Image caption,
Palestinian teacher Tareq al Enabi says his school was destroyed by bombing and some of his students were killed.
Article information
- Author, Dalia Haidar
- Role, BBC Arabic Service
-
44 minutes ago
In a makeshift classroom inside a shelter in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, clothes hang from the windows and a dozen chairs are arranged in front of a wooden board on which is written a question in English: “Do you love Palestine?” (Do you like Palestine?)
Since the start of the Gaza war in October, education has become another casualty.
Palestinian teacher Tareq al Enabi volunteered to come to this small space and teach the children, so “that they don’t stop learning” despite the circumstances.
According to the United Nations, more than 625,000 Palestinian students have been deprived of education since the start of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, in response to a Hamas attack on Israeli territory.
Gaza’s education ministry says more than 3,477 students and 203 education staff were killed in the first two months of the war.
Image caption,
The students in Tareq’s makeshift class seem to momentarily forget about the war while in class.
But here, in this small makeshift classroom, the children seem to take a break from what is happening outside.
They are cheerful, enthusiastically raise their hands to answer questions, compete, exchange glances and try to hide their laughter from the teacher, as if it were a normal school day.
Tareq brought his own blackboard from home, which he used for his private lessons, and distributed small blackboards and broken pieces of chalk to the students.
Take them out of the atmosphere of war
“It’s an opportunity to take the students out of the atmosphere of destruction and teach them English,” he explains.
But no matter how hard he tries, the incessant bombings prevent the students from escaping the reality of war.
He had to cancel classes more than once because of the bombings, only to resume them later when the situation calmed down, he explains.
Image caption,
Thirty children aged 8 to 14 are learning English with Tareq.
But against all odds, he is convinced that his English lessons will allow his students to talk about what is happening around them. It is a tool that will help them express their feelings about the war.
Displaced children and their families across Gaza appear to welcome Tareq’s initiative with enthusiasm and passion.
At the beginning, ten students took his classes; today, 30 children aged 8 to 14 come to learn English with him, taking turns taking lessons.
Before the war, this 25-year-old teacher taught at the al-Hurria school, in the Zaitoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
He commuted every day between Gaza and his residence in Rafah, worked as a private tutor outside of school hours, and enjoyed watching football matches with his friends in cafes.
“Everything is different now,” he said despairingly. He tells us that his school was destroyed by Israeli bombings and that some of his students were killed.
Photo credit, Getty Images
Image caption,
Many schools in Gaza have become shelters for displaced people.
In Gaza, more than 342 school buildings were damaged in the first two months of the war, according to a report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
This is equivalent to almost 70% of all school buildings in Gaza.
The study suggests that at least 56 of the 70 schools run by UNRWA – the UN agency for Palestinian refugees – serve as temporary accommodation for internally displaced people in the Gaza Strip.
Unicef estimates that 1.1 million people are currently housed in 145 schools managed by Unrwa and that more than 223,000 people have found refuge in 127 public schools.
One of the biggest challenges ahead “will therefore be the shortage of safe classrooms,” explains Ricardo Pires, UNICEF communications manager.
No teachers or materials
He lists other challenges, such as the inability to find qualified teachers, many of whom have been killed in bombings, and the lack of teaching and learning materials, most of which have been destroyed.
Mr. Pires also emphasizes the need to provide psychological support to teachers and students, who have suffered “traumatic experiences since the start of this brutal conflict.
The students in Tareq’s makeshift classroom remember their lives before the war.
“At school we learned, then we went home,” says Layan Afana, 10, one of thousands of displaced children from Gaza City.
“Here we sleep, we eat, we drink…. I know we have to keep our school clean, but this school is not clean and it’s different.”
Her friend Batoul Aldallu, also 10 years old, is of the same opinion. “I miss my old school a lot,” she says.
Both girls aspire to study medicine in the future and hope to return home and to school, a wish that doesn’t seem any closer to being granted.
Image caption,
The students in Tareq’s makeshift classroom long to return to their pre-war lives.
It will likely be many months, if not years, before Gaza’s children are properly educated again.
UNICEF estimates that it will take years for displaced people to evacuate the schools that currently serve as shelters and return home. It will also take a long time to rebuild damaged schools.
As there is no prospect of schools reopening soon, Tareq says he spends his days doing humanitarian and educational work, helping displaced people meet their needs.
“The most difficult question I faced was from a student who asked me when the war would end so he could return home,” Tareq recalls.
He deplores the difficulty of evacuating schools and sending displaced people home, wherever they are.
“What comes after the war is more difficult than the war itself,” he says.
2024-01-07 18:52:33
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