Gaza’s Students, Shattered Dreams
Karim al-Masri, an 18-year-old student, should have been
preparing for his final exams. Instead, he has been working to support his
family by selling ice, as the war has devastated Gaza’s education system.
According to the Palestinian Education Ministry, nearly 39,000 students in Gaza
were unable to take their exams and graduate. The war has disrupted the
education of at least 625,000 children, with more than 76 percent of Gaza’s
schools requiring rebuilding or major rehabilitation.
Mr. al-Masri dreamed of studying information technology
at the Islamic University of Gaza or the University College of Applied
Sciences, both of which have been destroyed. His priorities have now shifted to
supporting his family, and he is filled with agony as he walks past his school,
now a shelter for displaced families.
Islam al-Najjar, another 18-year-old student, had also
been preparing for her final exams before her school was turned into a shelter.
She remains hopeful about graduating and dreams of studying abroad at
prestigious universities like Harvard or Oxford. Despite the war putting a stop
to everything, she continues to dream and question why their aspirations have
been disrupted by the conflict.
The international community must take action to ensure
the protection of these students’ futures and the restoration of their homes,
schools, and hospitals. As General Powell once said, “We broke it, we own it.”
The only way to end this conflict is to end our
conditional support to Israel, demand a withdrawal of all IDF soldiers from
Gaza and the West Bank, end the bombing, end settler terrorism, and end the
brutal occupation in exchange for the release of all hostages. The rebuilding
of Gaza’s infrastructure should be a collaborative effort of the US, UK, other
European, and Arab countries.
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