0:00:02 > 0:00:07We've followed school life around the world from Uganda,
0:00:07 > 0:00:08to India, to China.
0:00:13 > 0:00:18Now we're in Damascus, Syria, the oldest capital city on Earth
0:00:18 > 0:00:21in the heart of the Arab world.
0:00:25 > 0:00:30Following a year in the lives of four schools in Damascus, we look at Syria's next generation.
0:00:30 > 0:00:35What is life really like in this high pressure crossroads of the Middle East?
0:00:38 > 0:00:42There are signs that Syria is opening up, but it remains dominated
0:00:42 > 0:00:46by a single party and Syrians have limited political freedom.
0:00:49 > 0:00:55Education's compulsory for boys and girls until 15 and free up to university level.
0:00:55 > 0:01:00Like anywhere in the world, school life is about much more than just books.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07In this programme it's the start of a new school year.
0:01:10 > 0:01:11Amal Hassan is the head teacher
0:01:11 > 0:01:14of Zaki al-Arsuzi Girls' Secondary School.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18She makes sure everyone knows who's boss.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24Du'aa comes from a devout Muslim family
0:01:24 > 0:01:29and until now she's been educated at Islamic school.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32But this term she's moved to the more liberal Zaki al-Arsuzi School
0:01:32 > 0:01:36where most of her classmates come from different backgrounds.
0:01:45 > 0:01:51Across town at Jaramana Boys' School, Yusif is football mad.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55He's an Iraqi refugee who lived through the bombs of Baghdad.
0:01:55 > 0:02:00Now in Syria, he must start to overcome his fear of explosions.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09We follow their stories as they begin the new academic year at their Syrian schools.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18It's September...
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Set in the affluent Al-Mazraa area of Damascus,
0:02:22 > 0:02:26Zaki al-Arsuzi Girls' Secondary School prepares for the first day of term.
0:02:33 > 0:02:39Looking forward to guiding another batch of students to graduation, is head teacher, Mrs Amal Hassan.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44I want them to see how strong I am
0:02:44 > 0:02:48and how I am proud of myself.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52And how I am free from inside.
0:02:52 > 0:02:59And this is very good for them to face all the problem of the life, they have to be like this.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14Today is the first day of Mrs Hassan's 17th year as head teacher here.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30- Are you happy to be back at school? - No, we're not.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38The girls are finding their classes for the new school year.
0:03:54 > 0:03:5817-year-old Mayas Barazi was so disruptive last year
0:03:58 > 0:04:01that she's been moved to a different class.
0:04:01 > 0:04:07It's my friend and their class, I'm here. I don't know any girls here.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09We miss her so much.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13- They cannot accept us because we are so naughty.- Yes.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16THEY LAUGH
0:04:16 > 0:04:18BELL RINGS
0:04:22 > 0:04:28Zaki al-Arsuzi is a state school which teaches 1,200 girls aged from 15 to 18.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30Like most Syrian schools it's secular
0:04:30 > 0:04:35and follows the Baccalaureate system, teaching the full range of subjects.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42Mr Nablisi gets up to speed in physics.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03Mr Houssam tackles life's big questions in philosophy.
0:05:11 > 0:05:17And in the next door class room, Mrs Ramadan sets out her stall with Islamic studies.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00What's different about the beginning of this school year
0:06:00 > 0:06:03is that it coincides with the start of the holy month of Ramadan.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06Muslims aren't supposed to eat or drink until sundown.
0:06:06 > 0:06:12The school doesn't enforce this but as a concession there's no PE and the tuck shop's closed.
0:06:26 > 0:06:32At least on the first day of term the girls can wear whatever clothes they like.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36They want to show at the beginning of the year that they are girls,
0:06:36 > 0:06:42beautiful girls, for the teachers, for me for each other. Yes.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49But beautiful or not, school supervisor Miss Rehab wants
0:06:49 > 0:06:55to make sure that for the girls these relaxed rules only last for one day.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30They can wear whatever they want this day.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34Tomorrow you not know them.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38They are quite different tomorrow.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54The holy month of Ramadan has just begun.
0:07:54 > 0:07:59It celebrates the start of God's revelation of the Koran to the Prophet Mohammed.
