Door Bang

Defence for Children Palestine – January 28, 2016

Meet five Palestinian children who go to school in the Old City of Jerusalem, in close proximity to Israeli settlers and armed forces. Each child describes their daily experience of unease and even bodily danger, as they travel to and attend school.

Hadeel, a tender-hearted young girl, walks her younger sister to kindergarten every morning before heading to her own school. She shares her fear that settlers will enter the building and kidnap her, as her school’s front door faces the entrance to an Israeli settler compound.

“The settlers could easily open the door and walk into our school. I’m afraid,” Hadeel states.

Hamza shows the camera a scar on his chest, the result of an Israeli soldier shooting him with a rubber-coated metal bullet. Israeli forces passing in a jeep likewise shot Ahmad’s father with a rubber-coated metal bullet as he was walking his son to school.

Rashad, a student at Riad Al-‘Aqsa school, explains the he dropped out for a while because of recent political unrest. Now that he has returned, Rashad faces regular harassment from Israeli settlers while walking or riding the bus. Sawsan Safadi, international and public relations director for the Palestinian Ministry of Education, affirms that absences like Rashad’s are quite common and hamper Palestinian children’s education.

Despite these hardships, Mohammad continues to pursue his love of theater, setting up street performances for his friends. “[W]hen I’m acting, nothing can bring me down. I act freely.”

This short film by Mouv Media, L.L.C. was produced by Defense for Children International – Palestine and War Child Holland.

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