Over the last few weeks parents all over the world, myself included, sent our kids back to school. There was lots of hustle bustle and excitement in the air as kids started new grades and new schools.
Parents posted pictures of smiling kids, marveling at how much they grew from the year before. Kids posted selfies showing off new haircuts, new outfits and reunions with friends.
Despite all the excitement my heart felt heavy and I felt sadness as I posted pics of my kids and commented on pictures posted by family and friends.
My heart feels heavy knowing that in Palestine, there are kids for whom back to school is not an option. Kids who want to learn and be with friends but cannot move around freely without fear of being killed. Kids who can’t even think about getting an education because their only thought is whether they will be able to get food or have to go yet another day with nothing to eat. Kids who have lost their parents and now have to focus on just trying to survive on their own with no support. And even if they were able to go to school, how can they when 97% of schools in Gaza have been destroyed? (source: UNRWA)
How can I as a mother, as a person, as a human be happy for some children when I know there are other children across the world being starved and killed intentionally?
I mean, shouldn’t ALL children have the right to learn? Shouldn’t ALL children have the right to laugh? Shouldn’t ALL children have the right to just be a child? The answer is, and always must be, “YES!”.
The world feels heavier. The pain I feel for these children breaks my heart. The dark clouds cannot be lifted until the genocide against the people of Palestine is stopped and the children are free to be children again.
Farheen's Corner 
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