Refugee Voices

I am a Palestinian child. I was born to find myself without a home or identity. I heard my grandparents describing our village with its vast fields and ever green olive trees. I wonder with pain and agony "Is it our destiny to be deprived of our childhood, our identity, and our dignity?"
We lost our tranquility, the brutal and savage shelling and bombing of the usurper Israeli army kills children and women without mercy, and leaves us sleepless and horrified. All this happens under the sight of the whole world.

Besides the devastation of our homes, mosques and churches, our schools were not spared. Our own school was shelled. I cannot describe out bitter feelings when we saw the destruction of our school. Not the walls, but our hearts were broken. Even the flag of the UN did not protect it.

No wonder since Israel does not respect the UN itself, neither does it respect its resolutions. It defies the whole world with its aggression. We demand protection, to be safe in our schools, the right to learn, preserved by the human rights charter, and we shall never forget our right of return to our homeland  Despite all the uneasy and unstable circumstances, our insistence on education is not affected.

We shall continue to learn, to create a new ambitious generation, aware of its rights and the meaning of freedom, that God willing, we still achieve in the near future. Speaking of this situation, we must not forget the important role of our wise and courageous headmistress who plants the spirit of challenge, courage, and resistance in us. We also must not forget the role of our brave teachers, who support and encourage us. Our thankfulness and appreciation go to our school and to all the institutions that contributed in different projects and activities achieved during this year.

Blessed is the stone and those who throw it Glory to our martyrs
Finally I would like to emphasize that we belong to Palestine. Palestinian belongs to us no matter what Israel does.
Habah Mahmoud Khalil 9th Grade
UNRWA Girls School, 'Aida Refugee Camp
Closing Program of the School Year 2001

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