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With more than 750,000 of those displaced by the war now returning home, the movement within Lebanon continues. As agencies work to meet the immediate needs of those who lost their homes, the schools that once housed many of those displaced are set to play a crucial role in the conflict in Lebanon – that of healing the scars of the war.
Opened by government order to all of those displaced by the war, schools like the Lebeaá Official High School near Sidon, in southern Lebanon, sheltered those uprooted by the conflict. While many passed through, many others stayed on at the school, most of them from the border towns directly affected by the fighting. With few resources to meet the peoples needs, Fr Wakim, the schools principal, turned to aid agencies like Caritas Lebanon, one of Trócaire’s partners, for assistance. With the ceasefire on August 14 people started to leave the schools to return to their homes. In the wake of that exodus, schools were often left littered with the discards of a displaced population. “The people didn’t break anything but there are hygiene and cleanliness issues,” Fr Wakim said. “We want to spray the building for insects, then we will clean it.” Assisting with that effort is one of Caritas Lebanon’s main goals as relief operations here move into their second phase. By cleaning and rehabilitating schools like the Lebeaá Official High School, Caritas is helping to ensure that the schools are ready for the next school year, pushed back by the government from the usual starting date of between September 25 and October 2 to October 9. It is an effort with far greater significance, says Fr Wakim, than just getting the schools cleaned and painted. It is here that the youth of Lebanon, many of whom volunteered to help out during the war in the very schools they had been attending, will have the chance to process the lessons they learned during the intensity of the previous weeks and begin the healing process. With the new school year, Fr Wakim said, teachers will discuss with students the many experiences they lived through during the war, and most importantly, how to avoid conflict at all levels, a critical lesson for Lebanon’s youth if the fires of war are to be avoided here in the future. Meanwhile the school year is also set to begin in Palestine and most families are dreading the return. There is uncertainty over government schools opening as striking teachers protest the non-payment of salaries and many families are wondering how they can register their children for school, with all of the accompanying fees for school books, stationary, uniforms and transportation, when they have balances owing from the last year which they cannot pay. Mervat Naber, from Caritas Jerusalem, another of Trócaire’s partners, says, “Teachers are going into their sixth month without government wages. What would any of us do under these circumstances? The mood in Palestine is simply awful and morose. Yesterday, in my office, I received one phone call after the other requesting help for students in schools and universities. People do not have money to pay their bills. Schools and universities, facing mounting debts from unpaid bills from last year, have had to institute strict policies on registrations for the upcoming year. Either the people clear their debts, pay 1/2 of their due fees up front, pay for their books and uniforms in advance, or they face the fact that their children will not be registered for school.” Adding to the worries of parents are the problems with travel to school for children because of ongoing military activity near their homes. Parents face the difficult decision whether to send their children out on the street or not. Caritas Jerusalem is hearing these worries articulated by many parents, particularly those whose children have to travel long distances to go to school because they do not have schools near their homes. Children also face serious delays in reaching their schools and returning home due to delays caused by traffic as a result of the building of the Wall.