Right
to Education
Field
work and Advocacy
Kul
Aaam wa Antum Bikhiir and Ramadan Kareem from the team at Right to
Education!
 |
| Right2edu and Advancement at Tomorrows Youth Organisation |
As I am not a Muslim so I asked Ravina to describe Ramadan in
a sentence for this blog she said; “dehydratingly amazing.” I
would agree with her, I would also like to add that I am impressed
she didn't pass out. As I think it is only appropriate if someone
celebrating the holiday provides an account therefore Ravina will
write about Ramadan exclusively in a following post.
As
a result of our earlier work planning Right to
Education was set for a busy few weeks visiting education
organisations in order to document violations of Palestinian
education. The first on the list was a visit to Addmeer, luckily not
very far away from our base. Addmeer provides legal aid and support
for Palestinian political prisoners. Child political prisoners are of
particular interest to us. Indeed political activity that would
normally be accepted and encouraged in the U.K is punished harshly
in the occupied territory. A majority of the occupied territory is
administered under Israeli military law, therefore children are
arrested, detained and charged without any special child provisions
made such as; presence of a guardian. Addmeer also reports of
prisoners experiencing ill-treatment such as physical and
psychological abuse. This and the denial of legal counsel often
results in forced confessions. Prison sentences can be as much as 20
years for throwing stones; a popular activity of Palestinian children
who use stone throwing as a means of protest, these small rocks carry
very little threat compared to the might of one of the greatest
armies in the world. A
stay in custody or prison does not simply affect a child for a few
years like it might in the U.K but in fact renders them incapacitated
for a lifetime. When prison sentences are as long as these, children
miss out on education, social development and normal psychological
development. When they are released they return as adults who have
been deprived of their right to education and thus their right to
childhood. In fact this theme rings true for most of the research we
conducted. A United Nations employee of the education cluster in Gaza
told us over Skype that it was not the resources that stunted child
development but the psychological impact, as did Suhad al-Jabi from
the Tomorrows Youth Organisation in Nablus. In any part of the world
providing support whilst not taking the victim away from the abuser
would make strange bedfellows, but, this is what happens in
the occupied territories, Suhad tells us. Palestinian is equipped with
counsellors, teachers even psychiatrists if necessary but the
military occupation; the abuser, is still engaged with it's victim.
In
Nablus we also visited Najah University which is itself a very
impressive university with a huge library and a beautiful campus.
There we met and talked with Alaa' Abu Dhair head of the Right to
Education wing at Najah University. Alaa' talked us through the
recent Intifada period and the grave violations to education. We
agreed however that this has been documented extensively. Something new was needed to interest an audience and stand out in an internet
already saturated with Israeli violations. I proposed that a point of
interest might be that Palestinians were highly educated despite
the occupation. Palestinians have some of the highest education rates
in the region. Imagine what they would achieve without the occupation?! With this in mind we are have arranged a few
activities which we hope will provide material for an audience and
deliver something new. Firstly we are searching for Right to
Education success stories; individuals who have succeeded despite the
occupation. Secondly we are planning to visit a refugee camp in
Nablus where we will emulate the U.N's 'message in a bottle campaign' in Gaza. Instead we are going to ask each child 'what they want to be
when they grow up' and send the message off in a helium balloon. I am
optimistic about these two activities and believe they will generate
lots of publicity and interest in the campaign!
 |
| Najah University Library. Busy even in Summer! |
Home Life
Outside
of work I think the main thing for me has been travelling on
weekends, meeting people and practicing Arabic. I studied some Fusha
Arabic at university and it has taken me a while to comprehend
Palestinian arabic but thanks to Wafa' and Ous I have been slowly
getting to grips with the different pronunciations and new
vocabulary. My sister is actually in Ghana with International Service
(she copied me) and on their blog they introduced everyone, I think
this a great idea so here goes...
 |
| One of Ravina's "how random!" moments. Chocolate factory visit. |
Wafa'-
Wafa' is from Nablus. Like vegetarians, vegans and medical students
it will be one of the first things she will tell you. She has
graduated in engineering (mabrok!). Wafa' is always laughing and one
of our laughing highlights include Ravina flying from one end of the
Berzeit bus to the other. Wafa' grew up in a refugee camp and has
told Ravina and I many stories about her life during the Intifada.
Ous
– As well as a volunteer and student Ous is also a businessman. Ous
also seems to know everyone in Ramallah and Birzeit so I expect to be
seeing him on the Forbes rich list soon. Ous also introduced us to Snobar, for which I will be eternally grateful.
Ravina
– Ravina is very enthusiastic slightly late volunteer. I think she
was late at birth. Her favourite phrase is ”how random”. Other
highlights include grandpa kid and countless giggling in taxis for God knows what reason. She also loves taking pictures on her phone
and don't worry she has a portable phone charger for when it gets low.
Sara
– Sara is our team leader. Sara has been endlessly determined to
get us into places so we have her to thank for all our fieldwork and
interviews!
Rachael
(me)- Whilst avoiding sunburn and Ravina's camera I can usually be
found interrogating Wafa' about her life and general arabic things.
yalla bye.
No comments:
Post a Comment