Episcopal School on West Bank Buffeted by Mideast Violence
Episcopal News Service. November 26, 2002 [2002-269]
Nancy Dinsmore, Director of development and communications for the Diocese of Jerusalem
A teacher ushered two students into the principal's office at the Arab Evangelical School, located in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on a recent Monday morning.
Unlike similar scenarios at most schools, it was the parents not the children who were in trouble, neglecting to pay their children's tuition. Administration officials say this phenomenon has become increasingly common at the kindergarten-through-12th-grade academy, forcing them to make some tough decisions. All families have felt the economic repercussions of the continuing conflict in the region. The city of Ramallah, a jewel of the West Bank just a few years ago, has suffered extensive damage since the latest Intifada started two years ago.
"It's hard to judge who can pay and who can't," said Sister Vreni Wittwer, director of the school.
Funding problems are just one sign that the Arab Evangelical School, an institution of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, faces challenging times. The school has a very lively scholarship program, and actively solicits support for its students from all over the world. No one is asked to leave the school for the inability to pay fees. Still, school officials say they are thankful for the support they have received from overseas donors, and say they trust that the Lord will provide.
"The Lord called us to pray to give us this day our daily bread; we don't need bread for a year ahead," Wittwer said. "I'm proud to say that we've never not paid our teachers' salaries on time."
Some relief
Indeed, the Arab Evangelical School stayed open from October till the present time despite regional curfews. During the latest siege the school had about 90 percent attendance from its some 540 Christian and Muslim students. Meanwhile, Israelis loosened army-mandated curfews for the Muslim celebration of Ramadan, providing slight relief for the students and faculty during an otherwise dark time, administrators say.
"I cannot say these are easy days, but I can't say they're hard days at the same time," headmistress Samira Nasser said.
The school library exemplifies Nasser's statement. The library could use several more Arabic books, and librarian Samia Salameh said she looks forward to making some purchases with the money she receives from the Diocese of Jerusalem's book program. Still, in other ways it is technologically advanced, offering Internet access and an encyclopedia for computers on CD-ROM.
More tech-related materials will be offered at the soon-to-open diocesan technological education department, which aims to provide youth with long-term job skills. That center may start offering programs across the street for students at the start of the next semester.
Playing vital role
The first phase of the vocational training center will include laboratory space for students to take apart phones and other equipment to see how it works. Seventh, eighth and ninth graders from the Arab Evangelical School and local Roman Catholic and Lutheran schools will be the first to use the center.
Eventually, the center will contain a carpentry workshop, an industrial kitchen for culinary training and a computer lab. It currently contains a gym with a full basketball court that could be used by the school or for future student retreats. Giovanni Anbar, who holds a mechanical engineering degree and vocational training experience, will manage the center, which stands in a building formerly used by the Arab Evangelical Home for Boys.
The boys home merged with the girls home several years ago, and it continues to serve a vital role for 21 children in Ramallah who lack parental support or whose parents have died.
As in the past, many students at the school still plan to attend college, and a large percentage aim to go to the nearby Bir Zeit University. However, many of those students say their future looks rather bleak these days.
Waiting for God's help
Junior Zaki plans to go to Bir Zeit to study business. But after that, there are a lot of unknowns, he said. "There is no future for anybody," he said.
Junior Hala, who hopes to study in France after high school, also said the situation is grim. She said she hopes for a long-term solution to the political situation.
"We want to have peace with the Jews," she said, though Zaki quickly added that he wants Israelis to leave the West Bank.
Like students in other parts of the world, pupils at the Arab Evangelical School often joke around, talking about pop music stars or members of the opposite sex. But almost everyone becomes somber when talking about the political situation that plagues their region. "Everybody is looking for his food, for his money," student Qassam said. "It's so hard to live here. Everybody here has difficulties."
Qassam said he wants other nations to understand the Palestinian plight.
"We want support not with money or with food, we want their opinion. We're waiting for the help of God."
War a daily reality
War is a daily reality for students and teachers alike. Ramallah has not suffered as much as northern cities like Jenin and Nablus, but the sights of tanks and soldiers have had a noticeable impact, teachers say.
"You have all these rumors that tanks and planes are coming in," said Arab Evangelical School Arabic teacher Najeh Abu Shamsyeh. "This is really destroying the academic activity."
Such violence warps the worldview of local children, Abu Shamsyeh said. For example, his 5-year-old son started inventing rhymes that curse Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Teacher Fadi Rafiti, who sat with Abu Shamsyeh in the teacher's lounge, said his 7-year-old son is obsessed with tanks and guns, and he can explain the difference between an M-16 and a 500-mm assault rifle.
"It's almost a natural part of life," Abu Shamsyeh said. "You can imagine (how the violence affects) the children playing around the checkpoints."
Like the name of the city itself, which literally means "Hill of God," administrators at the Arab Evangelical School in Ramallah say they see the school as a monument of God's work, catering to a variety of Arabs in the region--even in these difficult times.
"Our brothers, the Muslims, feel private schools have a mission, and that we can reflect in a positive way toward their children," Nasser said. "In normal life, we're recognized as one of the best schools in the area."
Digital photos available upon request. For further information contact:
Nancy J. Dinsmore at devedjer@netvision.net.il