Displaced in Gaza 1.jpg

Hashim Sani Center for Palestine Studies

Children take part in recreational activities organized by the American Friends Service Committee and Palestine Children's Relief Fund in January 2024.

In Gaza, Students Yearn for Life Before War

Amid ongoing conflict, young people from Gaza share their memories of school days now lost—and their hopes for returning to their classrooms one day.

by

As millions of children in the U.S. return to school, students in Gaza continue to be deprived of this right amid Israel’s ongoing attacks. Most schools have been damaged or destroyed. Those that remain standing have become shelters for Palestinians who have been displaced.

Recently, Yousef Aljamal of the American Friends Service Committee interviewed several young students—ages eight to twelve years old—about their school memories and what they missed most. Here’s what they had to say.

Rahaf Ahmed Rajab

Age: 12, Grade: 7

My cousins and I used to go to school by car. We were happy at school and over the years I was one of the best students and my dream was to become a doctor.

We used to draw and play games there. I liked the Arabic class, and I loved the teacher and I loved grammar and spelling. The teacher would explain the lesson in the form of games, which was very entertaining.

At break time, we used to play hide-and-seek and buy things for me and my friends to eat, but now all my friends have been martyred. I was in Al-Bureij camp and came to Al-Nuseirat. My classmates and I used to agree with the teacher to have an open day to have fun away from school.

Time passes and we don’t go to school. I miss it so much and I miss my classmates.

I used to participate in the morning activities by reciting poetry. We used to do scientific experiments in the science lab, I used to participate in the math competition and get the first place, and the school used to take us on a trip to the park.

I hope the war will end so I can go back to my school, but even that will take time, as the schools are inhabited by displaced people.

But when I go back to school, I will study well and greet my teachers because I miss them.

Lana Firas Hillis

Age: 9, Grade: 4

Before the war, I used to study and used to get prizes when I got high grades. My teacher used to appoint me as the class leader to organize the class in her absence. I had friends who played with each other and studied at the schoolyard during exams, but now my friends and I no longer meet, including those who traveled for medical treatment, those who remained besieged in the north and were not displaced with us to the south, and those who were martyred.

When one of my teachers would be absent, we used to take a sports class instead or an extra class in another subject.

The most beautiful activity was going on trips. I used to buy things for the trip and go to the park. The teachers used to gather us to play skipping rope and hopscotch and do competitions.

When we would finish final exams, we used to celebrate with friends at school to celebrate the start of the summer leave.

I wish I could go back to school. We used to spend the best times there. I want to learn like other children to fulfill my dreams.

Lara Nael Shahin

Age: 8, Grade: 3

On the first day of the war, I wore my school uniform to go to school, but we couldn’t go because of the escalation. We were supposed to have an Arabic test.

I love my school. We used to learn everything useful there, and at break I would play with my friends and buy snacks.

During the school period, I used to go with my mother to the market and buy stationery and school uniforms. On the first day of school, teachers gave us notebooks and pens and introduced us to the class. I used to get high grades. I was an outstanding student. The school gave me an award and they honored me with a certificate of appreciation for outstanding students.

I wish I could go back to school. I miss my friends, my teachers, and my homework. I wish I could play with my friends like we used to.

Israel bombed a building at our school, and there are displaced people there, so we can’t go there and learn.

Anas Ashraf Shamali

Age: 11, Grade: 6

When I enrolled in school, I was young and grew with the years. There were teachers who taught us and gave us assignments and tests. There was an Arabic teacher and an English teacher. When I was in the sixth grade, we had new teachers, and we were sent to a boys school.

In the sports class, we would play football with our teacher and when we had a test, I would study after school and take a break.

I used to play with my friends and go to school with them, and when one of them was absent, we would give them the assignments and tell them if there were new tests assigned by the teacher.

I was my sports teacher’s favorite and was the class leader, and sometimes, I walked back home from school with my sports teacher.

We were displaced from the north to the south in Al-Nuseirat and I am far from my school. I saw my teachers at the checkpoint, and they told us that the school had been bulldozed by the Israeli army.

