ARAB INSTITUTE EVACUATED

Today (Wednesday) the boys at Arab Institute wanted to talk about their experiences of a terrible situation that happened near the school and University in Abu Dis. 

Soldiers came on Tuesday evening to destroy a house that was "too close" to the Separation Wall. By around 9.00 o'clock in the morning the local people came to demonstrate against the demolition of the house. 

In response the Israeli military fired tear gas and fired rubber bullets at the protesters. By 10.00 o'clock the University,  Arab Institute and Abu Dis Boys School, which are located near to the demonstration, had to be evacuated because the tear gas was suffocating the students and it was dangerous to stay.

Some students were in exams at the time and others were in lessons which caused distress and stopped them from learning. This has happened many times this year. 

The students have written a short account of what happened, which are uploaded below.

HELLO FROM ARAB INSTITUTE

Today the students from the 11th grade at Arab Institute were introduced to the twinning project. The class has around 15 students who speak good English and are excited about making contact with students in London. They all wrote a short message to the students in London to introduce themselves and to ask questions. Some of these messages are below…

“Hi my name is Ahmed. I’m from the West Bank, Palestine, and I’m 16 years old. I bet that you’re younger than me… anyway, I like playing video games and many other things.”

“Hi!! My name is Salamey and I live near Jerusalem. I’m 16 years old and I love many subjects in school such as English and Mathematics. I want to ask you what problems you have in your life ? Also, how do you think the Israelis treats us?”

“My name is Yousef and I’m from Jerusalem. I’m interested in sports. I’m 17 years old. I’d like to know how life is in London? I have a friend who is from London and we talk every day on skype. He is living in Bahrain now and he can speak Arabic, so we use Arabic when we are chatting.”

“My name is Amar. I am 17 years old. I live in Jerusalem in Isawia which is 30 km from the school and on the way there is an Israeli checkpoint. It takes me 40 minutes every day to get to school. I would like to know what school is like for you?”

“My name is Saleh and I’m 17 years old. I want to be a photographer like my father to post what happens in Palestine from the occupation. I want to ask the students in London, how do you feel towards Palestinian people?”

The beginning of a new term!

A new, exciting term is starting for the twinning groups in England and Palestine. Yesterday, Matthew and I (Mary), the two new volunteers in Abu Dis, had a tour of the schools where we will be facilitating the twinning links and met with the principals and teachers. We can’t wait to meet the students this week!