In most places, children running signals joy. Here in occupied Palestine, it is often a sign that the army is nearby. This sight is common in and around the old city of Hebron/Al-Khail.
On Saturdays, when the nearby settlers come to ‘tour’ the old city, the children run away together as the army arrives. The army points guns and yells to clear the city of its residents and shopkeepers before the incursion. During the settler march, the army keeps a large perimeter between the settlers and the residents. Sometimes the children will see who can get closest to the soldiers before they notice and point their guns at them. The children run back giggling, then repeat the game.
During the Jewish holidays, more soldiers are often in the area, using these holy days as a reason to further harm and intimidate children and other residents. Near the CPT office, soldiers block the road home from school. They point their guns and chase after the children. They find this amusing. They yell at individual children, demanding they approach them to talk. The children laugh and run away. One boy goes to the roof of his house to survey the scene before an Israeli army jeep comes and scares him inside.
As the children run, the team asks them what is happening and what the situation is with the army. We move from the street, to the balcony, to the roof and back down. We document and race to share this documentation with the world. These incidents are not unique; they happen regularly throughout the West Bank.
As children all over the world start school this month, we remember those who do not have regular access to education. We remember those who must pass through checkpoints and interrogations to attend kindergarten. We remember the children who must be accompanied on their long walks through settlements simply to attend school with minimal violence on the way. We remember that in Palestine and elsewhere in the world, children are robbed of their basic human rights and their right to education.
May these children remember that every trek to and from school is an act of resistance. That they are the key to a liberated future.
We pray for the right to education and for freedom of movement. We pray that each child facing these struggles remembers the importance of their education. We pray they remember why the occupation targets their educational dreams.
We pray that their children can attend school in a free Palestine. Most of all, we pray that no child must ever be subjected to education under occupation.
