Throughout difficult roads and in steep mountainous slopes the students of Abzig east of the city of Tubas in the northern Jordan Valley struggle to attain their right to education after the Israeli occupation forces have mobilized all their efforts to harass children at the elementary school in an attempt to destroy their future.
In the context of denying them the right to build any educational facility in the Jordan Valley the residents of Abzig found their hope in the house of the late Marwan Majali which was given by his family to be used as a school an old building that has a historical significance to the family. The building became one of the “Challenge Schools” and life hope and laughter have spread again in the school.
Pupil Abeer Haroub could not hide her smile as she carried her bag and got on the vehicle that was provided by the Ministry of Education to transport the students from their homes to the school.
Abdullah Sawafta one of the locals told the PIC that education remained the most valuable thing for the Palestinians and it served as their weapon in the face of occupation stressing that Challenge School 10 in the house of Majali is the most visible expression of this situation and a beacon of steadfastness of the people of the region in the face of occupation.
On confrontation lines
Abzig is a home for 38 families who are refugees from towns and villages occupied by Israel in 1948 and they live on farming and grazing livestock. The Israeli occupation authorities consider their village illegal and claim it to be in a military zone and restrict them in all walks of life in order to pressure them to leave.
Sawafta underlined “The paving of roads is prohibited including building infrastructure for water and electricity and the construction of schools and cement houses. The area is a home for training and military maneuvers.”
The house of Majali after becoming a school served as a thorn in the throat of the occupation authorities that is not satisfied with its existence nor is it able to demolish it because the building is old (before 1967).
Prior to turning the house into a school the students had to travel 15 kilometers a day to reach the nearest school. Now the school is available. A vehicle was also provided to transport students from their homes in the mountainous slopes and bring them home by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
But the occupation as usual according to the Director of Education in Tubas Saeed Qabha seeks by all means to impede the educational process in these areas and stand against “the Challenge Schools.” The old building (house of Majali) consists of three rooms the Ministry added two caravans to be used by the school’s administration and teachers but the occupation authorities removed them.
He affirms that whatever the policy of the occupation in areas (C) is the right to education will be given to the children despite all the challenges adding: “It is the tenth Challenge School (Marwan Majali) as part of a series of schools opened by the Ministry of Education in various areas of our homeland especially in areas threatened with displacement.”
