Al Fakhoora planting trees in memory of Gaza children

Al Fakhoora has launched a project that will see the replanting of palm trees in the heart of Gaza City’s Al Rashid Street, a 4m by 2km beachfront property where 138 palm trees will be planted with each tree bearing the name of a child killed during the 2008/2009 war on Gaza.“After the war on Gaza, Al Fakhoora commissioned the collection and documentation of the names and stories of the children below the age of 16 who were killed during the war. We were exploring the best possible way to honour the victims and planting trees in memory of each child seems befitting,” said Farooq Burney, director, Al Fakhoora.The 22-day war claimed the lives of 1,419 people, 252 of whom were children below the age of 16.Burney was in Gaza to inaugurate the completion and official opening of Al Fakhoora’s first reconstruction project in Gaza which provides the Islamic University of Gaza’s medical school with two floors with modern labs and lecture halls. Al Fakhoora’s representative in Gaza, Shadi Saleh, said: “The beach road is currently undergoing construction and contributing to the greenery and forestation of the area will have a great impact on the community as a whole. We also hope this project will encourage more youth-led initiatives in community development as well as environmental awareness.”Burney added that he recognised the potential for the international community to want to participate in preserving the memory of the children and simultaneously contributing to Gaza’s green initiative. “We are in the process of bringing the opportunity to an international platform through a website that will allow contributions and fundraising for this cause.”Families of the children participated in the planting, including Salah al-Samouni, whose family name is synonymous with tragedy in Gaza. The family lost 48 members of mostly women and children.“Much of our (Palestinian) agricultural land has been levelled and trees are always being uprooted. This initiative sends out two messages, that our children’s names are not forgotten and that we the Palestinians will always stand tall on our land,” Salah said.