IHT: Search

=0A= =0A=

=0A=

=20

=20

Front=20 Page BusinessArts & = LeisureTravel Technology Health & Science Sports=20

Editorials & = OpinionSpecial = ReportsMoney=20 Report=20

Currency=20 ConverterWeather=20

Sponsored = SectionsClassifieds=20

=20 Article Index

News

Africa & Middle East Americas Asia - Pacific Europe=20

Business

Africa & Middle = EastAmericasAsia - Pacific Europe=20

Publishing Partnerships

Ha'aretz, Kathimerini, Italy = Daily,=20 Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, JoongAng Ilbo, The Daily Star =

Weekly Article Index

M Tu W Th F Wknd =

Clear=20 Clippings I've read 3D""=20

Clear=20 all Clippings

Search Monday October 14, 2002

Frightened and=20 deprived
Palestinian=20 children
By Peter = Hansen=20 (IHT)
Wednesday, October 9, 2002=20

GAZA: Imagine the political fallout if every = schoolchild in=20 London had missed a month's schooling last year because teachers = could not=20 get to classes. Think of the parental anguish and outrage if the = Paris=20 school system saw its pass rates in French language exams fall = from 71 to=20 38 percent in a year. Now picture your own child traumatized by = fear=20 because every day her journey to school meant a trip past tanks,=20 checkpoints and soldiers.=20

This nightmare is the reality facing Palestinian parents, = teachers and=20 around a million pupils - the school population of a major = European=20 capital - in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip after two years of = the=20 intifada.=20

The main causes of this educational crisis are the curfews and = closures=20 imposed by the Israeli authorities in their attempt to deal with=20 Palestinian militants. These have crippled the education program = of the=20 Palestinian Authority and the United Nations.=20

The UN Relief and Works Agency runs 264 schools for almost = 250,000=20 pupils in the West Bank and Gaza. Last year it lost an average of = 29=20 working school days per school because staff or pupils could not = get to=20 their classes. Last year, in total, 72,000 teacher workdays were = lost.=20 Exams could be given only when curfews were lifted, and summer = schools,=20 designed to create a secure environment for children, were barely=20 attended. Things this year seem, if anything, to be getting worse. = Since=20 school started on Aug. 31, 36 UN schools in the West Bank have = been closed=20 for from two to 15 days. Access to schools in Nablus has been so = bad that=20 some teachers have been hired based only on telephone interviews = and will=20 meet their supervisors only when they can get to work.=20

But closed schools are only one part of the story. Military = operations,=20 largely by Israel but in some instances by Palestinian factions, = have=20 violated the sanctity of schools across the occupied territory. = Scores of=20 schools have been used as detention centers, almost 200 have been = damaged=20 by gunfire and more than 170 students have been arrested. = According to an=20 Amnesty International report, 250 Palestinian schoolchildren have = been=20 killed since September 2000.=20

It is not uncommon for children to be searched and abused by = Israeli=20 troops on their way to and from school or to be subject to tear = gas and=20 warning shots near checkpoints.=20

This terrifying environment has had a devastating effect on = Palestinian=20 children. Exam pass rates in Arabic and math have collapsed, while = dropout=20 rates are starting to rise for the first time in a decade. Pupil = assaults=20 on teachers, unthinkable in the past, have begun to make an = appearance.=20 Teachers are increasingly reporting signs of psychological trauma. =

UNRWA has employed counselors to encourage children to share = their=20 experiences and has boosted its remedial and summer school = programs, as=20 well as extended its school year, in an effort to mitigate the = worst=20 effects of the conflict. But it is becoming ever more apparent = that=20 Palestinian children will be paying twice over for the crisis in = the West=20 Bank and Gaza.=20

Already they have paid with the loss of their security, = innocence and=20 education. But they will also pay with their futures. They will = pay with=20 the loss of opportunity, development and hope that a sound = education=20 brings.=20

This is a tragedy for the Palestinian people, who, with so many = disadvantages to cope with, have traditionally put great stock in=20 education. Palestinian literacy rates were among the highest in = the=20 region. Palestinian girls were the first in the Arab world to = achieve=20 educational parity with boys. All of which meant that = Palestinian-educated=20 engineers helped build the Gulf region and Palestinian-educated = doctors=20 have benefited communities from California to Cairo. It is = imperative that=20 the Israeli authorities begin to lift their curfews and closures = on=20 population centers now, before more damage is done to children. = Israel has=20 security concerns - and Amnesty reports that 72 of its children = have been=20 killed since the start of the intifada - but I cannot believe that = those=20 security concerns are being served by depriving a generation of=20 Palestinians of their right to a future. The writer is=20 commissioner-general of the UN Relief and Works Agency. He = contributed=20 this comment to the International Herald Tribune.


Subscriptions E-mail Alerts	About = the IHT :=20 Privacy &=20 Cookies : Contact the IHT =

Copyright =A9 2002 the International = Herald Tribune All=20 Rights Reserved
Site Feedback = | Terms of Use | Contributor Policy =