The Pure Blood of Raghda Covers her School Seat

Translated by Saed Bannoura-IMEMC

While Raghda Al-Assar, 11 yers old, was sitting on her chair in the fourth grade, on the first week of school when a bullet penetrated her head and, leaving her innocent dreams under the mercy of the live support machines, in Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

Raghda’s blood covered her chair, in Khan Younis school for girls, which will remain empty, leaving the school for sadness and shock; after soldier opened fire at the school killing her while tens of students rushed in fear out of their classrooms an attempt to save their lives.

Teacher tried to calm the students dawn, but would they, after seeing their classmate soaked in her own blood? Screams and loud scary voices dominated the scene.

Haneen Assaf, who always sits beside Raghda at the classroom in the first raw, tells the story of the news crime;

“We were listening to our teacher when we heard shooting and a loud scream, at that moment I saw Raghda putting the right side of her head, and directly fell on the ground flooded with blood, out teacher rushed to her and carried her away taking her to Nasser Hospital, which is only some meters away from our school”, Haneen said.

Signs of fear and shock were clearly apparent on Haneen’s face, she pointed out at the window of the classroom and said; “from here the bullet entered and penetrated the head of my friend, the friend whom I can’t know when or if I will ever see her again”.

In the back raw of the classroom sits Samar Abu Khadder, she looked at Raghda’s seat and said, “she was one of the brilliant girls, always had high marks, why… why did they shoot her, what did she do to them, we are only kids who only dream to live as the other kids in this universe do, we want to play like them, to study like them, to dream like them, why do they [soldiers] have to kill us and shoot us even while we are at our classrooms on our seats”, Raghda said.

The school playground, three young girls holding each others hands, shivering from fear after seeing their schoolmate falling down covered with blood, which is still there at her seat, next to her pencil, and books.

Parents, who rushed to the school filled with fear and worries about their daughters there, said that the fire came from the military towers, which are more than 30 meters high in the settlements of Naveh Dkalim and Gani Tal.

The two settlements and military towers are only 1km away from school.

Waleed Mkheimar, teacher at the school, who condemned the crime, and continuous assaults and violations, head of the Ministry of Education in Khan Younis said that soldiers recently targeted several schools and educational facilities causing several damages in these educational institutions.

Mkheimar said that the high military towers, which are also portable, in the military camps in the west of Khan Younis have caused the death and injury of tens of students in the area, in addition to causing huge damages to several buildings and furniture.

Mkheimar appealed the International Community and Humanitarian Organizations, and ever live conscious in this universe to aide the Palestinians in protecting their children from the military fire and shelling.

Schools, are places where parents should feel safe that their kids are there, receiving education and being raised towards a better future, but military fire turned them into dangerous places.

Army, and not only in Khan Younis, has repeatedly targeted schools and school students, clearly violating all regulations and principles of human rights.

In a separate incident, but nearly same scene, soldiers fired on Tuesday at tens of students in Tubas, in the north of the west Bank, causing tens injuries.

The assault took place in “Iben Al-Nafees” Primary School for boys, in Tubas.

Tens of students suffocated after annihilating gas fired by the army while they where at their classroom and in the playground of their school.

Abdullah Al-Shareef, head of the school said that soldiers fired gas at the school while the students were playing in the playground.

“Tens of other students were scared and panicked and suffered symptoms of dizziness, while some other students fainted”, Al-Shareef said. At least four students were hospitalized.

Parents, students and teacher, and every human conscious is aiming a better future for the children of this world, schools, where children start their first years on education, should be, the most protected areas, not a subject to daily military fire and assaults.

Parents of Palestinian children are calling upon the world to help them provide a safe and healthy environment to their children in order to receive education st schools…not military fire and death.