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The Lost Years

War, displacement, and lack of money have prevented Iraqi children from going to school for lengthy stretches of time. They have more opportunities now, but little help in catching up.

Amman, Jordan

Aliaa Hussein: 2 years

Kerrar Fathil: 2 years

Aseel Thafir: 4 years

That’s how many years those children—like thousands more of their generation—were deprived of schooling in the difficult aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq five years ago this month.

In that time, more than 2 million Iraqis have fled their homeland, mainly to Jordan and Syria. But it’s only been this school year that Jordan officially opened its public schools to Iraqi students regardless of...