Check points and clashes, but Marwan won't give up his school
by Marco Italiano
Every day 30 kilometers to reach the Effetà Institute. Marwan loves his class and would never give it up. There he found help to overcome his difficulties, communicate with others and hope for a better future.
Marwan lives in the Al-Eizariya area (named after the biblical Lazarus, whose tomb is located here under a church), which is 15 kilometers from Bethlehem. To go to school he must travel the road called Wadi Al Nar every day and pass through the checkpoint Israel known as the Container.
The mother searched so much for a place where her fourth child could apply and get a path to rehabilitation, education and learning, and she found it at the Paul VI Effetà Institute in Bethlehem. Marwan loves going to school very much and his mother finds the necessary comfort in it.
The child never missed a day despite unstable political conditions in the region. In the past there were times when Palestinians were attacked by Israeli settlers. Many families, especially those who lived near the contact points, were afraid and thought it was better not to send their children to school.
Marwan, however, did not want to stay at home and was the first to encourage his mother. The period of school closure at Effetà Institute due to Covid-19 was a very sad time for him. He could not resign himself: every day he constantly asked his mom when he would return to school and why the "vacations" were so long.
Now Marwan has finished kindergarten and has reached an excellent level in terms of linguistic and educational rehabilitation, so much so that he can now communicate with everyone despite his shyness. At the beginning of the school year, he will be in first grade to continue on that journey that, thanks to help from outside, allows him to keep hoping.
