wfn.org | Episcopalians: Episcopal school on West Bank buffeted by Mideast violence

[dmack@episcopalchurch.org]

November 26, 2002

2002-269

Episcopalians: Episcopal school on West Bank buffeted by 
Mideast violence

by Nancy Dinsmore

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."

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Digital photos available upon request. For further information 
contact:

Nancy J. Dinsmore at devedjer@netvision.net.il

--Nancy Dinsmore is director of development and communications 
for the Diocese of Jerusalem.