Unfortunately there were further delays in starting at Abu Dis Girls since they had mid-term exams during Guy Fawkes. Tahmina will now be working with two groups, Grade 9 on Monday and Grade 11 on Tuesday.
Grade 9 saw the pictures of Camden School for Girls, which they were very impressed by. Some of the girls even said they now want to go to school in London!
Grade 11 and I spoke about what their roles are in the twinning relationship, to learn from the students in London about life there and to teach them about life in Palestine. We discussed what they wanted to tell the students in London. Of the things we discussed, one of the key points that one student made is that the main issue here is the lack of freedom. This lack is mostly, the following through travel restrictions that affect other aspects of life. The students mentioned the following:
-cannot travel to Jerusalem or 1948 (Israel)
-cannot get medical care because hospital is in Jerusalem
-checkpoints manned by Israeli soldiers make it difficult to get employment as cannot get to 1948 for work
-Separation/Occupation Wall has taken land
-no security: checkpoints with Israeli soldiers make some areas unsafe to be around
It was really interesting talking to them, and they are looking forward to learning more about London and students there. Next week I will be showing both classes the blog and a Powerpoint about life in London as well as information on La Sainte Union and Camden School for Girls to which they are twinned.
No comments:
Post a Comment