High fliers: Gaza’s children break through hopelessness to soaring heights
The kites of more than 15,000 Palestinian children in Gaza filled a blue Gazan sky recently, breaking the world record for the largest number of kites flown simultaneously in a thirty second period. For these children who live under an ongoing blockade, in a place associated only with violence, competing in the UNRWA Summer Games was a chance to escape and just be children.Eleven-year old Rawia explained why she chose to make her kite the Palestinian flag. “When I fly it, I feel like I’m raising my country and my flag up, up in the sky.”
Slogans written on the children’s hand-made kites contained messages of hope and peace–messages urging the end of the over four-year land and sea blockade on Gaza and calling for peace with Israel for all children to live in peace and security.
“We brought happiness to our country by breaking the world record,” said 13-year-old Nadia of the kite flying. “Today because we broke the world record, I feel like I have rights and that I’m like everyone else in the world.”
When I fly it, I feel like I’m raising my country and my flag up, up in the skySponsored by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the Summer Games have for the fifth year, given the children of Gaza a safe place to play, learn, make friends and express themselves freely. This year, a quarter of a million children signed up to participate in the event, including parachute games, dribbling footballs, hand painting, and kite flying.
The kite flying record, previously held by China, marked the end of the six-week Summer Games and was the seventh Guinness World Record that the children of Gaza have broken in the past two years.
"It was nothing short of miraculous," says UNRWA’s spokesman Chris Guinness. "The tiny ‘David’ of Gaza has overcome the mighty ‘Goliath’ of China; even more astonishing that the children of Gaza achieved this under the punishing, illegal blockade. The kites will provide another iconic reminder of the beauty and potential of these children, despite the injustices they face."
I feel like I have rights and that I’m like everyone else in the world"The world record attempts, and more generally summer camps, give Gazan youth structured play and learning during the school break,” explains Siobhan Kimmerle, World Vision’s Gaza Programme Director. “Without such initiatives, many would be left idle; instead the kite event was a way to uplift the spirits and hopes of over 15,000 youth. The question before us all is... how to help nurture those hopes and dreams into reality."
Living under the Israeli military blockade since the summer of 2007, the people of Gaza have experienced higher unemployment rates of about 36%, deterioration in living conditions, and higher food prices, leaving 80% of the population dependent on humanitarian assistance. Since 2006, 1,463 Palestinian children have been killed. Last May, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that 331 Palestinian children have been injured in 2011 alone, 30% of whom reside in the Gaza Strip.
The kites will provide another iconic reminder of the beauty and potential of these children, despite the injustices they face.There is also limited space for children to play and participate in extracurricular activities. With over half of the population of Gaza under the age of 18, the UNRWA Summer Games offer an escape from the ongoing violence and hardships experienced by the Palestinian children of Gaza.
“The people of Gaza, especially its children deserve the right to be like every other child in the world,” says Mohammad El-Halaby, World Vision’s North Gaza Area Development Programme Manager. “To play without fear, to feel safe, to be a child. To fly a kite.”
Mohammad continues, “It was wonderful to see these children flying their kites. If only for a moment, their kites were able to soar above the chaos of their daily lives.”
World Vision sponsors 4,950 children and works with 47 community-based organisations and schools in the Gaza Strip. World Vision was proud to be among several organisations that helped fund the Kite Flying event for the children of Gaza. With offices in North and South Gaza, World Vision works with communities to empower and transform the lives of families and children so that all children are cared for, protected and participating in their communities.
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Sources:
1) United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs occupied Palestinian territory (UN OCHA), “The Monthly Humanitarian Monitor May 2011”, www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_the_humanitarian_monitor_2011_06_16_english.pdf. Last accessed on August 3, 2011.
2) “Israeli and Palestinian Children Killed September 29, 2000 – Present”, www.ifamericansonlyknew.com. Based on statistics from Remember These Children and B’Tselem- The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories Last accessed on August 3, 2011.
3) Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO), “Socio-Economic Report June 2011, www.unsco.org. Last accessed on August 4, 2011.