Orkney islanders will gather on the Kirk Green, Broad Street, Kirkwall, between 1 and 2pm on Saturday 28th in their weekly vigil calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

In Gaza the horrors continue to be inflicted on the civilian population by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

Save The Children  estimated in January 2024 that more than 10 children per day have lost limbs since the war began. At the United Nations on Friday, Prime Minister of Belgium, Alexander Croo told members that,

” Over 15,000 people in Gaza need prosthetics because of lost limbs. 10,000 of these victims are children. Where is the human dignity in all this?”

Thousands of amputations took place without anaesthetics because there were no supplies. Gaza now has the largest number of child amputees in the world.

On Friday, members of the United Nations walked out as the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, headed towards the podium to address those few left in the hall. Hundreds of thousands of people had taken to the streets of Manhattan protesting against Netanyahu, the genocide being committed in Gaza, and the most recent attacks in Lebanon where the death toll continues to mount. The protestors included many Jews. One of those who attended the ‘Hands off Lebanon’ protest in New York was Rabbi Yitzchok Deutsch. Rabbi Yitzchok declared that they stand with the Palestinian and Lebanese people.

Impact on Education Will Last for Years

In a new report by a team of academics working in partnership with UNRWA, it states that for those children who survive in Gaza, their education will be set back at least 5 years. The report also details the devastating impact the attacks are having on children, young people and teachers, in accounts from frontline staff and aid workers.  The study was a joint undertaking involving UNRWA and researchers at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge and the Centre for Lebanese Studies.

Click on this link to access the report: Palestinian Education Under Attack in Gaza

‘It is important to note that the impact on education in Gaza is compounded by 17 years of blockade and recurrent attacks that precede the current war in Gaza ‘

Overview of impact on students, teachers and infrastructure

Without urgent, large-scale international support for education, the researchers suggest that there is a significant threat not just to students’ learning, but their overall faith in the future and in concepts such as human rights. Despite this, the study shows that education has been deprioritised in international aid efforts, in favour of other areas. “Education, simply put, is not seen as lifesaving,” the report warns.

Professor Pauline Rose, Director of the Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre, University of Cambridge, said:

“Palestinian education is under attack in Gaza. Israeli military operations have had a significant effect on learning.”

“As well as planning for how we rebuild Gaza’s shattered education system, there is an urgent need to get educational support for children now. Education is a right for all young people. We have a collective responsibility to protect it.”

UNRWA remains the largest provider of emergency learning and psychosocial support (PSS) across the Gaza Strip.  More than 659,000 children continue to be out of school since the beginning of the war.  On 1 August 2024, UNRWA began to roll out its first phase response of ‘Back to Learning’ with a focus on mental health activities. 

Following the roll out of the “Back to Learning” programme in UNRWA shelters, more than 8,500 children, 60 per cent of whom are girls, have benefited from it. Back to Learning” activities, include basic literacy and numeracy sessions, PSS sessions, and recreational activities such as arts, music, and sports.

Islanders in Orkney have been supporting Hope and Play a UK charity which  operates in the villages and refugee camps under occupation in the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza Strip, and in Lebanon. Nadia and Edwin Heath have a garden dedicated to the Children of Gaza which was opened in 2014.

Why remember ?

In the summer they held an open day so that people could come together, and view the garden.

It is vital that as the numbers of those murdered in Gaza mount each day that we remember that each one represents an individual life.

You can view Mike Robertson’s latest film of the vigil in Orkney here:

Fiona Grahame