4,000 Gaza students displaced after Israeli attacks | Gaza News

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As children around the world check their list of school supplies and prepare for class, 4,000 Palestinian students are left in limbo.

They don’t know when – or if – they will be able to return to their usual hallways and classrooms.

Despite their concerns, like all students in Gaza, they started the school year on August 16. However, the classes were held in different schools as their original educational facilities remain under investigation.

The chain of events began in May when an Israeli airstrike damaged two side-by-side United Nations schools in Gaza’s Zeitoun neighborhood: the “A” Boys Preparatory School and the Boys Elementary School. ” TO “. Both operate under the aegis of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

Two weeks after a ceasefire, while assessing the damage and how to protect the premises from missiles, UN staff discovered a cavity 7.5 meters deep. And, from there, things quickly escalated.

Hamas, the group that controls Gaza, has admitted to building a network of tunnels under the Gaza Strip for military purposes, but has not formally commented on the controversy surrounding these specific UN schools.

Last week, in order to verify whether schools could safely open for the school year, a group from the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) attempted to conduct a follow-up risk assessment of the structures.

Local police prevented the team of experts from operating.

“Then we talked to them [Palestinan authorities] again and the searches are supposed to start again this week, ”an UNRWA spokesperson told Al Jazeera.

“UNRWA condemns the existence and potential use by Palestinian armed groups of such tunnels under its schools in the strongest terms,” ​​a statement from UNRWA noted. “UNRWA facilities are inviolable and their neutrality must be respected at all times.

The UNRWA spokesperson said “the situation is being resolved”. For now, students attend other UNRWA schools, according to different teams, while they wait for clearance and are hopefully allowed to return to schools they know well.

Education in Gaza

With 278 schools across the strip and nearly 10,000 people serving as teaching staff, UNRWA is responsible for the basic education of more than 290,000 Palestinian students.

Due to the lack of facilities, some UNRWA schools operate in double and, more rarely, even in triple shifts.

In Israel’s latest attack on Gaza, at least 51 educational institutions were damaged, including an UNRWA training center, 46 schools, two kindergartens and parts of the Islamic University of Gaza .

“Being a child in Gaza today means that you have inevitably witnessed a level of trauma that your peers elsewhere in the world do not have,” UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said in early July. .

In a report released the same month, Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said 91% of children in Gaza suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after Israel’s 11-day offensive in May.

According to the report, the recent Israeli attack had a huge effect on the children: 41 have lost one or both parents, nearly 50,000 have had their homes partially or completely destroyed and thousands remain displaced.

With the odds against them, there are still additional challenges for students in Gaza. The difficult economic situation increases the risk of dropping out of school, as it puts pressure on children, especially boys, to help support their households with additional income and leaves some families unable to survive. pay for transportation or school materials.

Online classes

In a conflict where both sides are accused of war crimes, schools need a back-up plan. In 2012, UNRWA launched UNRWA TV – a response to emergencies in Gaza and Syria.

The YouTube channel provides self-study supplements for students, teachers and families in emergency situations who have limited or disrupted access to formal education.

Today, nearly a decade later, the channel has over a million subscribers, some 260 million views and an average of 150,000 visitors per day.

For those with access to the internet, this ensures that children can continue to learn in volatile areas and in conflict and post-conflict contexts.

Psychological rehabilitation

Considering all that Palestinian students have to go through, the Ministry of Education in Palestine has a Psychosocial Support Program (PSS) for students.

It helps educators to help children overcome, mentally and psychologically, the consequences of conflict. A recent example of his efforts could be seen in the summer camps launched in early June.

At 150 centers across Gaza and with over 50,000 students enrolled, the camps provided elementary school students with knowledge, entertainment, emotional release and workshops related to Palestinian identity.

Financial support to establish the camps came from the ministry’s local and international partners and amounted to approximately $ 100,000. A high price. However, as Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said: “No matter the cost of education, the cost of ignorance is much higher.”

Engaged in educational activities, children so often betrayed by authorities, conflicts and circumstances can at least try to find solace in one place: their minds.



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