Quaker school continues amid Lebanon airstrikes
‘School represents hope.’
More than ninety per cent of pupils are still attending the Quaker-founded Brummana High School in Lebanon, despite regular airstrikes.
‘In a school of 1,270 we have daily attendance of ninety-two per cent with the vast majority of the remainder joining us online for lessons from the countries to which they have fled abroad,’ David Gray, principal of Brummana High School, told the Friend.
‘Life can at times be dangerous, and many innocent people are being killed in the daily bombing raids, which afflict many parts of the country. Venturing into Beirut is a precarious experience and many of our students have to make the journey there and back, either by school bus, or with their parents, every day. Children go to sleep at night to the sound, and sometimes the sight, of devastating explosions and wake up to the uncertainty of what a new day may hold.
‘Yet, for all that, we maintain normality as far as possible, and I admire the indomitable spirit of the Lebanese people who, sadly, have become used to this kind of tragic disruption to their lives.’
Lebanon has suffered thousands of air strikes over the past six weeks, which Israel says are targeting Hezbollah’s operatives, infrastructure and weapons.
According to David Gray, the school has been open almost constantly since the airstrikes began. ‘We have lost eight days since the beginning of September, but are clawing these back by working on Saturday mornings when we hold tests, moved from weekdays… After the initial shock of war, when people cowered at home, we spent a couple of days online and then ventured back to school, initially without our bus service and then, as we got braver, with the bus service in full operation, even venturing into areas of Beirut close to the sites of regular bombing raids. Of course, we are infinitely careful about the children’s safety, but make no mistake, school represents hope for people in this beleaguered country and school attendance is an active expression of peaceful intent and an act of defiance against the war.’
The school has also been involved in donating goods, with pupils collecting masses of bedding, blankets and non-perishable foodstuffs for the displaced. Many hundreds are housed in makeshift accommodation in the school’s area, and ‘desperately need help of the most fundamental kind as winter approaches’, added David. Quaker values and practices have helped, he said, such as tolerance and peaceful resolution.
‘Interestingly, as we have got back to normal and the usual extracurricular activities have begun to proliferate again, so have the parents and children begun to forget, or at least be distracted from, the frightening events taking place around us. Numbers of children visiting our counsellors have fallen dramatically and talk of fear and sleeplessness has largely disappeared, at least from the campus.’
The school welcomes donations to help school operational costs and online learning. ‘We all hope for better times and pray for peace,’ said David Gray. ‘The future of Lebanon is in the hands of the young people whom we educate today, so that they can build a juster, more peaceful tomorrow.’
Donations can be made at: www.quietcharity.org.uk.
In other news from the Middle East, Britain Yearly Meeting joined calls to protect UNRWA, the UN agency supporting Palestinians in Gaza, from Israeli government attempts to cease its operations.
