Learning difficulties: Gillian Turner remembers her own momentous year at Brummana High School

‘I remember the Saturdays clearing litter from the beach, or planting saplings in an area reclaimed from land mines.’

I joined the Brummana High School staff at the beginning of the 2004/2005 academic year. The school was in recovery after the long Lebanese civil war, but the year ended with the assassination of ex-prime minister Rafic Hariri.

In my time it was very obvious how loyal the staff were. Many had taught there for some time. Some had been past students, and sent their children in their turn. The school is the centre of the village: parents, students and staff live locally or in the Beirut suburbs.

The school’s Quaker basis is well known and appreciated. It is the meeting place of Lebanon’s only Quaker Meeting. All the local Quaker families had been students or taught in the school, and all are keenly interested in its wellbeing. British Quaker trustees visit the school and meet local governors and staff regularly. There are always a number of Quaker teachers from abroad.

The Quaker ethos of service is built-in. One afternoon every week is timetabled for charitable activities. I remember the Saturdays clearing litter from the beach, or planting saplings in an area reclaimed from land mines. There were parties for children from local hospitals and orphanages, a tradition that still continues.

Neither the village nor the school grounds escaped violence during the civil war. Even post war, cars were routinely searched entering supermarket car parks – the fear of car bombs was part of daily life. On trips outside Beirut we were stopped by Syrian army blockades. There were intermittent gun battles between the Lebanese army and armed militia. US-owned businesses had armed guards posted outside. Meanwhile, school life proceeded in the usual way: tests and exams, sports events and assemblies all took place as usual, offering the school community security and hope for the future. They continue to do so during these truly dreadful times.

That February, we heard the explosion that killed Rafic Hariri and twenty-one others. A huge plume of smoke rose above the port. This was a major catastrophe in a country just beginning to recover from the civil war. A series of car bombs followed throughout the country, including one outside the school grounds that shattered the windows of the science block and my office. Somehow the spirit of the people rallied. Religious groups worked together to promote harmony; law and order was maintained; and staff and students threw themselves into the last months of the school year.

Last year, amid pandemic and economic meltdown, an explosion ripped through Beirut. There were at least 218 deaths, 7,000 injuries, and an estimated 300,000 made homeless. It signalled the breakdown of a whole country, with emigration, loss of properties and employment, huge inflation and terrible poverty. Today the school carries on, with staff who have no money for food, fuel or medication. Principal David Gray and his team are working tirelessly to keep it viable. Trustees, governors, old scholars and friends of the school have all offered financial support. Somehow we must enable this unique school to continue.

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