{"id":3527,"date":"2025-05-19T11:16:33","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T11:16:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=3527"},"modified":"2025-05-19T11:16:33","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T11:16:33","slug":"education-itself-is-a-form-of-defiance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=3527","title":{"rendered":"\u201cEducation Itself Is a Form of Defiance\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"


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In Gaza, where<\/span> the echoes of conflict dominate daily life, education has become both a casualty and a symbol of resistance. Through shattered classrooms, broken internet connections, and the constant fear of displacement or death, students and teachers are striving to keep learning alive even when everything around them falls apart.<\/p>\n

Here, education is no longer a pathway to opportunity; it is a fight for survival. Since the escalation of the genocidal war<\/a> in October 2023, schools and universities<\/a> across Gaza have closed their doors, been bombed<\/a> and destroyed, and become shelters for displaced Palestinians. The lives, dreams, and mental health of thousands of students and educators have been transformed.<\/p>\n

All of Gaza\u2019s universities have been leveled by airstrikes. More than 85 percent of schools in Gaza have been completely or partially destroyed, according to U.N. experts. According to the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, three university presidents and over 95 university deans and professors, including 68 holding professor titles, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes.<\/p>\n

Despite the destruction and genocide in Gaza, education is still resistance. And every student and teacher who dares to dream is a symbol of unbreakable hope. <\/p>\n

Here are four of their stories.<\/p>\n

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\n Serene Nasrallah at her graduation ceremony from the Islamic University of Gaza on Aug. 8, 2023.<\/span>
\n Photo: Courtesy of Serene Nasrallah<\/span>
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Serene Nasrallah,<\/span> an assistant lecturer of English at the Islamic University of Gaza, says the war has reduced her role to that of a \u201cmediator\u201d and has redefined what it means to teach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The most impactful challenge is lack of power and internet all over the Strip as she is teaching passive online courses. \u201cI can\u2019t reach my students easily,\u201d and even communicating with fellow university staff has become difficult.<\/p>\n

She feels she shifted from being a lecturer to being only a coordinator between the course and the students \u201cI just share slides. I can\u2019t explain. I can\u2019t engage. I use my phone to manage everything \u2014 even grading.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the beginning of the war, Serene observed multiple challenges in her students. The focus has shifted from learning to getting through requirements. \u201cThey are surrounded by anxiety, fear, and anticipation; their academic level is badly affected.\u201d This war has robbed students of the time needed to focus and collect their mental capacity when needed.<\/p>\n

With no salary, minimal resources, and little emotional support, Serene presses on. She shares one tragic story that haunts her still: A student who suffered severe injuries and later died after requesting a delay for her final exam. \u201cI keep thinking of her,\u201d Serene says. \u201cHow can you ask someone to focus on grammar while they\u2019re burned and broken?\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite her exhaustion, Serene continues teaching. \u201cI do it hoping this experience might one day help me get a scholarship or job overseas,\u201d she admits. \u201cBut mostly, I do it for the reward from Allah.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most urgent need is not resources \u2014 it\u2019s security,\u201d says Serene. \u201cOnly when the bombs stop falling and the genocide ends can the learning truly begin.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Heba Alajouz volunteers at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Dei al-Balah, Gaza, on Feb. 15, 2023.<\/span>
\n Photo: Courtesy of Heba Alajouz<\/span>
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Heba Alajouz,<\/span> a third-year medical student at Al-Azhar University, has not given up on her studies. \u201cI\u2019ve been trying to continue my education in medicine, but we stopped attending university. Professors are unreachable, and some have even been killed. Others are serving in overwhelmed hospitals. We\u2019re studying independently, clinging to any resource we can find online \u2014 when there\u2019s electricity or internet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heba\u2019s education has been on hold for about eight months. Her university is destroyed, and she often lacks access to essential learning materials or the internet. \u201cI miss everything about university life: my friends, the atmosphere, the daily routine, and even the breaks we used to enjoy together,\u201d she says with deep nostalgia.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day brings a moment of hopelessness,\u201d she confesses. \u201cStill, I hold on to faith and the belief that I have a duty to continue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heba expresses deep fear that she may not be able to complete her education. She says she is in a state of emotional denial and has yet to fully process the trauma she and her peers have endured. She recounts the trauma of multiple displacements \u2014 evacuating under fire without her personal belongings or textbooks. She has lost both close friends and family members: Her grandfather died due to lack of medical treatment, and her cousin was killed during the attacks.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI miss the person I used to be.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cThere is no safe place here,\u201d she states. The war has completely altered her perception of the future. The life and career she once envisioned have vanished, and she no longer makes plans for the future until the war ends. \u201cI miss the person I used to be \u2014 my emotions, my thoughts, my sense of safety, my health, and the colorful days of the past,\u201d she reflects. She doubts those days will ever return.<\/p>\n

However, she draws inspiration from a saying of Prophet Muhammad: \u201cIf the Hour (of Judgment) comes while one of you has a palm-cutting in his hand, let him plant it.\u201d Even in the face of the end, one must strive to do good. That belief sustains her. \u201cI hope this war ends soon so we can study like students everywhere \u2014 safely and with dignity,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

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\n Fatima Skaik pictured working on architectural plans.<\/span>
\n Photo: Courtesy of Fatima Skaik<\/span>
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Fatima Skaik,<\/span> a third-year architecture student at the Islamic University of Gaza, lost both her home and university and was displaced multiple times. She had hoped to freelance as an architect and eventually work in Dubai. She once dreamed of her graduation project, which focused on advancing technology in Gaza\u2019s architecture. \u201cNow, my only dream is to survive, finish my studies, and help rebuild Gaza,\u201d she admits.<\/p>\n

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\u201cEducation itself is a form of defiance.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

Fatima was forced to pause her studies from October 2023 until August 2024. \u201cEven access to the internet remains a major obstacle in continuing my education,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Fatima\u2019s challenges include the lack of tools and spaces needed for architectural training. Yet she speaks with deep resilience: \u201cOur professors were kind. They would reach out when I disappeared due to internet outages. That kept me going. We Palestinians have an unbreakable will.\u201d<\/p>\n

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