Saturday 26.02.2011, Palestinian and international organizations and activists shared our opening day of Ein Il Hilwe tent school.

Although the occupation army threatened the Ein Il Hilwe community of demolition the night before, the community was very happy to celebrate the opening of their tent school last Saturday.

Pleople from different countries and different organizations came to Ein Il Hilwe to show their support to the Bedouins community in their struggle to challenge the occupation and its policy of tranfer Palestinians from the Jordan Valley.

Jordan Valley Solidarity volunteers explained the Jordan Valley situation to the visitors as well as the particular situation in Ein Il Hilwe. Then the participants helped in making some activities with the volunteers and the kids.

This day was a great success in showing that we can challenge the occupation with simple but important things.

An Italian rock band visiting West Bank with Pax Christi played some of their songs for Ein Il Hilwe kids

Our volunteer explaining the water situation in the Jordan Valley

Participants painting tyres in order to create a play area for the kids of the school

At the end of the day, participants went to our JIftlik community house to share a traditional Palestinian meal all together.

A Call for the Right to Education for Children in the Jordan Valley

The legal right of all children to a free and safe education is not new, not vague and not flexible
The restrictive policies of the Israeli occupation implemented in Area C make it impossible for the Palestinian Authority to adequately meet the educational requirements etched in international law as there is literally no possibility to build or rehabilitate schools and there are checkpoints which limit the movement possibilities for both teachers and students. Not only does Israel violate its responsibilities as an occupying power, its occupational policies continually violate, often with intent, the right to education of Palestinian children, particularly in the Jordan Valley. In order to work against the occupation with among other issues education, to stay resilient and remain on their lands, the citizens of the Jordan Valley are joint together in Local Popular Committees (LPCs) hosted by MA’AN Development Center. The work carried out by the LPCs is done in the name of Save the Jordan Valley Campaign.

Since the beginning of the occupation, Israel has repeatedly used demolitions of private and communal property as a means to shape Palestinian behavior. That a structure serves children and does pose a threat to Israel hardly enters into the demolition deliberations.  Schools, therefore, are not spared from the destruction of Israeli bulldozers. One recent example of this terrible action is in Khirbet Tana, a village east of Nablus with a population of about 300. Thirty structures were destroyed in October 2010, including a school, homes, and shelter for farm animals. Out of the 40 children who used to attend its primary school, only 17 still do so. They now study in a small tent, with desks and a blackboard salvaged from the ruins of the old school. Another example is Ka’abneh school, an L-shaped structure made from tin, concrete and small portable caravans. Although the infrastructure is small and entirely inadequate for an educational institution, the Ka’abneh school has received six demolition orders in the last three years for construction without an Israeli permit.

The Bedouin community of Ein Il Hilwe is located in the north of the Jordan Valley. The children from this community as well as from the neighboring communities used to attend school in Tayasir for which they had to travel through the difficult Tayasir checkpoint. On a daily basis the children were facing harassment from the soldiers when trying to get to and from school. Some days children were forced off the bus and were left to walk the 13 km back home on the dangerous main road. In order to help the children receive a better education at a closer distance and avoid the everyday struggle to get to school, Save the Jordan Valley Campaign erected a tent school in Ein Il Hilwe on November 21st. The location of the school is very important as it is located next to five large settlements. The villagers in the Bedouin communities are determined not to be evicted from the area but are facing daily threats from settlers who want them off the land.

The school is currently teaching 35 children who previously had to travel a long difficult way to Tayasir to attend school. Families had to pay about 100 NIS per month per child for the school bus which, despite payment did not provide a reliable service, seriously affecting the children’s possibility to attend school. Because of this, together with the harassment faced by the soldiers, some of the children stayed at the homes of relatives, far from home, during the weekdays resulting in them only seeing their parents on weekends.

The tent school is currently at maximum capacity, but with bigger facilities more children would be able to attend the school. The additional number of children that would benefit from partaking in the education at the location of the tent school is around 100. The school is currently trying to provide education in subjects such as Arabic, English, mathematics, chemistry and religion which is difficult as the existing educational material is very basic. MA’AN Center has through funding from Cordaid delivered stationary and some basic teaching aids. In addition to this, plastic chairs and items have been donated through separate charitable funding however, this is far from enough and the need for books is great.

The Palestinian Authority pays some of the salaries for established schools in the Jordan Valley, but the teachers in the tent schools are providing their time and knowledge on a voluntary basis and are dependent on charity of independent organizations to build and maintain what little and fragile facilities the school currently has. In addition the cost for the transportation of the teachers is high and also dependent on charitable donations. In addition to the weekly attendees the teachers further provide support teaching at the weekends for children that attend other schools who cannot always attend regularly due to the aforementioned reasons.

Demolishing schools is a way to eliminate the educational opportunities of Palestinian children. This is more than simply a violation of Article 50 of the 4th Geneva Convention, requiring an occupying force to “facilitate the proper working” of schools, it is also a means to ensure the sustainability of the illegal occupation while greatly damaging future generations of Palestinians.

The children of the Jordan Valley need to be educated in order to develop their full potential and that of a future Palestinian state. MA’AN Center, together with the Save the Jordan Valley Campaign is calling out for your support and donation of in kind or financial aid which will improve the children’s right to education in Ein Il Hilwe.

Your support is essential!