1 August 2024 

The Arab Network for Early Childhood (ANECD) and the Palestinian Network for Early Childhood (PNECD), in cooperation with the National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA) in Jordan, held a conference entitled “Perseverance  Despite Genocide: Palestinian Children in Crises and Wars” on July 30 and 31, 2024 in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

The conference was organized by the Juzoor Organisation for Health and Social Development, the hosting organisation for the Palestinian Network. It brought together stakeholders from several institutions and countries to discuss the impact of the genocide on Palestinian children, particularly in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, through sessions that presented the catastrophic conditions of children, parents and caregivers, in addition to the challenges and best-coordinated practices.

Participants focused on incorporating lessons learned and transferring effective practices, in addition to developing regional and international collaborative responses, mobilising solidarity and advocacy for children, and encouraging relevant international institutions to redirect their humanitarian programs to address the needs resulting from the genocide in Gaza and its long-term effects. 

They also addressed various topics, most notably food insecurity and its effects on children in Gaza, the issue of innovative techniques and technologies in emergency contexts, and presenting effective strategies for the holistic development of young children in Palestine, in addition to developing solutions and working on partnerships.

In the most prominent speeches and interventions, the General Coordinator of the Arab Network, Dr Ghassan Issa, stressed that despite the tragedies and genocide, the perseverance and strength of the Palestinians is the title of this conference, pointing to the efforts of the Arab Network in this context, most notably the calls to action based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in addition to forming an emergency unit from the Arab networks and national committees concerned with the childhood sector from several countries. Issa thanked the international associations and friend regional networks that helped ANECD amplify its voice to the early childhood community and caregivers around the world.

Issa indicated the importance of grasping the magnitude of the challenge, thoroughly understanding and learning about the perseverance initiatives of the early childhood sector in Palestine, and most crucially, providing solidarity and support to revive Gaza after the ceasefire and the revelation of the true extent of human and material losses.

For his part, the Secretary-General of the National Council for Family Affairs, Dr Mohamad Al Mekdadi, underscored the importance of focusing on what children are exposed to during crises, their rights, and the most prominent strategies for dealing with these crises. He emphasised that the meeting’s significance lies in the discussions and debates of Arab and international networks, calling for unified international efforts to stop the war and rebuild the health, educational, and humanitarian facilities it has destroyed.

In turn, the Director General of the “Juzoor Foundation”, Dr Umayya Al-Khammash, stressed the need to intensify international efforts to save Gaza’s children and highlight the events taking place in the Strip and what children in Palestine are exposed to in general. He condemned the occupation’s violation of international standards and its continued targeting of civilians and innocents, including children, women, infrastructure, and health.

Dr Rima Salah, head of the Early Childhood Peace Consortium, stated that investing in early childhood is achieved by focusing on security and sustainable peace while mitigating threats to children, calling for the protection of children in areas of conflict, achieving social justice, and developing care and protection for children.

From Ireland, Siobhan Fitzpatrick, Chair of the International Network for Peacebuilding with Young Children, called for an immediate ceasefire and for the international community to “unwaveringly commit to forging strong partnerships to implement and scale up early childhood development services that foster a culture of peace.” Fitzpatrick emphasized the crucial significance of the term “perseverance” in the conference title. She offered insights from Ireland’s early childhood support experience in terms of networking, relationship building, and a long-term vision and approach that are effective during periods of high conflict, peacebuilding and peacekeeping, and other inspiring experiences.

In addition, the Secretary-General of the Moroccan Foundation for the Promotion of Pre-school Education, Aziz Kaichouh, suggested that the Arab Network adopt a special program for Gaza, prepared by the emergency unit. The program should include three dimensions:

• Organising monthly remote meetings that include actors and specialists from around the world and address specific topics.
• Publishing periodic or monthly blogs and articles on social media networks, newspapers and magazines.
• Intensifying the efforts of the Arab Network, as a member of international organizations, by encouraging its members to issue statements and organize meetings with these organizations.

In the context of responses and follow-ups to the genocide, Rim Othman, coordinator of the “Urjouha” website affiliated with the “Arab Network,” spoke about the “Urjouha” and “Health, Early Learning, Protection, and Parenting for Young Children” (HEPPP) programs. She affirmed the commitment of both programs to adopt a holistic, participatory, and integrative approach. Othman demonstrated how “Urjouha” has responded during crises by continuously publishing articles, information, advice, and guidance on the platform that can be utilized during such periods. Additionally, the website provides caregivers with answers to children’s questions about war, death, occupation, and other issues that may arise.

From Lebanon, Rita Karam, Secretary-General of the “Higher Council for Childhood,” affiliated with the Ministry of Social Affairs, presented the situation of children and caregivers amid the Israeli war in southern Lebanon. She detailed the challenges children face, including destruction, displacement, limited access to necessary healthcare, and hindrances in education, all within the context of an already collapsing economy.

Regarding the war and its impact on Palestine and its children, Tareq Emtairah, Director-General of the “Taawon Association,” noted that there are between 19,000 and 25,000 orphans in Gaza, with more than half under the age of 12. He noted that many children have lost their extended families and that hundreds of orphans have also lost their official documents during the genocide. Emtairah warned that the current support system has completely collapsed, presenting “Taawon’s” interventions, notably the orphan sponsorship project.

Dr. Yehya Abed, project manager at “Juzoor” in Gaza, explained the shift in the organization’s nature of work due to the departure of foreign organizations from Gaza and northern regions. He mentioned expanding their work to include emergency services, daily care, vaccination campaigns, mental health, psychosocial support, and care for the elderly.

The symposium also highlighted the severe challenges faced by the “United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees” (UNRWA), primarily the weakness of healthcare and psychological services and the lack of medication. Dr. Raed Amro, head of UNRWA’s field health program in the West Bank, explained that the organization had tried to purchase essential medicines from local markets at inflated prices. He noted that UNRWA had finally secured a decision to resume importing from Israel, but the medicines had not yet arrived (as of the publication date).

The symposium also addressed the concept of “un-childing,” which Professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian elaborated on. She pointed out that the Israeli occupation uses childhood as political capital and stressed the need to think about methodologies to challenge the system that employs “colonial un-childing” as part of the state’s political resource list.

Nabila Espanioly, director of the “Childhood Center,” emphasized the importance of a liberating approach to psychosocial support, clarifying that it is more effective with community support. She stressed the necessity of moving from individual to collective work. Espanioly also addressed the concept of trauma in the Palestinian context, which is ongoing and has historical, political, and economic dimensions, as well as the collective memory of trauma and how to deal with it.

The symposium provided a space to exchange effective practices for supporting young children in emergencies and crises from various countries, including Ukraine through the “International Step by Step Association” (ISSA), Yemen through the “Supreme Council for Childhood and Motherhood,” Sudan through iACT, and Syria through the “Aga Khan Foundation.” Participants also included the “World Food Program in Jordan,” “Seenaryo,” “Plan International,” “Ahlan Simsim,” the “Palestine Children’s Relief Fund,” UNICEF, Moving Minds Alliance, “The Palestinian Happy Child Center,” and the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY Palestine).

You can view the final statement of the symposium via the following link

Final-Program

Symposium-for-Young-Children-Concept-Note