The world must do more to help Syrian refugee children get an education, actress Priyanka Chopra said after chatting and joking with young refugees at an after-school centre in Jordan's capital.
Individuals can make a difference with donations if governments don't step up, said Chopra, a Unicef goodwill ambassador and Bollywood and Hollywood star.
"We need to take it into our own hands because this is our world and we only have one of it," Chopra told The Associated Press at the end of her first day in Jordan.
"I think the world needs to understand that this is not just a Syrian refugee crisis, it's a humanitarian crisis," she said in an interview Sunday.
Without sufficient support, "this can be an entire generation of kids that could turn to extremism because they have not got an education," she said.
Some 5 million Syrians have fled civil war in their homeland since 2011, many settling in nearby Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. The influx has overburdened host countries, including their schools. More than half a million Syrian refugee children of school age — or one-third of the total — are not enrolled in school or informal education in the host countries. Meanwhile, U.N. and aid agencies supporting the refugees routinely face large funding gaps.
On Sunday, Chopra, a light grey scarf slung over her hair, visited a Unicef-backed children's centre in Jordan's capital of Amman. The U.N. child welfare agency supports more than 200 such "Makani" centres — Arabic for "my space" — in Jordan, along with other refugee education programmes.
In the centre, preteen girls and boys sat around low table or on the ground, colouring or gluing glitter on paper. Only a few children knew who she was, but easily engaged with her.
A young boy told her he wanted to become an actor. She told him that one of the prerequisites is not to be shy and then challenged him to a staring contest. They locked eyes until she stopped, laughing.
Chopra later said she was moved by the hopefulness of the children she met.
"Some of them want professional careers, some of them want to go back to their countries and rebuild," she said. "Parents … want that for their children."
Chopra, 35, shot to fame as Miss World in 2000 and has acted in several dozen Indian movies and is increasingly making her mark in the United States.
She stars in Quantico, a TV drama about FBI trainees on ABC, now entering its third season. She appeared in the Baywatch movie and has two more coming out, Isn't It Romantic with Rebel Wilson, Adam DeVine and Liam Hemsworth, as well as A Kid Like Jake with Claire Danes, Jim Parsons and Octavia Spencer.
Chopra said that she didn't realise until working in America that it's "difficult for a woman of colour" to be cast in a wide range of roles.
She said change will come when "people like me and other people, other actors that are coming in from other parts of the world, in global entertainment … we dig our feet in and say I don't want to only play the stereotype of what you expect me to be."
"It's a fight, it's a battle, and I am not afraid to fight it," she said.
She recalled being insecure about her looks as a teenager.
"I was considered darker toned, so in my head, I was not pretty and that's the ideology," said Chopra, who once did an ad for a skin lightening cream, a decision she later regretted. At the same time, she said she's seen "a lot of girls who are light-skinned in America who say, 'I am too pale, I'm not pretty'."
In India, she has become selective, preferring more complex roles to the pretty girl parts of her early days.
Chopra is also producing films in regional languages, to create an outlet for artists who might otherwise by overlooked by the dominant Hindi-language movie industry. The latest is a film about two refugee children who come from Nepal to India.
England Test squad
Ben Stokes (captain), Joe Root, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts
Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Haircare resolutions 2021
From Beirut and Amman to London and now Dubai, hairstylist George Massoud has seen the same mistakes made by customers all over the world. In the chair or at-home hair care, here are the resolutions he wishes his customers would make for the year ahead.
1. 'I will seek consultation from professionals'
You may know what you want, but are you sure it’s going to suit you? Haircare professionals can tell you what will work best with your skin tone, hair texture and lifestyle.
2. 'I will tell my hairdresser when I’m not happy'
Massoud says it’s better to offer constructive criticism to work on in the future. Your hairdresser will learn, and you may discover how to communicate exactly what you want more effectively the next time.
3. ‘I will treat my hair better out of the chair’
Damage control is a big part of most hairstylists’ work right now, but it can be avoided. Steer clear of over-colouring at home, try and pursue one hair brand at a time and never, ever use a straightener on still drying hair, pleads Massoud.
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
WHEN TO GO:
September to November or March to May; this is when visitors are most likely to see what they’ve come for.
WHERE TO STAY:
Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari - Chitwan National Park resort (tajhotels.com) is a one-hour drive from Bharatpur Airport with stays costing from Dh1,396 per night, including taxes and breakfast. Return airport transfers cost from Dh661.
HOW TO GET THERE:
Etihad Airways regularly flies from Abu Dhabi to Kathmandu from around Dh1,500 per person return, including taxes. Buddha Air (buddhaair.com) and Yeti Airlines (yetiairlines.com) fly from Kathmandu to Bharatpur several times a day from about Dh660 return and the flight takes just 20 minutes. Driving is possible but the roads are hilly which means it will take you five or six hours to travel 148 kilometres.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
