"When I Picture My Future, I See Nothing": Barriers to Education for Syrian Refugee Children in Turkey

This report is the first of a three-part series addressing the urgent issue of access to education for Syrian refugee schoolchildren in Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon. The series will examine the various barriers preventing Syrian children from accessing education and calls for host governments, international donors, and implementing partners to mitigate their impact in order to prevent a lost generation of Syrian children.

This report is primarily based on research conducted in June 2015 in Istanbul, Izmir, Turgutlu, Gaziantep, Mersin, and Ankara. Human Rights Watch interviewed non-camp Syrian refugee families to assess their educational situations. The report focuses on non-camp refugees because of the low rate of enrollment among non-camp refugees in comparison to the high rate inside camps.