Syrian regime frees at least 10 detained women

 
Human rights activists reported on Wednesday that the Syrian regime released on Tuesday evening at least 10 detained women as part of the weekend hostage exchange during which 9 Lebanese pilgrims abducted in Syria and two Turkish pilots held hostage in Lebanon returned home.             

Activists told AFP that the names of the women were on the list of the exchange deal, adding that another 128 women whose names were on the list have yet to be set free.         

US-UN-Russian meeting on Syria:

The U.N. Special Representative for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, will meet U.S. and Russian officials in Switzerland next month to try to prepare the way for a full Syria peace conference in Geneva, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday.      

The trilateral meeting will be held in Geneva on Nov. 5 with the U.S. delegation expected to include Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman and U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, the State Department official told reporters accompanying Secretary of State John Kerry on a visit to Rome.       

"We look forward to continuing this trilateral dialogue and reviewing progress towards convening the Geneva Conference   

Syrian children:        

The Turkish government is currently building some 55 schools across the country to cope with the increasing number of Syrian children, who made up half of the more than 600,000 refugees.       

It is estimated that there are almost 4,000 school-age children refugees in Istanbul alone.                
The government has begun building schools, but not nearly sufficient enough to cover the number of students eager to go back to school.            

Some Syrians with the necessary means have taken matters into their own hands and built their own private schools.                     

Alawael is one of those few schools in Istanbul.                      

Almost all of the expenses are paid by the owner and principal of the school, said Semih Ali Sheikh, an educator with 35 years of experience in the sector.             

The only aid they have received is a batch of 11 chairs and 11 lockers.                             

The non-profit school has 300 students with 35 Syrian national teachers and one local teacher. It has no playground or outdoor premises.                                   

According to reports, this is the first time for the Turkish government to deal with such a massive number of refugees. Although housing and medical treatment are the main concerns, education for the thousands of Syrian children remains top priority.


AP/LBCI