During this week, 30 minutes a day of awareness of the Palestinian cause was integrated into the curriculum of Tunisian universities and colleges. A way to make students aware of the humanitarian issue, according to teachers.
From our correspondent in Tunis,
At Mohamed Salah Jabri High School in the southern suburbs of Tunis, Palestinian flags adorn the walls. A demonstration of solidarity in the face of the current conflict. The place is symbolic. The area was bombed in 1985 by an Israeli raid on Operation Wooden Leg, which targeted members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
“Hamam Chott municipality is characterized by this history due to the bombing of Palestinian resistance fighters, so our solidarity is obvious,” said Hassan Ben Tanfous, the school’s principal. And the students have also been sensitive to the Palestinian cause for several years. “Even during the celebration of sports students, we can see that many students dress with keffiyeh and wave the Palestinian flag, there is an awareness of young people since childhood,” he says.
► See also: In Gaza, Israeli bombs continue to claim victims
A special session integrated into the curriculum
This week, they chatted with their Arab teacher about the history of Palestine. A special session integrated into the curriculum in relation to the news of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Oumeima, 13, already has her opinion on the importance of a week devoted to Palestine: “For me, there are still students who are not yet sufficiently informed. Everyone must be aware, whether it is bombings and deaths because it can happen to us too, we must have empathy, says the teenager.
Emphasize human rights
Instead of initiating debates about the conflict, the Ministry of Education wanted to highlight human rights, according to Nadia Aghrebi, head of the ministry’s preparatory cycles. “It is very important because it is a way to engage our students to take a stand, to express themselves, to give their opinion, to become aware of human rights,” explains Nadia Aghrebi.
The activities of the clubs within the school will also focus on this topic. “They will be supervised by teachers, instead of turning to hate speech, they will probably express themselves in an artistic way,” she adds.
Bias in favor of the Palestinian cause is adopted in this training program, adapted to Tunisia’s diplomatic position, in support of Gaza.
.
