Methodology
This report is based on Human Rights Watch interviews with more than 70 people, conducted between September 2012 and January 2013. The interviewees include 16 students, 11 teachers, 3 school guidance counselors, 2 principals, and a Ministry of Education employee, all of whom left their schools or positions when they fled Syria, as well as 22 parents or family members of schoolchildren. Twenty-four children were interviewed, including fifteen boys and nine girls. Human Rights Watch also interviewed five representatives of international development and humanitarian assistance groups operating inside Syria, and eight opposition activists based outside the country.
Research focused on threats to and attacks on students and schools in Syria. Interviews for the report took place primarily among Syrian refugee communities in Jordan: in the Zaatari refugee camp; in the towns of Mafraq, Irbid, and Ramtha; and in Jordan’s capital, Amman. Some interviews took place in Cairo, Egypt, or through telephone or Skype conversations with people still in Syria or in Turkey. Because most of the research took place in Jordan, the report covers violations primarily in the Daraa, Homs, and Damascus governorates, from where many Syrian refugees in Jordan originate.
Human Rights Watch asked interviewees about their experiences since the beginning of anti-government protests in Syria in March 2011. As a result this report documents violations that took place between the start of the conflict and the time of our interviews. Interviewees had fled Syria between a few days to a year before our interviews with them.
Most interviews were conducted in Arabic by an Arabic-speaking researcher. A minority of the interviews took place in English with an English-speaking interviewee, or, in two cases, with the help of an interpreter. Many interviewees asked us not to use their real names because of fears for their safety or the safety of family members who remained inside Syria. Given these safety concerns, we have withheld the names of all victims and witnesses and instead used pseudonyms.
Interviewees were approached randomly in the camp setting, or were identified in communities by community leaders or NGOs operating locally. All interviewees were informed of the purpose of the research, told they could refuse to be interviewed or to answer any question, and that they could end the interview at any time. No inducement was offered for participation.
Most interviewees described themselves as pro-opposition or as supporters of the opposition Free Syrian Army. Others expressed criticism of the armed opposition. However, none of the individuals interviewed for this report described themselves as pro-government or expressed views in support of the current government. Thus, information on education-related abuses by the opposition remains more limited.
Human Rights Watch also reviewed more than 50 YouTube videos showing student protests, damage caused by shells and bullets to schools inside Syria, and other footage relating to attacks on schools and students. In some cases, we interviewed individuals responsible for videotaping this footage, and in others, we verified the events with other footage or by cross-checking it against news reports or witness accounts.
Human Rights Watch also reviewed secondary sources, including: the four United Nations Commission of Inquiry reports on Syria, particularly sections addressing violations of children’s rights; UN agency and international NGO reporting on violations of children’s rights, including reports published in March 2013 by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Save the Children; and documentation by Syrian groups including the Syrian Violations Documenting Center, the Syrian Network for Human Rights, and the Local Coordination Committees.
