For a brief moment, a group of Palestinian teachers and school leaders from Ramallah and Bethlehem find respite at a conference for Middle Eastern Christian schools in Cairo. Despite the logistical and administrative challenges of travelling to Egypt, this gathering is a welcome break from the turmoil at home.

“It feels good to be part of a network, to feel supported,” says Samia Alama, a math teacher at the Saint Joseph Sisters’ School for Girls in Bethlehem. Though exhausted, she remains mentally strong, determined to support her students through this difficult time. Beside her, Tina Hazboun, a professor at Bethlehem University, adds, “We have to keep smiling, even through the sadness.”

Access to education hindered

The war that erupted on 7 October 2023 has only worsened the already fragile state of Palestinian education, which has struggled under 56 years of Israeli military occupation. “It takes an incredible amount of patience,” explains Sister Silouane, a French nun who oversees French-language education in ten Latin schools across the Palestinian Territories.

Schools in the West Bank open and close depending on the intensity of overnight violence. “If there were clashes or incursions the night before, and depending on the number of casualties, schools may be forced to shut,” she says. Checkpoints set up overnight by Israeli forces can also prevent students from reaching class. “One day there’s school, the next there isn’t. Some days, the students are missing. Other days, it’s the teachers.”

There are currently 22,000 students – 8,000 of whom are Christian – enrolled in the 65 Christian schools across the Palestinian Territories.

Before the war, Gaza was home to four Christian schools, two of which belonged to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. One of them, Holy Family School, was partially destroyed during the fighting. Several teachers and parents were killed. “Some of our students, too,” Sister Silouane says quietly.

Despite a ceasefire in place since the 15 January, war remains part of daily life. Far from the media spotlight, Israeli incursions and road closures in the West Bank have intensified, and military restrictions have tightened. “The war will never really be over,” says Sister Silouane. “We don’t have missiles falling on us because of the Iron Dome, but there’s still debris that’s dangerous. There’s the constant sound of explosions, the fear, the anxiety.”

Supporting students beyond the classroom

Decades of conflict, repeated incursions, and ongoing settlement expansion have taken a toll on the mental health of the students. “We are facing a critical situation,” says Naela Rabah, headteacher of the Greek-Catholic school in Ramallah, part of the Melkite Patriarchate of Jerusalem. “Teaching isn’t just about delivering lessons – we have to care for our students emotionally as well.”

With exhaustion evident in her voice, she says, “Depression affects not only the children and their families but also the teachers.”

Despite this, she remains committed to her students’ well-being. “There are so many contradictions in their minds. At school, we teach them to express their emotions, to feel heard,” she says.

Her words are echoed by the teachers in Bethlehem. “Our students ask us, ‘Why should we study if there’s no future?’” they say. But they refuse to give up. “We have to make sure these children want to stay in Palestine.”

Tina Hazboun has taken action by launching a programme for women in technology, offering young women not only motivation but also the tools for independence in their homeland.

According to UNICEF, 782,000 children are enrolled in schools in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. However, since October 2023, the Palestinian Ministry of Education estimates that between 8% and 20% of schools in the occupied territories have been forced to close.

Education for non-violence

While political discussions are officially kept out of classrooms, teachers make space for dialogue – both in group discussions and one-on-one conversations, depending on students’ needs. “We focus a lot on understanding others, on communicating with people who think differently from us, on accepting differences,” explains Naela Rabah. Like all Christian schools in the region, her school welcomes children of all faiths.

“Across the Middle East, we have to teach non-violence – how to respond to conflict, how to stay calm, how to find peaceful solutions, how to listen and support each other,” adds Sister Silouane.

In Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christianity and a symbol of interfaith coexistence, Saint Joseph’s School educates 800 girls – half of them Muslim. “There are no problems,” says Samia Alama simply. “Muslims and Christians here are used to talking to each other.”

The economic impact of war

Schools do not exist in isolation; they, too, feel the weight of the economic crisis triggered by the war.

In Bethlehem, for example, pilgrimages stopped almost overnight. Many parents, who relied on tourism for their livelihoods, are now struggling to pay even the already minimal school fees.

This economic strain is filtering down to children and teenagers. “They have dreams, but they are also realists,” says Sister Silouane with compassion. “They see how many doors are closed to them. And they know that, somehow, they will have to find a way to live with this reality.”

By Marine Henriot / vaticannews

Source link: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2025-02/in-the-west-bank-schools-are-collateral-victims-of-war.html