0:07:59 > 0:08:04Late afternoon and the streets are jammed with hungry, thirsty people fighting to get home.
0:08:20 > 0:08:26Towards sunset, at a time that would normally be rush hour, the traffic gradually trickles away.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35Families gather at home and friends meet at restaurants.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50Huge fire crackers and the sun set call to prayer tell the faithful
0:08:50 > 0:08:55it's time to begin their Iftar meal, a word normally used for breakfast.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03The new moon hangs over the city
0:09:03 > 0:09:08which will follow the Ramadan daily cycle, for a whole lunar month.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Every day before dawn the city is awoken by drummers.
0:09:22 > 0:09:27Waking the faithful to eat a sustaining meal that will take them through the day ahead.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Day two at Zaki al-Arsuzi School
0:09:44 > 0:09:47and Mrs Hassan is checking her girls have come in their uniform.
0:09:55 > 0:09:5816-year-old Du'aa Bazazi is a new girl at Zaki al-Arsuzi,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01so she's got a new bus route to master.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16The great majority of schools in Syria are secular
0:10:16 > 0:10:22but, until now, Du'aa has been educated at a Sharia school run according to Islamic principles.
0:10:22 > 0:10:30But Du'aa switched schools to non-religious Zaki al-Arsuzi in order to focus on her academic studies
0:10:30 > 0:10:33for the crucial last year of her Baccalaureate.
0:10:45 > 0:10:51Some Muslim girls at Zaki al-Arsuzi don't wear the hijab, the traditional Islamic head scarf.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54Du'aa's Islamic Sharia school was a different world.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31Her new head teacher, a Muslim woman from a different generation, has noticed a change of fashion.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37From ten years ago, the girl will not cover.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39Now most of them they are covered.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42Why I don't know.
0:11:42 > 0:11:48So Mrs Hassan has come to Du'aa's class in a spare lesson to explore the reasons.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48New girl, Du'aa, decides to join the debate.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58I want them to be free from inside.
0:14:21 > 0:14:26It's Mrs Hassan's job to deal with all the challenges that come with her position.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30Not everyone can be headmistress because it is very difficult to,
0:14:30 > 0:14:34to know everything about your students, about your teachers.
0:14:36 > 0:14:42Vice head, Lina, is dealing with an issue that every school faces at the beginning of the year.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46Now it's the hardest time of preparing the timetable.
0:14:46 > 0:14:51The difference here is that many of the teachers also work in other schools to boost their income.
0:14:51 > 0:14:57So it's a logistical nightmare to sort out the timetable to fit in with everyone's different work schedules.
0:15:14 > 0:15:21Things have got so bad that Mrs Hassan has called a teacher's meeting to set things straight.
0:16:31 > 0:16:36Drive an hour south from Damascus and you reach Israeli occupied territory.
0:16:39 > 0:16:40An hour to the west and you're in Lebanon.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45And four hours to the east is the border with Iraq.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49Damascus and its schools feel the effects of nearby events.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59Since the fall of Saddam in 2003, two million Iraqi refugees have
0:16:59 > 0:17:04fled to Syria, their first stop in their quest for a new life.
0:17:04 > 0:17:0815-year-old Yusif Andrios and his older brother, Johnson,
0:17:08 > 0:17:14are Iraqi Christians from Baghdad, but for now they live in Damascus.
0:17:14 > 0:17:19As a refugee, Yusif is eligible for a free school uniform from the UN
0:17:19 > 0:17:22as he's about to start life at a new school.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44Syria is proud of the haven it's offered, but many Iraqis have
0:17:44 > 0:17:49suffered high levels of psychological trauma before arriving here.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21After picking up his new school uniform, Yusif returns home.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28He lives with his family in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31Historically, it's a religiously mixed area of the city.
0:18:31 > 0:18:37So it's been a magnet for Iraqi Christians who have suffered badly in the sectarian violence
0:18:37 > 0:18:40that engulfed their home land after the fall of Saddam.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45Yusif loves football.
0:18:47 > 0:18:52He spends his evenings playing with his fellow Iraqis at a local Damascus football club...
0:18:54 > 0:18:59...or with his brothers watching his favourite team in a nearby cafe.
