UK-PALESTINE 10/9/09

The "Let Palestinians Study – LPS" campaign which is headquartered in UK had announced the formation of a preparatory committee for their counterparts in Palestine (the West Bank & Jerusalem). The committee initially includes Ramzi Faroun Coordinator General for the campaign, S. Faroun media coordinator, and A. Abu Rmaileh programs and activities coordinator. The aforementioned campaign "LPS" strives to overcome the major obstacles and hurdles that face the Palestinian students to continue and achieve their education at all levels. One major source of the obstacles is the continued occupation and what is so apparent to all in terms of its effects on the people of Palestine in general and the students in specific. The last such obstacle was to prevent a handful of Palestinian students to cross the border to Jordan in order to continue their higher education – (for security reasons!? It is probably more secure to either jail such persons, or let them out of the zone of the proclaimed security zone.) Other obstacles and hurdles are result of the discriminatory apartheid wall especially in the Jerusalem vicinity where it is creating an air of hopelessness among students if they can continue at their present schools in Jerusalem or that they will be abruptly disconnected from their childhood school. Some already have transferred to schools east or outside of the apartheid wall. Other hurdles include road blockades which contribute to the problems students face in the west bank on a daily basis. Spice of the problem The irony to all of this is that "Education" which is spread nowadays like air and water on a worldwide basis –the people across Europe and the USA and Japan are good witnesses to such spread- is facing the same sort of dilemma in Palestine as space and water.

This dilemma being that education is facing the same sort of scarcity just like water and "air" or space to breath in Palestine. For example, the Palestinians in Gaza are seeking to re-build some 200 schools, while in the west bank and Jerusalem colleges and universities are insufficient to meet the various Tawjeehi (a governmental general Exam -on the last year of high school- graduates. In Jerusalem specifically, the education system is ruled to the desires of the Israeli ministry of education and not necessarily to the equirements perceived by the people who live in Jerusalem namely the Palestinians. For example the Palestinians who are "No Less than the Israelis in other parts of the very same Jerusalem East & West…" are crying out their hearts for extra space and rooms for the classes that will accommodate the thousands of students.

We are not talking of who decides the curriculum yet! Do the schools have playgrounds, or do all schools have state of the art teaching classrooms. In essence high school graduates (students) have to search outside universities as alternatives. An infant spice to the problem is what is currently taking place as result of the apartheid wall in Al AIZARIEH – at the kindergarten of "COMBIO DE GOZALES" where the children will be deprived from the same kindergarten whom many of the parents attended in their childhood!!?? This will occur when the last block of the wall is inserted. The solutions available to the Palestinians: The campaign will coordinate with European and foreign NGOs to help solve and overcome the challenges in the education facing the Palestinians. Examples include the cooperation of the people of the UK to provide education such English classes and math classes. Twinning campaigns of cities and universities is a smart idea.

Please visit our website: www.letpalstudy.org.uk

E-mail: Westbank@letpalstudy.org.uk