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FROM THE FIELD

Gaza Aid Worker Diary
26 Jan 2009 12:56:00 GMT
 Source: Islamic Relief - UK
Islamic Relief

Website: Website: http://www.islamic-relief.com

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Hatem Shurrab is an aid worker in Gaza with Islamic Relief Worldwide.

In the latest instalment of his diary, he says that amid the destruction children are beginning to return to school.

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."

It is not just the schools that have reopened, 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."

Waiting for news 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.

Everyone is anxious. Thousands of people are returning to their destroyed homes not knowing what the future holds for them.

Many of them are staying in tents next to what remains of their homes - maybe in the hope that some news will reach them about what might happen to them.

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 $3m on this as well as the removal of demolition waste, house rehabilitation and more food to hospitals as well as other projects.




[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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