Sitting at their desk, at the Tahwita mixed public school, in Furn El-Chebbak, on the outskirts of Beirut, Cybèle, Tia and Khaled do not know: this morning of Tuesday, November 12, an evacuation order has just been issued. will be issued by the Israeli army for several neighborhoods in the capital’s southern suburbs. located less than ten minutes by car from your establishment. This means that fighter jets will soon take to the skies and drop bombs on designated areas, where Jewish state forces say they are targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.
Calm still reigns. Young teenagers enjoy the joy of being back at school from the day before. “I found my friends, my lovers, I am close to them. I want to study. There is no stress here”says Cybèle Zein, 13 years old. At home, at his grandmother’s house, there is adult anxiety, the television constantly on with its procession of macabre news and destruction filmed live. The school is a milestone of life before the war, offering a semblance of normality. Cybèle had to leave Haret Hreik, a heavily bombed neighborhood in the southern suburbs. The family doesn’t know if their apartment is still complete.
The start of the school year in public schools, attended by children from the poorest households (those in the middle and upper classes usually receive private education), had been delayed. Because of the war and because of the transformation of these establishments into shelters for displaced people who fled from the regions attacked by the Israeli offensive launched on September 23. More than 200,000 Lebanese had registered by early November to continue their education in the public sector.
“A safe region”
“We resumed lessons, welcomes 13-year-old Tia Mcantaf, who lives in Aïn El-Remmaneh, a suburb of Beirut near the southern suburbs. At home we hear the bombs, but it’s safe. The war won’t stop me from concentrating. »
“I don’t want to miss another year. school”, says Khaled Charafeddine, 14, who has just returned from Akkar, a poor region in northern Lebanon, where he took refuge with his family. Public schools closed for a year and a half, in 2020-2021, due to the Covid-19 epidemic and online teaching was very chaotic.
Thirty minutes after the evacuation order, the Israeli attacks began. The closest ones will occur just over 2 kilometers away. The recess bell rings. In the courtyard, where a Lebanese flag hangs, students play and eat. Suddenly, an explosion more violent than the previous ones. Children’s cries. Screams of teenagers. The school educates 120 students from kindergarten to certificate. The director, Claude Harfouche, directs and brings them together. With a firm voice, try to calm them down: “We are in a safe region. We should not panic. »
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