In this article, I will share with you the scenes you are accustomed to seeing on your screens, I would like to convey the scenes with my pen and words, I apologize if it hurts you, but this is the reality in Gaza

Children in Gaza are facing death every day for more than 446 days. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 10,600 children and 400 teachers have been killed in Israeli military operations by August 2024, and more than 15,300 students and 2,400 teachers have been injured. Hundreds of thousands of young people have been displaced and are living in shelters.

The school bag in Gaza has transformed; instead of carrying notebooks, books, pens, and colors, students carry the bodies of their siblings, and sometimes their belongings, clothes, and some food.

Instead of heading to school to receive education in their classrooms, they take shelter in their schools with their families, protecting themselves from the surrounding death that could strike at any moment.

Children in Gaza face death every day, if not from the bombing, then from hunger. They wait in long queues just to fill their boxes with a meal to keep their stomachs from hunger. Additionally, many students work to help their families by carrying gallons of salty water and drinking water, while children around the world live a normal, comfortable, and warm life with their families.

These daily scenes in the camp pushed me to write about the issue that troubles the parents of children in displacement camps, which is education and the deprivation of children from one of the most important human rights. This drove me to gather the talented children in my camp to help them express their feelings through drawing. With enthusiasm and passion, the children responded, and all their drawings showed nostalgia for home, comparing life before October 7th and living in the tent.

I decided to give them space to express their feelings verbally and in writing. It is truly painful when you listen to their stories; each one has a different story. They miss their cousins, relatives, neighbors, and friends who are stuck in the north. They express the beautiful days and happy memories they lived in their homes, the delicious meals their mothers used to prepare, the occasions they celebrated, their birthdays, and the gifts they received but could not bring with them as they were buried under the rubble.

Wadies Awad Abed (10 years old), a displaced child from Jabalia camp, taking shelter in Khan Younis in No teers camp (southern areas), Gaza Strip,

told me she misses her cousin “Lama,” who survived death multiple times. She draws herself with her while praying every day to meet her.

 I heard a painful question from her: “Do we not have the right to live in peace like them?” I asked her about her home, whether it still stood or had been destroyed. She told me it had disappeared from the face of the earth, then she drew her home to show me how beautiful it was.

Iman Ghoneim Al-Ghoul (9 years old), a displaced child from Almokhabarat Street taking shelter in Khan Younis No Tears Camp, drew a painting comparing life before the war and how she used to take the bus to and from school and how her life has changed.

Ruaa Mohammed Atwa (13 years old), a displaced from Al Shatia refugee camp, is taking shelter in No teers camp in Khan Younis. She is always optimistic about returning to her home, even though she doesn’t know anything about her house in Gaza. She drew herself in the street of her home, seeing the destruction and rubble around her.

Koon Ali Abu Al-Fahm (15 years old), a displaced child from al-Sheikh Redwan taking shelter in No Teers camp, lost her father in the war by a treacherous quadcapter bullet. She drew the camp she lives in, the tents, the surrounding spaces, and the children playing in the camp yard, and tents provided as aid from Arab countries.

Will students lose two years of education?

 If you asked me this question at the beginning of this war, I would immediately answer yes, because the situation was unclear and everything was incomprehensible to all the people of Gaza. I always feel sorry for this generation for what they have faced, losing 14 months of education during 2019 due to COVID-19, where online education was adopted and the curriculum was shortened. Imagine the suffering during this bitter journey amid power outages, lack of continuous internet, and some families not having more than one phone, especially those with more than two children. This is in addition to the Israeli military operations in previous years and the current war.

According to UN expectations, if the fighting continues until 2026, the losses could extend to five years. This does not account for the additional effects of trauma, hunger, and forcible displacement, all of which deepen Gaza’s education crisis. However, the people of Gaza did not surrender to the situation despite its severity. We find many young people leading educational initiatives in different areas, regardless of their size, because they truly felt they could make a difference in students’ lives, especially after six months from the beginning of the war. As Gazans, we believe that education is above all, and education is a right for everyone and the only weapon to face what we are going through from occupation. We feel a collective responsibility to protect it, believing that if it is simply erased, the consequences will be far-reaching.

I searched for how I could be a useful member in this important aspect and found an inspiring, distinctive, and successful educational initiative, the Gaza Great Minds School, led by young volunteers in northern and southern Gaza amid bombing, killing, and destruction. Despite this, it received wide acceptance from parents to enroll their children to receive education, recreational activities, and psychological support under the bombing and amid the rubble. The team truly exerts their utmost efforts to serve the children and draw smiles on their faces in exceptional circumstances. So, I started volunteering with them and working to highlight their efforts, motivate them, and encourage others to join us.

From here, I began talking to the children and seeing their interest in education and school. Every time I sat with them, I saw a sparkle in their eyes when they talked about what they wanted to be in the future. I noticed that whenever they went to the educational tent, they felt proud of themselves because, despite what is happening in the war, they find a place that embraces them and provides them with education with love and dedication.

These are the scenes and stories that Gazans live daily.

As a Gazan girl who has lived through the war since its first day, I always look for a way to relieve this burden on my chest, and I found writing as a means to heal my heart from the pain of the scenes I see. I wish I could alleviate what the children of Gaza are going through, even if just a little. I hope I have conveyed the picture as it is to reach your eyes.

I would like to remind you, dear reader, that the suffering will not end with the end of your reading of this article but will continue.