Pupils at Friends School Brummana. Photo: Courtesy of Friends School Brummana.
So close: Michael Eccles of FWCC takes a pastoral visit to the Middle East
‘People here feel the pain of Gaza.’
Back in April I had the privilege of travelling to the Middle East, to visit Friends and the Friends’ schools in Palestine and Lebanon. The visit was organised by Friends United Meeting, which is the main supporter of Ramallah Friends School. Ethel Livermore (clerk of Europe & Middle East Section) and I joined the visit. We spent eight days in Ramallah, and two days in Brummana. The schools are amazing, thriving in places, amid much uncertainty in daily life, and often a lot of violence, even if it’s not always seen. We went to listen, to be alongside people, to get to know them, and hear their stories. We wanted to learn about their lives in Palestine. Not everyone wanted to talk to us – some of them didn’t trust us at first or know whether they could trust us – but many did talk to us, especially the longer we were there.
