Hundreds Of Thousands Of Children In Gaza Can't Return To School, Real 'Loss Generation' Threat

JAKARTA - Bissan Younis felt gloomy, standing outside the tent where his family lived.

Around it the rubble of the remains of the building was destroyed and the vacant land became a common sight of the Gaza Strip after the Israeli military attack.

His tent is part of a refugee camp for Palestinians as well as an emergency school that no longer has room for Kareem, his teenage son.

"Most of the schools were destroyed," he told AP, Friday, November 17.

"Every school I visit says there is no room," he continued.

More than 600,000 Palestinian children in Gaza have their right to education during Israel's last two years invaded Gaza.

Instead of studying and socializing with senior children, they have repeatedly fled, fled airstrikes and shootings, and are often forced to spend the days seeking clean water and food for their families.

With a ceasefire agreement reached last month, the humanitarian organization that was once military-restricted by Israel is now starting to plunge into Gaza, working hard to reopen dozens of emergency schools.

John Crickx, spokesman for the UN agency for children, UNICEF, said it was very important for children to return to school as soon as possible, not only because of basic education but also for their mental health.

In the coming weeks, if we don't provide education, he said, there may be terrible consequences for all generations [in Gaza]

UNICEF estimates that more than 630,000 Palestinian children will not attend school during the war. According to Crickx, so far, only about 100,000 children have just returned to school.

Separately, UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, has also begun providing education for about 40,000 students through their freelance teachers.

Most UNRWA-run schools, which served half of Gaza's children before the Israeli attack, have now turned into shelters for refugees.

Main Constraints

The lack of space is due to the fullness of children learning to teach in emergency schools in Gaza. This is because dozens of school buildings have been badly damaged or completely destroyed.

Much as well as for emergency schools, buildings unlike usual, are used for shelter for Palestinians who have repeatedly fled during the intense bombings by Israeli soldiers in Gaza.

"Basically, these are tents between refugee tents, or some prefabricated buildings or shelters," Crickx said.

"This is very ... the most basic learning," he continued.

At a school, which contains many UNICEF logo tents, and was founded on a plot of land in the middle of buildings destroyed by bombs in Khan Younis City in the south of children gathered in one classroom, eagerly listening to their teachers.

Crickx admits it is difficult to find a location to set up a tent. Another challenge is sending supplies to Gaza, including concrete, to repair damaged schools. Even necessities such as pecil, erasers, and other basic equipment.

Since Israel invaded Gaza in early October 2023, these items have not been allowed into Gaza by Israel.

"Israel, which controls the flow of goods to the region, considers it "not a critical need, does not save lives," Crickx said.

COGAT, an Israeli military agency that takes over the flow of humanitarian aid and an important need for Gazans from many international humanitarian organizations that want to help Palestinians, has yet to comment directly on the difficulty of permission to enter school supplies to Gaza.

Taking over the burden usually borne by many international humanitarian organizations, such as health and post-war psychological trauma, is also not a real action against COGAT.

The trauma level among Gaza's people, including children, is very "terrible," said UNRWA communications director

In the early stages of the ceasefire agreement, UN agencies said they were still struggling to estimate the damage and calculate the cost of reconstructing Gaza. UN experts say the process could take years and cost around $70 billion.

Schools Become Shelters

Refugees consisting of many families are still living in the rubble of the damaged school building in Gaza. Touma from UNRWA said around 75,000 people were still taking refuge in UNRWA schools.

One of the refugees, Tahreer Al-Oweini, said he felt guilty of using the space from the ruins of the school for temporary shelter. However, he admitted that he had no other choice.

"I live in a classroom that should be used for learning, with a teacher, student and whiteboard," Al-Oweini said at a school whose walls and ceiling were damaged covered by tarpaulins.

Al-Oweini said she also admitted that she had difficulty finding a place for her four children, three daughters and one son, whose final education level was elementary and junior high school.

He even told an emergency school principal in Gaza that he would look for chairs and tables for his daughter, but was still rejected because of the full teaching and learning room.

"Children forget everything they've learned," he said.

"Their lives over the past two years have been spent getting water, chasing aid vehicles, wars, Hamas, shootings, and destruction," he continued.

"They live in fear or horror," added Al-Oweini.

Even during the fierce fighting as Israel bombarded Gaza, a number of efforts to prevent children from falling behind in education in emergency schools in refugee camps were still there.

However, teaching and learning activities are sporadic. Some families keep their children close and don't want to risk letting them go to school, for fear of their safety.

This is a race against time and UNRWA's Touma warns about the "lost generation" the longer children don't go to school, the harder it will be for them to catch up with their peers elsewhere.

Touma is concerned that if children lose education, it is more likely that they will become "prey exploitation, including early marriage, child labor, and recruitment into armed groups."

Al-Oweini added that his intentions were still the same as those of other families in Gaza, who really wanted the children to return to school.

"I want my children to be like their fathers who graduated from college," he said, adding that his daughters wanted to become doctors or engineers.

"They have ambitions. But if they don't go to school, they won't have a future," continued Al-Oweini.