20/unicef-appoints-19-year-old-syrian-refugee-and-education-activist-as-goodwill-ambassador/
Posted in 
Tags: 
