Video: Secret Hebron – the school run
February 28, 2008
Documentary film: “Israel/Palestine – Secret Hebron – The School Run – 28 min 25 sec [17 March 2003] . Journeyman Pictures. Posted www.youtube.com February 28, 2008.
Palestinian children in Hebron regularly risk being attacked by Israeli soldiers as they try to go school.
Children in the old part of Hebron are kept under curfew for months at a time, making it impossible for them to go to class. However, instead of giving up on their right to an education, the children scrabble across the roofs to avoid soldiers. “Whenever I go to school it’s so scary. When we meet soldiers they force us back with tear gas or percussion grenades,” states 12 year old Islam. A local doctor reports treating children whose legs or hands have been broken by soldiers. The violence and disruption has a severe psychological impact on the children. Pass rates in Arabic fell from 71% to 38% between 2000 and 2001 and parents claim that the children are becoming more violent. With even young children now being treated as terrorists, the prospect of peace looks distant.
Donna Baillie
