Khan al Ahmar Update from the Field
Last month we told you about Khan al-Ahmar Elementary School, a school in the West Bank made of mud and tires that serves about 75 Bedouin children ages 6-10. The school is currently facing the threat of demolition.
Before the construction of the school in Khan al-Ahmar, children were forced to walk down a long and treacherous highway to attend a school in Jericho. Four children died making this journey prompting the villagers to look for another solution: they, with the help of an Italian NGO, built their own school.
Khan al-Ahmar school is under threat of demolition because its location prevents the expansion of two Israeli settlements. Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, but international law is not enough to protect the vulnerable Bedouin communities from forced displacement. Currently, 20 Bedouin communities face demolition and relocation orders. If these orders are carried out, 20 communities, roughly 2,300 people, will be forcibly moved from the land they have lived on since 1948 to Area B of the West Bank near a municipal dumping ground.
Last month we shared this startling violation of human rights with you and asked that you join us in showing solidarity with the students of Khan al-Ahmar. Already over 500 of you have said NO to demolitions by signing AFU’s petition on Change.org, and many of you have written personal messages of encouragement to the students at Khan al-Ahmar on UNRWA’s and AFU’s Facebook pages. Those messages were delivered to the school by UNRWA staff on October 20, along with new backpacks donated by students in Jordan.
On October 24, a delegation coordinating with AFU, delivered donated soccer balls and personalized messages of support created by students at Our Lady of the Assumption School in Sacramento, California.
Fearing the destruction of Khan al-Ahmar School will set a precedent, other organizations such as Amnesty International and UNICEF have joined the fight to save the school from being destroyed.
Despite this strong show of solidarity, the demolition order still stands. Without international pressure and court appeals, the school in Khan al-Ahmar will most certainly be destroyed. But there are ways that you can help:
- Sign and share AFU’s petition against Israeli demolitions on Change.org
- Join Amnesty International’s urgent appeal by writing to appropriate Israeli offices and to the Quartet Representative to the Middle East.
- Post your own messages of solidarity on the AFU and UNRWA Facebook pages
- Raise awareness by Tweeting this story using the hashtag #stopdemolitions
The children of Khan al-Ahmar have a right to an education free of fear and intimidation. We thank you for supporting the solidarity movement to stop demolitions of Palestinian schools, homes, and businesses in the West Bank, and we ask that you continue your support by spreading the word today.
