Syrians to learn Turkish in Afrin's renovated schools

After the liberation of northwestern Syria's Afrin province from terrorists, children in the city will receive Turkish language courses at the schools renovated by Ankara.

Upon the request of Syrian teachers working in the city, the governorate of Turkey's southern Hatay province has opened a Turkish Education Course at a high school in the İskenderun district of the province.

Twenty-five teachers, who know the Turkish language at a certain level, have successfully completed their 10-day training and received certificates.

"With the course, their [Syrian teachers] Turkish language level upgraded to advanced. The Syrians are bending over backwards to learn Turkish. These efforts will further strengthen our brotherhood," Hulusi Göçer, an education coordinator working in Afrin, told Anadolu Agency.

Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch on Jan. 20, 2018, to remove terrorists from northwestern Syria's Afrin. The Turkish military and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) entered Afrin town center and liberated it from terrorists on March 18. Following the operations, Turkey has also been involved in efforts to rebuild education and health institutions and infrastructure.

Twenty-three-year-old Syrian teacher, Zainab Aldulhalim, said that Turkey had seen things through greatly i

n Afrin, adding their goal is teaching the Turkish language to all children.

"We would like to

thank Turkey with all our hearts for supporting us. The more languages we teach the children, the better. It feels different when the topic comes to the Turkish language. Turkey treated Syrian children as their own children. They saved us from terrorists," Aldulhalim noted. Muhammed Ali, another Syrian teacher working in Afrin welcomed Ankara's efforts to rebuild the devastated city, saying "Turkey opened schools, hospitals, banks, and many institutions in Afrin. We are very satisfied. They did this to help us."

Turkey's efforts in northern Syria to establish stability, including successful counterterrorism operations, have enabled 260,000 Syrians living in the country to return home to areas liberated from terrorists.