IIE Scholar Rescue Fund Reflects on the Syrian Crisis

This week marks the beginning of the fourth year of the Syrian conflict. The death toll has climbed to well over 100,000 while the number of Syrians displaced from their homes nears a staggering 7 million. A third of these are refugees who have fled their country in search of safety. Syria's higher education system has been a victim of the conflict as well with university campuses scarred by bombardments and clashes; professors killed, kidnapped, and forced to flee; and thousands of students now unable to continue or begin university programs vital to their future careers. 

 

The Institute of International Education's Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) assists Syrian professors and researchers whose positions as guarantors of the free expression of ideas increase their risk of being targeted. For students affected by the conflict, IIE's Syria Consortium coordinates a network of over 50 universities pledging scholarship support. 

 

As we reflect on the magnitude of the devastation and remember lives lost, we thank our academic partners and the donor community for their support and invite you to join our collective efforts to help provide vital assistance to Syrian women and men across diverse ethnic, religious, and academic affiliations to continue their research and writing in safe, academically rigorous environments worldwide. 

Please join us by referring a scholar in need of assistance, offering to host a scholar in a temporary academic position, or donating funds to ensure that IIE-SRF is able to assist as many scholars as possible. It is our hope that these efforts will help to preserve the Syrian academy, a core element of the country's future.