BEIRUT: Lebanese children began returning to school yesterday after a war that killed hundreds of youngsters, reduced classrooms to rubble and transformed many others into temporary refugee camps.
Only private schools opened yesterday, with public schools delayed another week by the overwhelming tasks of reconstruction and repair, particularly in villages that bore the brunt of the Israeli assault during its month-long conflict with Hezbollah.
For the hundreds of thousands of Lebanese students starting school yesterday, the first day back was not easy.
Dozens of schools were flattened in the predominantly Shia regions in the south of the country.
Israeli artillery pounded southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, killing around 1,200 people – one third of those killed were children under 12 – and destroying massive numbers of homes, apartments, businesses, bridges and schools.
The UN children’s agency Unicef has said the government faces a "massive challenge" when it comes to getting ready for school after the assault.
The government estimates that around 50 schools were entirely destroyed and 300 sustained major damage during the July 12-August 14 war.
Many of the schools that were hit by Israeli fire but remained standing were nevertheless rendered unusable by heavy debris in classrooms and irreparable damage to furniture and supplies.
Schools were supposed to open in mid to late September, but the date was postponed to allow time for repair work. Now public school students are to begin returning on October 16.
Some schools will have to take turns hosting two groups of classes in the same day. Some children will be unable to go to school in their own villages and will have to be bussed to a nearby location where a school remains standing.
Unicef has been distributing school bags, notebooks, pencils and other supplies in a campaign aimed at helping 350,000 to 400,000 public school students and 150 schools.
"The aim of the back-to-school campaign is to have 350,000 children back to school on October 18," said a statement by Philippe Duamelle, Unicef’s emergency operations co-ordinator in Lebanon.
But the psychological health of the children is also a key concern for Unicef, which has aimed to educate teachers in recognising signs of trauma in the most vulnerable children and responding to their needs.
Going back to school "is not only important for the education of these children, but it will also bring back into their lives some kind of normalcy," Duamelle said.
For young survivors of war, "it’s a way for them to cope with and recover from the traumas they have experienced."
Nearly 1mn children are enrolled in private and public schools in Lebanon, which has one of the highest literacy rates in the Middle East.
Lebanon has estimated that it needs $70mn to rebuild its education system after the war.
The money is needed for "reconstruction and repair of schools, the purchase of school furniture and for training teachers to handle traumatised students," Education Minister Khaled Kabbani said.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have volunteered to help Lebanon’s schooling needs, with Riyadh offering to pay public school fees for all those enrolled in 2006-2007 at a cost of around $25mn.
Qatar has begun fixing up schools in eight villages it has chosen to sponsor, with the goal of opening 16 schools by October 18. The UAE is also helping repair work in 18 villages and is buying books for 400,000 students. – AFP |
