A young Kurd waves from a truck as displaced Syrians head from Hasakah to their hometown of Ras al-Ayn, also known as Sere Kaniye, under a January agreement between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the government, Aug. 10, 2026. (Credit: Orhan Qereman/Reuters)

In Syria, the Kurds' integration is also playing out on school benches

In addition to dissolving the SDF, the agreement with Damascus must enshrine this community's cultural rights. Despite unprecedented concessions, it remains anxious.

02 Sep 2026, 14:22 by Clara HAGE · L'Orient Today

A Kurdish student tries to explain her distress before breaking down in tears: "If I have to start over and learn Arabic from scratch, it's going to be extremely difficult," she says into the microphone at Rudaw, a media outlet based in Erbil. The scene unfolds in the town of Amuda, near Qamishli, a Kurdish stronghold in Syria. On this Monday, Aug. 31, teachers and students demonstrate, brandishing signs against the change in the school curriculum that will soon be implemented in northeastern Syria. "The mother tongue is a human right," reads one of them. Beyond the headlines Kurds caught in a vice more than ever between Damascus, Ankara, Tehran The formalization of the agreement between Damascus and the Kurds, concluded in January 2026, was marked by the SDF's dissolution, announced on Aug. 25. Their...

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