Harem, northwest Syria – Ward Shreit has returned to school and can barely contain his joy. Harem Boys School in rebel-held northwestern Syria reopened its doors on Sunday, nearly three weeks after two devastating earthquakes struck parts of Syria and southeast Turkey, killing tens of thousands of people and affecting the lives of millions of others.
“I’m happy to be back at school because I get to see my friends,” Ward, 10, told Al Jazeera. He says he did not lose any family members in the quake, but one of his classmates had died.
