- Title: Lebanon's public schools reopen amid war and displacement
- Date: 12th November 2024
- Summary: AMCHIT, LEBANON (NOVEMBER 11, 2024) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF AMCHIT SECONDARY PUBLIC SCHOOL'S BUILDING THAT IS HOSTING DISPLACED PEOPLE LAUNDRY HANGING IN FRONT OF WINDOWS DISPLACED PEOPLE GATHERING DISPLACED CHILD PLAYING WITH TOY GUNS DISPLACED PEOPLE GATHERING OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL BUILDING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED LEBANESE WOMAN, FADIA YAHFOUFI, SAYING: “Of course, we wish to go back to our homes, of course. Thank God, they provided us with everything and everything is good, but surely, no one feels comfortable except at home. We would love to return to our homes.” EXTERIOR OF AMCHIT PUBLIC SCHOOL TWO BOYS HUGGING EACH OTHER / GIRL RAISING VICTORY SIGN (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED LEBANESE WOMAN FROM BEIRUT’S SOUTHERN SUBURBS, ZEINA SHUKR, SAYING: “We hope to have victory and go back home for the sake of our children. This year has been unfair. Some children are studying while others aren't... Either everyone studies, or everyone is deprived and the school year should be postponed. Now, our children have been deprived (the school year). My own children are studying online, but a lot of children here in the school are not studying, they were deprived the school year, this is unfair.” VARIOUS OF TWO DISPLACED BOYS FIXING BICYCLE IN FRONT OF CAR VARIOUS OF DISPLACED CHILDREN PLAYING IN PLAYGROUND IN FRONT OF ANOTHER SCHOOL BUILDING WHERE CLASSES ARE HELD SCHOOL ENTRANCE VARIOUS SIGNS ON SCHOOL DOORS VARIOUS OF AMCHIT SECONDARY PUBLIC SCHOOL DIRECTOR, ANTOINE ABDALLAH ZAKHIA, WALKING IN TO HIS OFFICE IN THE SCHOOL BUILDING ZAKHIA SPEAKING DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AMCHIT SECONDARY PUBLIC SCHOOL DIRECTOR, ANTOINE ABDALLAH ZAKHIA, SAYING: “But we created the convenient environment to provide a high level of education with suitable educational conditions amid the crisis, without any party disturbing the other [referring to the displaced people sheltering in the school, and the students]. So you can say that we managed to create balance between both sides - the humanitarian level (with the displaced) and the educational duty of launching the school year with the least possible damages. “ VARIOUS OF STUDENTS IN SCHOOL CORRIDORS TEACHER IN CLASS SHOWING MAP ON BOARD VARIOUS OF STUDENTS AND TEACHER IN CLASS STUDENT IN CLASS WRITING ON NOTEBOOK VARIOUS OF STUDENTS AND TEACHER IN CLASS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RESIDENT OF AMCHIT AND STUDENT, NOUR KOZHAYA, 16, SAYING: “Lebanon is at war, but education won’t stop. We will continue our education in order for us to be able to pursue our dreams in the future.” DISPLACED STUDENT, AHMAD ALI HAJJ HASSAN, TAKING NOTES IN CLASS, SURROUNDED BY OTHER STUDENTS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED STUDENT, AHMAD ALI HAJJ HASSAN, SAYING: "Nothing has changed except that now it’s three days per week, but it’s OK, we can learn. After all, these are the conditions, we can study despite them, even if it’s just three days per week .” ALI HAJJ HASSAN IN CLASS TEACHER PATRICK SAKR EXPLAINING COURSE IN CLASS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PHYSICS TEACHER, PATRICK SAKR, SAYING: “Of course, now everyone is mentally exhausted - after all this war is on all of us, and it’s affecting us and them (referring to the displaced). Of course it’s affecting them more since they had to be displaced and come here, but it’s also affecting us with the pressure that we are facing - in the same school, we have displaced people and at the same time, there are students attending classes. This causes a lot of problems, especially when it comes to noise and differences, the teacher isn’t comfortable giving sessions the way he does during a regular school year.” SAKR WRITING ON CLASS BOARD (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PHYSICS TEACHER, PATRICK SAKR, SAYING: "Perhaps there aren’t many educational difficulties, but it’s more difficult for the displaced or the students regarding transportation means and getting here, not facing problems, this is the only issue. But when it comes to teaching, we are managing to pass the idea for both our school's students and the displaced ones.” BUILDING HOSTING DISPLACED PEOPLE, AS SEEN THROUGH CLASSROOM WINDOW STUDENT ENTERING CLASROOM BEIRUT, LEBANON (NOVEMBER 11, 2024) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION LEBANESE MINISTER OF EDUCATION ABBAS HALABI DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) LEBANESE MINISTER OF EDUCATION, ABBAS HALABI, SAYING: "We have 350 (public) schools that aren’t hosting displaced people, and in which we announced the beginning of the in-person