APPEAL FOR STATIONERY FROM THE PEOPLE OF GAZA

Tue 22 October 2024:

The people of the Gaza Strip appeal to the world to try to save the educational process by allowing stationery into the Gaza Strip.

The people accuse the Occupation of stalling the entry of stationery into the Strip and adding it to the prohibited materials, as well as accuse it of trying to keep the Strip illiterate. This situation has entered its second year, as the price of the remaining stationery, most importantly pencils and notebooks, has multiplied, given its scarcity in the market.

Ahmed Naeem, a manager at one of the Gaza Strip’s bookshops, warned that stationery would disappear from the markets in the coming few days, noting that what has been used is what remains in the warehouses, some of which have been targeted.

The people of the Gaza Strip appeal to the world to try to save the educational process by allowing stationery into the Gaza Strip. [Middle East Monitor/Mohammed Asad]

He added, “We sat with the Chamber of Commerce and communicated with international institutions to work as mediators. The merchants have clean commercial records and are ready to import paper, notebooks, books and other stationery accessories to save the current generation that has lost a school year and is preparing for a new year and may also lose it.”

Ahmed notes that the cost for students per semester has increased from 40 shekels ($12) to 200 shekels ($60), and this is very heavy on the shoulders of the people, but he notes that the prices are not the only problem. Instead, the difficulty lies in the lack of materials entering through the Crossings.

Dalia Anwar, a teacher who also runs an educational centre serving displaced people, says that she is in dire need of educational materials for students. There is a real threat of losing the school year, especially since the materials they receive are limited and there is a major security threat posed to the movement of students.

However, the problems are accumulating, including the destruction of schools, the continuous displacement of families, the lack of internet for online lessons and the inability of families to buy stationery. The world must intervene to allow the entry of stationery to the Strip so that residents can try to go on and receive some lessons.