0:19:04 > 0:19:10But not tonight, because tomorrow Yusif is going to start life at a new school.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26At midnight tonight Yusif's brother, James,
0:19:26 > 0:19:29will leave Syria to start a new life as a barber in Sweden.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33He'll be joining his wife who's already managed to get a visa.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35When will you see your brother again?
0:21:01 > 0:21:05- Spiky?- Yeah.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15It's my only brother.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25It's time for James to start saying goodbye to his family.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31I want to cry.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56Morning, and Jaramana is waking up.
0:21:56 > 0:22:01With his brother already about to touch down in Stockholm, Yusif setting off for his new school.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07The staff are getting ready.
0:22:13 > 0:22:19Yusif has been in Damascus for two years already, so there are some familiar Iraqi boys
0:22:19 > 0:22:21who are also starting at the Jaramana School today.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23BELL RINGS
0:22:23 > 0:22:28The school teaches 500 boys up to the age of 15.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30The only problem is it was built for 300.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34New head teacher Mrs Seif is struggling to cope.
0:23:04 > 0:23:09These boys are not just from different countries, but different faiths as well.
0:23:09 > 0:23:10The school is secular,
0:23:10 > 0:23:14but teaches both Islamic and Christian religious studies.
0:23:17 > 0:23:18So school supervisor Radwan
0:23:18 > 0:23:21needs to know who will study what.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36- Good morning, teacher. - Sit down.- Thank you.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41On the first day of term, the boys are told not to assert their differences.
0:23:58 > 0:24:04Yusif is no stranger to conflict after life in Iraq, where even a kickabout could be life-threatening.
0:24:23 > 0:24:28In Iraq, Yusif had been expecting to play in front of a visiting group of Dutch talent scouts,
0:24:28 > 0:24:33but his brother's death meant that he had to leave the country before he could show them his skills.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05Now he's in Damascus, he's safe to follow his sporting dreams.
0:25:05 > 0:25:11But in his first PE lesson, it seems sports teacher Mrs Fallouh is less of a football fan than he is.
0:25:35 > 0:25:41Before long, Yusif realises that today's PE lesson will be all talk and no action.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49Until the fall of Saddam, Iraqis and Syrians lived
0:25:49 > 0:25:53under different versions of the same political system, Ba'athism.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56Ba'ath is Arabic for renaissance.
0:25:56 > 0:26:02The Ba'ath Party was founded in Damascus in 1940 after the end of French colonial rule.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05It's based on secular and socialist ideals.
0:26:07 > 0:26:12Images of the president, leader of the Ba'ath Party, still look on citizens from every angle.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15The Syrian constitution says that,
0:26:15 > 0:26:19"the Ba'ath party is the leader of state and society."
0:26:19 > 0:26:22The party organisation stretches into everyday school life.
0:26:27 > 0:26:32At Zaki al-Arsuzi, Sarah Shbat hopes to become the leader of the Ba'athist school structure.
0:26:32 > 0:26:38So from now on the girls will have to pass her uniform check just to get into school.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58School supervisor Mrs Rehab Zweed
0:26:58 > 0:27:01is grooming Sarah to take over the position of head girl.
0:27:28 > 0:27:34While she may seem hard on her fellow students, Miss Rehab regrets some of the liberalising reforms
0:27:34 > 0:27:38introduced in 2001 when President Bashar al-Assad came to power.
0:28:03 > 0:28:08At morning assembly, she's given Sarah the role of acting Head Girl.
0:28:15 > 0:28:20NATIONAL ANTHEM PLAYS
0:28:20 > 0:28:23After the national motto, Sarah gets to raise the national flag
0:28:23 > 0:28:26to the strains of the Syrian national anthem.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49Young Syrians may now have more freedom to choose their futures than before,
0:28:49 > 0:28:54but the Ba'ath party is still effectively the only political option for them.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02It's time for the school prefect elections.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06All the candidates and voters have to be active members of Syria's Revolution Youth Union.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24Today, Sarah can get a step closer to being confirmed as the new Head Girl.