school year. These schools are also located in safer areas that aren’t under (Israeli) aggression." AMCHIT, LEBANON (NOVEMBER 11, 2024) (REUTERS) STUDENTS IN CLASSROOM SAKR GIVING COURSE TO STUDENTS BEIRUT, LEBANON (NOVEMBER 11, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) LEBANESE MINISTER OF EDUCATION, ABBAS HALABI, SAYING: "In these 350 schools, we organised schedules (for classes) - three alternating days - in order to provide to all (students) registered in public schools, in-person education. Otherwise, we have (planned) procedures - as part of the ministry's plan - in case students can’t physically attend classes in certain regions, we have the possibility of providing online teaching." AMCHIT, LEBANON (NOVEMBER 11, 2024) (REUTERS) GIRL IN CLASSROOM BEIRUT, LEBANON (NOVEMBER 11, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) LEBANESE MINISTER OF EDUCATION, ABBAS HALABI, SAYING: "No matter how many students we manage to teach, it is a gain for the country. Therefore, with our determination, we are proving the theory that says the educational process is one of the aspects of resistance to the aggression our country is facing." GENERAL VIEW OF BEIRUT TRAFFIC AND BUILDINGS
- Embargoed: 26th November 2024 13:34
- Keywords: Israel Lebanon conflict displaced education school students war
- Location: AMCHIT AND BEIRUT, LEBANON
- City: AMCHIT AND BEIRUT, LEBANON
- Country: Lebanon
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Middle East,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA001906712112024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: In the quiet seaside town of Amchit, 45 minutes north of Beirut, public schools are finally in session again, alongside tens of thousands of internally displaced people who have made some of them a makeshift shelter.
As the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalated in September, hundreds of schools in Lebanon were either destroyed or closed due to damage or security concerns, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Of around 1,250 public schools in Lebanon, 505 schools have also been turned into temporary shelters for some of the 840,000 people internally displaced by the conflict, according to the Lebanese education ministry.
Last month, the ministry started a phased reopening, allowing 175,000 students - 38,000 of whom are displaced - to return to a learning environment that is still far from normal.
At Amchit Secondary Public School, which now has 300 enrolled students and expects more as displaced families keep arriving, the once-familiar spaces have transformed to accommodate new realities.
Two-and-a-half months ago, the school was chosen as a shelter, school director Antoine Abdallah Zakhia said.
Today, laundry hangs from classroom windows, cars fill the playground that was once a bustling area, and hallways that used to echo with laughter now serve as resting areas for families seeking refuge.
Fadia Yahfoufi, a displaced woman living temporarily at the school, expressed gratitude mixed with longing.
"Of course, we wish to go back to our homes... No one feels comfortable except at home," she said.
Zeina Shukr, another displaced mother, voiced her concerns for her children's education.
"This year has been unfair. Some children are studying while others aren't... Either everyone studies, or everyone is deprived and the school year should be postponed.," she said.
OCHA said the phased plan to resume classes will enrol 175,000 students, including 38,000 displaced children, across 350 public schools not used as shelters.
"The educational process is one of the aspects of resistance to the aggression our country is facing," Education Minister Abbas Halabi told Reuters.
Halabi said the decision to resume the academic year was difficult as many displaced students and teachers were not psychologically prepared to return to school.
In an adjacent building at Amchit Secondary Public School, teachers and students are adjusting to a compressed three-day week, with seven class periods each day to maximize learning time.
Nour Kozhaya, a 16-year-old Amchit resident, remains optimistic. "Lebanon is at war, but education won't stop. We will continue our education in order for us to be able to pursue our dreams," she said.
Teachers are adapting to the challenging conditions.
"Everyone is mentally exhausted... after all this war is on all of us," Patrick Sakr, a 38-year-old physics teacher, said.
For Ahmad Ali Hajj Hassan, a displaced 17-year-old from the Bekaa region, the three-day school week presents a challenge, but not a deterrent.
"These are the conditions. We can study despite them," he said.
(Production: Kuba Stezyski, Joelle Kozaily, Ghassan Kadouh, Riham Alkoussa) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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