This speech was delivered on July 30 2024

We gather today as the Israeli genocide against the residents and children of the Gaza Strip approaches its 300th day. This genocide has compounded years of tragic circumstances and has affected all Palestinian children, parents and caregivers in the West Bank, the 48 occupied territories, and even children in the diaspora.

Despite the horror of the image we receive from the outside, the real scene is more tragic on all levels, from the number of victims to the health situation, the spread of epidemics and diseases, food insecurity and malnutrition, and as a result of that, the death of children and premature babies, the repeated displacement, the destruction of housing units, infrastructure and education, and the loss of a school year for children. The tragedies do not end.

But in the face of tragedy and genocide, there is perseverance.

It is under this title that our conference was decided today. 

The perseverance and strength of those under genocide.

Since the beginning of the genocide, our efforts at the Arab Network for Early Childhood have been focused on raising a unified voice to stop the massacre of children and families and shedding light on what is happening there.

• We launched several calls to action based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) against all those who wanted to divert attention from Palestinian children’s right to survival and deprive them of their childhood under the flimsy pretext of terrorism.
• We launched them despite many in the world of beneficiary associations and even complicit under the pretext of balance.
• We formed an Emergency Unit of Arab networks and national committees for children in Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Oman, Lebanon and Egypt, led by the Palestinian Early Childhood Network, which is hosted by Juzoor Organisation.
• This genocide was never been absent from our publications and communications to the global early childhood community and caregivers.
• We were supported by friend international organisations and regional networks that did not succumb to pressure, for which we are very grateful.

Just as the cause of Palestinian children has been our top priority for years, we recognise that the work will not end with the ceasefire but, on the contrary, will intensify as the true extent of the human and material losses is revealed.

They have their day, but our day is yet to come:

• It is the thousands of children, families, caregivers, wounded, sick and their treatment.
• It is the thousands of those for whom ‘post-traumatic stress disorder’ no longer means anything while they are in a state of post-genocide stress disorder.

Our coming day:

• Is the scientific research as an act of resistance to expose the injustice that afflicts us.
• Is research on the impact of genocide on children’s brain development, where what we know and what has been published so far is no longer enough.
• Is researching the deaths of children from cardiac arrest due to lack of food, lack of sleep, and the constant fear adrenaline. 
• Is the many paediatric conditions, such as polio, that were on the verge of being eradicated before the genocide.    

Our coming day:

• Is the innovation of new holistic and integrative programmes based on the genocide experience after it became clear that existing programmes were unable to meet post-genocide needs.  
• Is the rebuilding of staff, and health and education systems.
• Is reconstruction. 
• Is the removal of 40 million tonnes of rubble and debris.
• Is the search for those we lost under the rubble.

The impact of the genocide is not limited to the Palestinian territories. The decision to defund UNRWA which, in addition to affecting the right of return, means exposing every Palestinian child in the diaspora camps in Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria to an uncertain future.

We are gathered here today to build on all of the above and more, to understand the current challenges and their magnitude, and to learn about and share experiences of early childhood perseverance initiatives in Palestine. Most importantly, to mobilise and coordinate to address the immediate and long-term needs of Palestinian children.

This cannot be achieved individually by each association, institution or organisation, nor can it be completed without the support of global partners who share this position.

Just as the days of separate sectoral interventions are over, so are the days of individual action and competition for funding.

Our continuous day is how we teach the world from now on to persevere in the face of genocide for the sake of our children.   

Our continuous day is not only in Palestine; it is with our children, their families and caregivers in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Sudan and all other parts of the world where they suffer injustice, unfairness, and inequity.      

It is to bring life back to all these places as they deserve. 

As long as we can…