Schools but no books: Gaza's children return to makeshift classrooms |
With no backpack, books or uniform, 11-year-old Layan Haji navigates the ruins of Gaza City and heads to a makeshift classroom after two years of war halted her education.
But the school is not what she is used to. Painted walls and students' artwork no longer adorn the walls and hallways -- instead, tents set up in a battered building serve as their temporary classrooms.
"I walk for half an hour at least. The streets are devastated, full of ruins... It is difficult and sad," Haji said, wearing a torn shirt and patched trousers.
But "I am happy to return to my studies," added the young girl, who already dreams of becoming a doctor.
Haji is one of 900 students who are going to the Al-Louloua al-Qatami school, one of a number of these establishments that have opened their doors in a bid to allow children to resume their schooling for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war broke out.
"We don't have books or notebooks. The libraries are bombed and destroyed," said Haji, who lives in a displacement camp in the Tal al-Hawa area in Gaza City.
"There is nothing left," she added.
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