0:29:31 > 0:29:35CALLING OUT NAMES
0:29:42 > 0:29:46Mayas puts herself forward despite sometimes being known as a disruptive student.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48And although Sarah's the frontrunner,
0:29:48 > 0:29:51she needs Miss Rehab's help to add her name to the list of candidates.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14Only the top seven girls will become leaders of the school's
0:30:14 > 0:30:19seven sub-committees, ranging from Head of Sports to Head of Media.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24The other union members filter away after voting,
0:30:24 > 0:30:29leaving just the candidates behind to witness the count of the votes.
0:30:29 > 0:30:31HE CALLS OUT NAMES
0:30:35 > 0:30:37Syrian democracy is very limited.
0:30:37 > 0:30:42In national elections, the Ba'ath party is guaranteed a majority in parliament.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46And instead of presidential elections, there's a referendum
0:30:46 > 0:30:50every seven years when the President stands, unopposed.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03Finally, it's time to hear the results.
0:31:20 > 0:31:25Although Sarah got the most votes, it's up to the adults of the student union to make the final decision on
0:31:25 > 0:31:29the eventual roles she and the six other top candidates will be given.
0:31:47 > 0:31:52Despite the fact that Sarah won the most votes, her father is not entirely happy with her.
0:33:02 > 0:33:06Her father's criticism seems particularly harsh as Sarah and a few friends have been
0:33:06 > 0:33:12keeping up their basketball practice, despite the fact they are fasting for Ramadan.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23One of Sarah's friends is Mayas Barazi
0:33:23 > 0:33:27who was so naughty last year that she was nearly thrown out of school.
0:33:27 > 0:33:32But she is popular enough to have clinched the seventh leadership position against the odds.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05Jaramana Boys is a religiously mixed school with a lot of Christian Iraqi refugees.
0:34:05 > 0:34:10It's full to bursting point and, at break times, it can get pretty rough.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18Everyone competes for very limited space.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25Today, Yusif's Iraqi friends, Fadi and Steven, have got into trouble.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30They've been called in to see supervisor, Miss Summer.
0:35:12 > 0:35:14Yusif gets roped in as a witness.
0:37:31 > 0:37:36Today, there's a chance for Yusif to try to put the past behind him.
0:37:38 > 0:37:4360 miles outside Damascus is the mainly Christian town of Malula.
0:37:43 > 0:37:49There's an expectancy in the air as the town prepares for the annual all-night Festival of the Cross.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55Back in Damascus, 30 buses are waiting to take
0:37:55 > 0:37:59members of Jaramana's refugee community to the party.
0:37:59 > 0:38:04It's an opportunity for Iraqi Christians like Yusif and his brother, Johnson,
0:38:04 > 0:38:09to reassert and celebrate their Christian identity after persecution in Iraq.
0:38:12 > 0:38:17The crowds are gathering in Malula for the all-night firework festival.
0:38:17 > 0:38:22For Yusif, it will be a raw reminder of the sounds of war.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52FIREWORKS EXPLODE
0:38:52 > 0:38:58As the light fades, processions set-off into the surrounding mountains.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27Fire handlers have taken up positions above the town
0:39:27 > 0:39:31from where they will orchestrate a fearsome display.
0:39:49 > 0:39:51FIREWORKS EXPLODE
0:40:00 > 0:40:05Tonight, Yusif will have to confront his fear of loud bangs head on.
0:40:47 > 0:40:53First, they visit the chapel of the Convent of St Takla where an all-night vigil is already underway.
0:41:22 > 0:41:26The focal point of the ceremony is the Christian symbol of the cross.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00The party will continue throughout the night.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07Simply letting off firecrackers marks progress for Yusif,
0:42:07 > 0:42:10who lived through the American bombardment of Baghdad.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20But, perhaps, he will never fully get over his fear...
0:42:20 > 0:42:23- BANG! - ...of loud bangs.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40The Festival of the Cross has coincided with the third week of Ramadan.
0:42:40 > 0:42:46And in Damascus, where over 80% are Muslims, the holy month is gathering in intensity.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53Du'aa Bazazi is no exception.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57She'd memorised the entire Koran by the time she was 14.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01And went to Sharia school until she moved to secular Zaki al-Arsuzi
0:43:01 > 0:43:05this term to concentrate on preparing for the Baccalaureate exams.
