DEIR-AL-BALAH — Rama al-Thabet places a foam mattress on a patch of rough sand for 13 male and female students to sit when they arrive for their 5 p.m. class.
An 11th grade student, al-Thabet and her family were displaced from their home in Gaza City and are now sheltering in a displacement camp in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza. Since the war started, her high school education — just like everything in the Palestinian enclave — stopped. But as the war and her displacement continued, al-Thabet decided to turn an empty space between tents in the camp into a makeshift classroom.
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She bought pens with her pocket money and glued pieces of nylon to create a display board. Above the board, she wrote “GAZA,” where she and and her students dream to return to. In her daily, one-hour class, al-Thabet teaches her students the basics of the English language.
“I’m reviewing the lessons with them, and refreshing their memories. They’ve forgotten what they learned because of what they went through,” she explained.
A break from war
The relationship the children have with al-Thabet can be seen on their faces and in their excitement as they head to her class. They come early and wait for her.
But while the class may seem like a break from the war and destruction that surrounds them, the war is never far. When they hear Israeli drones flying over the area, al-Thabet asks the children to clap to distract them. Sometimes they hear the sounds of explosions nearby, and the students are afraid. “When there’s a strong explosion, I hug them all so that they don’t run away from the tent. We hug each other to relieve the tension, and then I continue the lesson,” al-Thabet said.
“This is the normal situation for any child, to be a pupil, not a displaced person.”
Although she’s only 17, al-Thabet looks like an experienced school teacher, preparing lessons with different teaching styles to encourage students to interact, and paying special attention to children with problems in pronunciation. She organizes competitions and offers simple rewards and prizes.
Yet she said she has not receive any support from anyone, and she insists that she will continue teaching those children.
“My wish is to continue my education, and to continue helping children in their education and achieving their dreams, and for us all to advance education here in Palestine,” she said.
“Systemic destruction of the education”
In its more than seven months, the Israel-Hamas war has devastated Gaza’s education system. More than 80% of the strip’s schools have been severely damaged or destroyed by the fighting, according to the United Nations. The loss will have long-term impact on the education of children in Gaza.
Marwan Thabet, a father of four, said that despite losing his home and job and sheltering today in the Deir al-Balah camp, depriving his children of education is something he cannot bear. He welcomed al-Thabet’s one-hour class as a valuable opportunity for his daughter, Dana.
“My daughter was one of the first students to come to this tent. This is the normal situation for any child, to be a pupil, not a displaced person,” he said.
In April, UN experts expressed their grave concern “over the pattern of attacks on schools, universities, teachers, and students” in Gaza, which raised “serious alarm over the systemic destruction of the Palestinian education system.” They said it “may be reasonable to ask if there is an intentional effort to comprehensively destroy the Palestinian education system, an action known as ‘scholasticide.'”
“My dream is for this war to end.”
That is indeed what Thabet fears. Yet he still holds out hope to return to his home and his work as an electronic marketing manager — in short, “a return to the status of normal human beings,” he said. His daughter Dana also dreams of returning to her school and to reuniting with her teachers, friends, and books.
“My dream is for this war to end,” she said.
Escape to virtual reality
But beyond the problem of schooling, children in Gaza — as well as their families — face the problem of trauma.
From his tent, Mosab Ali, who owned a virtual reality game development company, uses a virtual reality headset to help children overcome their psychological trauma. Ali got the idea after his son, Amin, was injured and suffered psychologically. He decided to try using the headset to allow Amin to play in a virtual environment of forests and animals, designed by Ali and his team. The attempt worked, and Ali decided to share it with other children.
After months of war and the difficult situations they have been through, children need great psychological support, especially those like Amin, who were injured in the war.
“Children need a new environment away from war and destruction.”
“Children need a new environment away from war and destruction. They need to be away for a while from their daily life. After my experiences and work with them, I found that their condition has changed. I see signs of joy return to their faces again,” he said, adding that the children tell him: “Uncle Mosab, I don’t want to leave the place. Just leave me here, because outside there is war.”
Ali has also designed a program to educate children about the dangers of war remnants and bombs that the Israeli army leaves behind. Despite constant power outages and poor Internet connections, Ali said his desire to help the children motivates him.
“My message as a young Palestinian in the midst of conflict: We are a people who love life, and we have the ability to influence and innovate in the world,” he said.
