Amid Rubble, Schools Restart

Amid Rubble, Schools Restart
Young people regain some sense of normalcy as schools re-open during ceasefire

From: Islamic Relief Worldwide via AlertNet

Editor's Note: Hatem Shurrab is an aid worker in Gaza with the British-based charity Islamic Relief Worldwide. In a daily diary for the BBC, which is also being posted on the humanitarian aid Web site AlertNet, he is sharing first-hand accounts of the situation on the ground in Gaza and Islamic Relief's humanitarian efforts.

(Jan. 26) Amid the rubble and destroyed buildings people are trying their best to return to normal life -- if there ever was such a thing in Gaza. Part of that process is the children going back to school. Some of the schools have reopened and the pupils are eager to return.

The children of Gaza are mentally strong, they have to be. But at the end of the day they are still children and how strong can they be? Their psychological state is very delicate, and the opening of the schools is very important.

I spoke to seven-year-old Mariam, from Tal El Hawa. Like other children she remembers the day the first bombs dropped and is now happy to be back in her classroom. "I remember I was in an Arabic exam when I heard the bombs. I was too afraid until my dad came and took me back home. On the way I also heard very loud explosions," she said. "Now it is calm. I am so happy that I am back at school. Today at school I chatted with my friends and classmates while we were sitting on the steps. Each of us had a story during what happened. Three of them had their homes totally destroyed. Our teacher also asked us about what happened with us. I told her about what happened."...

I also spoke to Mohammed Sisalim, a 20-year-old engineering student. "Today is the first day I am going to my university. On the way I saw a lot of destruction. I couldn't believe it. It is too much," he told me. "At the university, I saw the broken glass and the most costly building at the university was destroyed. The lecture halls are not destroyed, but the desks and the floor is full of rubble."

Despite the limited access to education in Gaza it is still something that families take seriously, and even in the rubble, the lessons will go on....

Islamic Relief will be expanding its psychological support project in the next two months, focusing on school children and families. We are planning to spend another $3 million on this as well as the removal of demolition waste, house rehabilitation, and more food to hospitals as well as other projects.

Islamic Relief Worldwide is an international relief and development organization with permanent locations in more than 35 countries. Islamic Relief strives to alleviate the poverty and suffering of the world's poorest people through a wide variety of projects, including education and training, water and sanitation, income generation, orphan support, health and nutrition, and emergency relief. Reuters AlertNet is a humanitarian news network that aims to keep relief professionals and the wider public up-to-date on humanitarian crises around the globe.