When the war is over, I’ll go back to my school and finish my education after it’s rebuilt.

Sabreen Samer Abu Yousef

Age: 9, Grade: 4

As students, we were studying and happy. I had friends to play with, I used to go with our neighbors to school. Our parents used to give us our personal allowance to buy things, and at break time, we used to play basketball. When it was time to study, we did so at our class. Teachers gave students who got high marks a reward and a medal with their name written on it, and this medal took the shape of a star. I got one.

I used to do my homework with my mom and study for tests early so that I could wake up early and go to school on time.

I loved my English class; the teacher would talk to us in English and explain the lesson through games. I wish the war would end and I could go back to school.

Now, my school is destroyed, and I can’t learn as much as I used to. My school friends are also displaced from their homes and can’t go back to school. I used to dream of becoming a doctor, but now the Israeli occupation has delayed my dream.

Mohammed Ashraf Al-Shamali

Age: 10, Grade: 4

In Gaza City, when we would go to school, we would line up and go to class to study the first lesson and the teacher would ask us about the assignments we were given.

I liked math class the best. I liked plus and minus tests.

When class was over, my friends and I would play games and have a potluck with our teacher.

We would take quizzes on the subjects we were taking.

The students and I loved the sports class to play basketball and car games, and when classes were over, we would buy barrad (a cold smashed lemon drink) and share it with friends.

On trips, we would go to animal and strawberry farms and enjoy songs on the bus.

The most beautiful day was the day we received our certificates, where we would see all our friends, congratulate everyone on their success, and eat sweets from our friends who excelled.

I wish the war would end and I could go back to school.

On the first day after the war, I will pick up the kids to go to a school in my father’s car.

Moussa Firas Hillis

Age: 12, Grade: 6

I loved my school because I learned and spent most of my time there. It shaped our lives in the sense that we wake up in the morning with a goal and a future, with ambition and dreams that are renewed every morning.

I had friends with whom I went to school, and we spent time between learning and playing at the break time, going shopping and sharing things together, helping each other study, explaining to those who didn’t understand the teacher’s explanation, because we are close in age.

I used to love the computer class, as I prefer to learn about computers and go play the PlayStation with my friends after school.

But now we don’t have a school because of the war, our dreams are lost, and we don’t know what happened to my school. We were displaced when Israel stormed our area. I don’t know where my friends are, where the teachers are, and what happened to the school.

I hope the war will end soon and I can go back to my school to meet my friends and teachers. I miss them all.

Alma Mohammed Abu Yousef

Age: 8, Grade: 3

We had a beautiful life at school—friends, teachers, and a beautiful time to spend together. I used to look forward to going to school every morning. I loved the morning line and the school radio, I loved the morning exercises, they gave me energy.

We had a wonderful Islamic education teacher who had a beautiful voice in reading the Quran. We used to learn from her to read the Quran and the morals of a Muslim child and learn about our religion and the stories of the prophets. I used to love this class very much and wait for it eagerly.

My friends and I used to clean the school at break time. I was on the cleanliness committee, paying attention to the students if they threw the garbage in the basket designated for it and paying attention to the cleanliness of the classrooms. When we had a sports class, I would go and check and the cleanest class and I were honored at the end of each week and the principal used to give a prize to all the students in the class.

There was a time for exams, and we studied hard to get high marks because we all wanted to be among the top students.

There were trips organized by the school and we had a great time when we went to the zoo or to the amusement park.

The school was beautiful, and we had a great time. But now during the war, the Israeli occupation deprived us of this blessing. My school is now a shelter for displaced people who lost their homes. The school was also bombed.

When I used to go to school, we used to spend our time playing. We hope that the war will end soon so that every student can return to school to learn and fulfill their dream like the rest of the children in the world.

This story was originally published by the American Friends Service Committee. It is reprinted here with permission. You can read more testimonies from Palestinians in Gaza at https://gazaunlocked.org/displaced-gaza.