Gaza, ALRAY - “I get out every day from my house in Jabalia refugee camp, northern of the Gaza Strip, at seven o’clock. I wait for almost half an hour till I find a taxi to get to Al-Jala’a St. and then I wait a gain for another taxi to go to my university.”
That is exactly what happens every day with Ahmed Judah, a student at Al-aqsa University in Gaza. He added "I always reach the university late and miss some lectures in addition to the physical exhaustion which affects me a lot.”
The suffering of Amer Mehanna, a student at a secondary school, is not much different, “ I reach my school very tried and exhausted because I have to walk very long distance. Me and my colleagues used to take a taxi to drive us to school every day but due to fuel crisis, it is very hard to find one.”
According to the Ministry of Transportation , the transportation sector has been affected directly by the ongoing crisis of fuel shortage, whereas, more than 20 thousands taxis, 300 buses, 30 thousands private cars, 10 thousands motorcycles and 20 thousands load trucks have stopped operating. Dozens of citizens bunch up at the streets waiting for taxis to get to their jobs, schools and universities.
Anwar Al-Bara’wi, a senior official at the Ministry of Education , said that the ongoing crisis affected the educational process in different ways , “ we have half million students at the government and UNRWA schools including students with special needs , all of them face real difficulty in reaching their schools; some of them forced to walk very long distances.”
He also said that his ministry was forced to halt construction works of 10 new schools due to the lack of construction materials.
Khalil Hammad, Director of Higher Education at the Ministry of Education, affirmed that the higher education sector is also affected of the fuel crisis and the blockade.
“130 thousands students, studying at the Gaza Strip universities, face a real suffering in their way from and to their universities and colleges. The educational process has been affected badly because of the power cuts and lack of fuel , especially in the fields that based mainly on power such as computer and medical labs.”
He also referred to the suffering of stranded students who were not able to leave the Strip to complete their study abroad because of the closure of Rafah crossing.
Hammad called on the international community and human rights organizations to intervene immediately and lift the unjust blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip. He mentioned that all international conventions assured the right of every man to receive education in safe and stable circumstances.