0:43:07 > 0:43:12For Du'aa, there is no contradiction between devout religious conviction and a desire for
0:43:12 > 0:43:14a modern education.
0:43:43 > 0:43:46As a child, Du'aa dreamed of space travel.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21Du'aa has now been at Zaki al-Arsuzi for nearly a month.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41But before the holiday hits, newly elected prefect, Mayas Barazi,
0:44:41 > 0:44:46is among those who've been picked to take part in a new innovation in Syrian education.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27Mayas and her team get down to work on their pitch.
0:45:27 > 0:45:31Little do they know that the school is about to host a very special guest.
0:45:33 > 0:45:38Asma al-Assad, the First Lady of Syria, is known for making surprise
0:45:38 > 0:45:42visits to these workshops and today she's come to Zaki al-Arsuzi.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48APPLAUSE
0:46:00 > 0:46:04The First Lady was born and went to school in England
0:46:04 > 0:46:08before marrying Bashar al-Assad, now President of Syria.
0:46:08 > 0:46:12She represents the newly evolving free market face of the country.
0:46:12 > 0:46:18She makes her way around the groups as they prepare their business presentations.
0:47:04 > 0:47:07Asma al-Assad had a successful financial career in the City of London,
0:47:07 > 0:47:12so she's well-qualified to grill the girls on their business strategies.
0:47:55 > 0:47:57CALL TO PRAYER
0:49:22 > 0:49:26On the way out, the First Lady is mobbed before she can reach her car.
0:49:27 > 0:49:30CHEERING
0:50:02 > 0:50:05After a whole month of fasting, Ramadan is about to end,
0:50:05 > 0:50:09so it's time for some last minute present-shopping before the Eid holiday.
0:50:55 > 0:50:59That evening, the final firework is lit to mark sundown.
0:51:05 > 0:51:10And the streets fall silent for the last time as people break their fast.
0:51:10 > 0:51:14The moon has waxed and waned and Ramadan is over for another year.
0:51:21 > 0:51:22Dawn on the first day of Eid.
0:51:22 > 0:51:27Damascus awakes to the end of Ramadan.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36In the old city, the ancient Umayyad mosque is filling up with worshippers
0:51:36 > 0:51:39gathering for their Eid prayer.
0:51:46 > 0:51:51Across town, Du'aa and her sisters arrive at their local mosque to share the celebration.
0:51:55 > 0:51:57THEY CHANT
0:52:02 > 0:52:06While the men gather in the main hall, the women find their place upstairs
0:52:06 > 0:52:10to repeat an act of worship that they've done since childhood.
0:52:56 > 0:53:00Across Damascus, the prayer begins.
0:53:05 > 0:53:11Once the special Eid prayer has been said, the normal devotional cycle is repeated three times through.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19CHANTED PRAYER
0:53:49 > 0:53:54The end of the prayer brings a month of fasting to a close and the Eid holiday begins.
0:54:19 > 0:54:24Slowly, the streets fill with children wearing their new clothes and playing with their Eid presents.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33Small fairgrounds spring up in the city's parks.
0:54:36 > 0:54:42Many take advantage of the family gathering to pay their respects at the graves of their ancestors.
0:54:49 > 0:54:54Du'aa and her sisters have come to pay a special holiday visit to their grandfather.
0:55:21 > 0:55:25Back to school after Eid, and the tuck shop has thrown open its doors.
0:55:48 > 0:55:50PE is back on the timetable...
0:55:52 > 0:55:57For Sarah, back to school means hitting the drill square with Rehab.
0:56:15 > 0:56:19Du'aa has got through her first month in the school.
0:56:19 > 0:56:24She's had time to assess her move to Zaki al-Arsuzi.
0:56:52 > 0:56:55The local Youth Union has come to reveal their final decision
0:56:55 > 0:56:58on the student leadership for the rest of the school year.
0:57:24 > 0:57:29It's Mayas's chance to pitch for the job she really wants.
0:58:13 > 0:58:14On the next Syrian School...
0:58:14 > 0:58:18can two Palestinian refugee rappers break the mould?
0:58:18 > 0:58:23To find out more from the Open University about schools in Syria -
0:58:33 > 0:58:36Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:36 > 0:58:40E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk