PUPILS and staff from several local schools are soon to host visiting delegations from Palestine and the Czech Republic.
Organised by the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO), Trade Union Friends of Palestine and the Hands Up Project, the students and teachers are hoping to strengthen ties between schools in Ireland and Palestine. They will develop drama projects and and engage in story-telling activities, as a means of learning about each other, as well as improving the language skills of the pupils in the West Bank and Gaza.
As a first step in enhancing ties, Yara, Rahaf and Malak from Gaza, and Julie and Magdalena from the Czech Republic are due to visit Belfast at the end of September. They will be hosted by the pupils and staff of St Louise’s, before visiting several local schools including St Kevin’s, Coláiste Feirste, All Saints College and Glengormley High.
As guests of the Hands Up Project (a charity trust that works with United Nations-run schools in the West Bank and Gaza), the pupils and teachers will bring their award winning ‘Welcome to Earth’ to St Louise’s, where they will turn it into a multi-cultural performance involving local pupils combining drama, music, art and dance. According to Nick Bilbrough, the founder of the Hands Up Project, “the pupils are bringing a message of hope and optimism that the whole world needs to hear”.
Local teacher Sean Mullin explains the link between the Hands Up Project and INTO. “Since 2004, Gaza has been subject to four large scale military incursions and an ongoing siege which places debilitating restrictions on the lives of its residents. Around 80% per cent of Gaza’s residents depend on humanitarian aid, and about 60 per cent suffer from food insecurity. “Infrastructure and public services are collapsing. Of the water pumped in the Gaza Strip 96% is contaminated. Electricity is supplied for just a few hours a day. According to a study carried out by the Euro Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor in 2021, 91 per cent of children in Gaza suffer the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.
“It is in this context that the Hands Up project has taken root. The project aims to overcome restrictions on movement and economic development to teach English and drama to pupils in Gaza through engagement with schools across the world, linking teachers to teachers and pupils to pupils. The project currently links schools in Gaza with schools in over 30 countries. It is the winner of an ETLon award from the British Council and the project is seeking to foster links with schools in Ireland for the first time”.
CLOSE TIES: Yara, Rahaf and Malak from Gaza will be in Belfast
St Louise’s teacher Paul Woods said prior to the outbreak of Covid-19, the INTO had been working to establish links between schools throughout Ireland and those in Palestine.
“Then in May of this year Queen’s University hosted the HUP conference ‘Teach, Love, Play’. It was here that several INTO reps had the pleasure of meeting three teachers from Gaza and the relationship between the HUP and INTO began.
“For those teachers Dalya, Amal, Rajaa &and Haneen, their visit to Belfast was the first time they had left Gaza. We are delighted that they are returning, this time with their pupils and it will be a privilege to host them.
“It is hoped that the upcoming visit will be the first of many and that schools throughout Ireland will now avail of the opportunity to establish close links between their pupils and those in Palestine”.
