Le Qatar, les étudiants syriens et la Sorbonne enquête acte 1

En septembre 2015, l’émir du Qatar s’engageait publiquement à financer les études d’une centaine d’étudiants syriens pendant 3 ans, que s’est-il passé réellement ?

Les faits

Le procureur général de l’Etat du Qatar, Ali Bin Fetais EL MARRI, le lundi 14 septembre 2015, signait un protocole d’accord avec le Président de l’université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Ce document prévoit une participation financière, à la demande de l’Emir du Qatar, Tamim al Thani, pour financer le quotidien d’une centaine d’étudiants syriens qui vont étudier à la Sorbonne pendant 3 ans à raison de 600 000 euros par an.

L’université communiquait : extrait

Fidèle à ses valeurs de solidarité et d’humanisme, l’université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, ses étudiants, ses enseignants et ses chercheurs, ses personnels administratifs et de bibliothèques, accueilleront une centaine d’étudiants réfugiés. L’université leur offre des parcours  adaptés à leurs besoins pour accéder à des formations diplômantes.

Informé de cette initiative et désireux de contribuer à cette action humanitaire, l’Émir de l’Etat du Qatar a proposé au Président de l’université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne de la soutenir. Sa participation financière contribuera principalement aux frais de vie et de logement des étudiants réfugiés syriens.

Le Président de l’université et le Procureur général de l’Etat du Qatar ont signé lundi 14 septembre un protocole d’accord précisant les conditions de ce partenariat à hauteur de 600 000 € par an sur trois ans.

A la fin de ces trois ans des questions se posent.

A quoi a servi cet argent ?

Combien de syriens ont réellement bénéficié de cet argent ?

Ont –il été aidé par l’université ?

Un saoudien aurait-il pris la place de plusieurs syriens ?

Un article en arabe avait abordé cette aide du Qatar. Voici la traduction en anglais. Panthéon-Sorbonne University ends a Qatari scholarship for Syrians ..

The students beseech The Emir of Qatar : The Emir of Qatar, « Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani », has issued directives to adopt since 2015 the education of 100 Syrian students in all of the available specializations at the Panthéon-Sorbonne university, starting from learning French to getting enrolled in the university, then obtaining a university degree.

This scholarship was a support to the Syrian students in the circumstances and difficulties they face in pursuing their university studies, on condition that the Panthéon-Sorbonne university is committed to accept Syrian students in all of the available spcializations at their university (law, political sciences, business administration, mathematics and other specializations), accompanied with an academic supervision and fellowship to the students during all of their university curriculum, according to Qatari news websites including Al-Sharq Al-Qatriyya newspaper.

The President of Panthéon-Sorbonne University, said in last June, during a visit of Qatar’s Attorney General Dr Ali bin Fetais Al Marri, to Panthéon-Sorbonne University that the number of those who benefited from the Sorbonne initiative with the State of Qatar had reached 111 Syrian refugees in France, who were extricated from hardship and distress, by preparing for them the right atmosphere in order to teach them in all of the available specializations at Panthéon-Sorbonne University, starting from teaching them French till getting enrolled at the university, and thence obtaining a university degree, according to the Al-Sharq Al-Qatriyya newspaper.

However, the students who received the scholarship said that the university began to put them in a tight corner making them bereft of their rights little by little, alas they ended up by dismissing them from getting their scholarship, and even granting the Qatari scholarship to students from other non-Syrian nationalities.

Mahmud, one of the Syrian students at Panthéon-Sorbonne University said through a phone call with ANAPress: « I were benefitting from the scholarship, however, Panthéon-Sorbonne university expelled Syrian students and replaced them with students from Russia, Afghanistan, and other nationalities, even though the scholarship is exclusive for Syrian students.

He added: « After the president of the university had changed, the disruption started on Syrian students since they were obliged to move from the French house to another residence, and they started to lure them into renouncing to Qatari scholarship and entering university without passing advanced language level, measures that were followed by expelling from the university and the scholarship for irrational causes until no more of 5 Syrian students remained benefitting from the scholarship.

On the other hand, the student Nour said to ANAPress: « The discrimination at the university was conspicuous against Syrian students who were granted the qatari scholarship, and the policy of dismissal were obvious, which we did not expect from the direction of the university, and this problem need a real and serious inspection from the State of Qatar as the sponsor of the scholarship.

Meanwhile, Sorbonne Solitaire association – formed from benevolent French students in order to help students who were granted the scholarship – released a communiqué in which they expressed their dismay regarding the ending of the scholarship, confirming that they endeavoured for its continuation, but the university didn’t struggle to continue the funding, past the period on which this program was an attractive showcase, incarnating the humanist values that represent those institutions of higher education , it was not judged necessary to make the least effort to allow the implementation of a durable solution for students, therefore this solidarity cannot persist, thus they announced the cessation of their activities and the dissolution of the association.

To know the causes of ending the scholarship for Syrian students, ANAPress contacted the ambassador of the Syrian National Coalition Nizar Haraki who said: Unfortunately I have no idea about this scholarship, because it wasn’t through the coalition.

He added: « But the total number of grantees in the first scholarship and the following one attained 226 students, who were sponsored by the State of Qatar, and we are going to scrutinize this with those responsible in Qatar.