January 19th, 2014

• 16 and 17 the of January Two Days of labor.
  

It was Thursday morning when I've started my day. The weather sounds perfect to sip my coffee on the rooftop .at that day I was inspired by everything around, the dimmed horizon started to polish gradually. It was the daybreak time. The rooster was yielding for every creature; it was awakening the earth, announcing the birth of a new day.

I was watching the sun disk blooming, some clouds were gathering here and there in the sky, like the cattle were following each other .the birds started to sing their everyday symphony, on their sounds the trees reacted and started to dance pushed by the western breeze who hosted them. The folk of seagulls were soaring over sea sphere watching wishfully to join me and be part of this union.

The sun, the clouds, the morning birds, the trees, the rooster and everything in nature are working in a harmonic way to complete each other. I was part of this harmony , I was part of this cycle , My eyes stared at the sphere of the infinite ocean , My ecstasy was when I recognized how nature works 



It was 7:30 am my time to do my daily list, and prepare my Nescafe.  The first place to start my labor was the school. It was 8:15, when I first arrived to the school. The children surrounded me ." the school is clean Sir "a group of them shouted . Another group came to me telling "Ahmed brought his extra back bag to his friend Khalid, another child took my hand bag telling me, let me help you. It was very rare feeling,


It was 10:30 am when I had to meet the teachers; my meeting lasted for twenty minutes.  Me and them agreed to work in the soul of a team work, and if all the people let our children down we won't.

I appreciated them and I ended the meeting after I was assured that they are doing their jobs perfectly

My next course was to 'Akkar region' it is about 40 km north of Tripoli where I carried a bag of gifts to the Syrian refugee's children of Al-Nour school.

It was 1:30 pm when I was there. I was welcomed warmly by the principle and the teachers, "you came on time" the principle said, we have a celebration in the school. I was happy for that. Firstly, let me see the children of the school, 
about 200 shiny faces were looking to me .they are the children of the school.

I am Mustafa , I am Syrian Like you , I have 350 kids like you they love you so much , they had a gifts from  a sweet American kids like you and them , they had theirs ,and asked me to give you yours . The smiles filled every child face. There are still people who are thinking about you and appreciating you dears . 
you are the third school who who had from this inspiring gifts , 

  Kids! My advice to you is, to be one, where everyone helps the other, clean your school, respect your teachers, and obey your parents at home. And do your homework daily.  Me, and the director of the school will be in every class, sharing you the gifts after the celebration.


The celebration started with a ritual religious praising of our prophet Mohammed (peace be up on him). I was shocked when I've noticed that the celebration had lasted so long while we have our comfortable chairs and the children are standing, the principle is a religious man   , he started his speech and he was talking to the children in a very difficult standard Arabic language. The children looked so tired unknowing what his speech is about , I asked them to stop  , that isn't fair . Stop that. All of them were silent, when I was talking, that enough for them.

 I have shared the gifts for the children; I have finished my visit to this school at 2:30 pm. I was told by the director of the school that there is another school wish to meet me. They are not so far from here, it is a big school for 700 Syrian displaced kids . The school starts at 3 pm," he said"

Well- lets go. I am happy to be part of these lovely kids time. I wish I had more gifts to share with them. It was about 30:30 pm when I was in the school.

  I spent more than one hour wandering and watching the children .it was a mixed feeling of bitterness and sadness looking to their faces. There is a tragedy behind every child word, a lot of suffering and cruelness rolled their life in these three years. Nobody cares, I have seen the children learning in the dark, it was the evening there is no electricity in the school. Only their shiny faces gave the lights to the teachers to teach them. The reflection of darkness, in the rooms of the school, transformed in my mind into light. Yeas it is the light of hope , I did recognized what is the meaning of this ten thousand years of civilization in Syrian . the resolution in their eyes was so remarkable . Isn't a dark? I asked one of the classrooms. No Sir ,we see everything , yeas my kids , Your eyes is telling me so , I will do my best to help you dear kids ,( Shokran Ostaz, mabdna ela slamtak ) which means their gratitude for my kind way of offering the help and giving the hope in words  , it is unforgettable words comes from the mouths of those lovely angels .

 I have met the teachers and the principle which they became for me the only lively conscious in this world. They are insisting to teach their kids in the dark and in the streets while the local and international NGOs are busy with collecting and piling more money. I have promised the teachers and myself that I am going to do my best to help every school who are doing the same like them. I was so affected by the situation of education for Syrians in Lebanon.. The NGOs the local and the international don't have any observer to see that . the Syrians displaced people who don't have their daily food expense volunteered their time and their efforts to keep the process of education still alive .while in NGOs we will find a huge staff they are competing and boasting who have a higher salary . Shame on those who do shame..

It was: 5 pm when I have left the school. I called some of my friends in the area to find a solution for this very serious problem. Me and a group of well-educated people in the area took the responsibility to find channels to help these school and every child out of the school .it was Friday when we called for a conference for eighteen school to enter in a kind of strike for eighteen schools in a different region in Lebanon. We want the media and all the world to listen to our children demands, and their legal right of education, the strike will be under the name of "who doesn't teach me doesn't represent me" and this is a very clear message to Ala'etlaf in Turkey and the international NGOs.    



















       

Although I always criticize such kind of meeting but this photo on Shtora to organize the strike . on Monday  .

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some of the gifts from the USA children to the children of Syria , Sama Wareh brought them with her when she was here in last November .. She shared 350 pieces for Tuyoor Al-Amal school children she had extra 500 gifts she asked me to share them for Syrian kids in other school  , I shared them in Two schools. 300 Al-Hadeetha school in Tripoli and 200 in Akkar in Al Nour school .. 

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