GAZA: More than 130,000 Palestinian boys and girls in Gaza have joined summer camps run by the United Nations to give them a break from the stresses of living in a strip of land that is under an economic blockade and often embroiled in conflict with Israel.
The Palestine children, including those with disabilities, will over four weeks participate in a series of activities including greening, recycling, sports, drawing, handicrafts, and language learning, the agency said.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said a recent agency study found that 38 percent of children in Gaza showed symptoms of functional impairment affecting their daily lives.
UNRWA runs 284 schools in Gaza, serving at least 290,000 students.
“The most important thing is 130,000 children get the opportunity just to be kids despite of the economic situation, despite the ongoing conflict, they can come to summer weeks of UNRWA and just be children,” said Thomas White, the Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza.
Palestinians have lived through several wars with Israel since 2008, including five days of fighting in May, which have made healing almost impossible as the causes remain unchanged, say local and international experts.
They put the number of children needing mental health help at nearly a quarter of the enclave’s 2.3 million population that lives under a crippling blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt, which both control and restrict the Gaza Strip’s borders.
“I came here to entertain myself away from the things I had been subject to such as wars and conflicts that I witnessed. I may not be like other children (of the world) but I am trying to stay positive no matter what happens,” 13-year-old Joanna El-Halabi told Reuters at one school in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip.
The activity creates around 3,000 short-term jobs for Gaza youth, UNRWA said.
Established in 1949 following the first Arab-Israeli war, the agency provides public services including schools, primary health care, and humanitarian aid in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.
UN summer camps let kids ‘just be kids’ in Gaza
https://arab.news/vv2ke
UN summer camps let kids ‘just be kids’ in Gaza
- UNRWA said a recent agency study found that 38% of children in Gaza showed symptoms of functional impairment affecting their daily lives
- "The most important thing is 130,000 children get the opportunity just to be kids," said Thomas White, the Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza
STC announces dissolution
RIYADH: The Yemeni separatist group Southern Transitional Council (STC) has announced it will dissolve following talks in Saudi Arabia. Several STC members are in Riyadh for discussions on ending unrest in southern Yemen. The group praised Saudi Arabia’s efforts, while former STC leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi, now wanted by the Presidential Council for high treason, has fled Yemen and has not participated in the talks.
A Yemeni source told Arab News: “this announcement and ease shown in the televised video statement shows that in fact Al Zubaidi was the obstacle, and that most southerners are open to resolving their matter via dialogue and discussion”
The members of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Yemen spoke during the Riyadh Southern Dialogue Conference on Friday.
During the meeting, the Council said military operations in Hadramout and Mahra harmed the Southern cause in Yemen.
The Council said they did not participate in the decision for the military operations in Hadramout and Mahra.
"We hope to reach a vision and concept for resolving the Southern issue at the Riyadh Conference,” said the Council.
The Council thanked Saudi Arabia for hosting the dialogue conference in Riyadh.
- Below is a full translation of the STC announcement as reported by the Arabic language Yemeni news agency (SABA):
Announcement of the Dissolution of the Southern Transitional Council
The Presidency of the Southern Transitional Council, the Supreme Executive Leadership, the General Secretariat, and the other affiliated bodies convened a meeting to assess the recent unfortunate events in the governorates of Hadramout and Al-Mahrah, and the subsequent rejection of all efforts toward de-escalation and resolution. These developments have led to serious and painful consequences. Referring to the statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regarding its sponsorship of a southern dialogue to resolve the southern issue—and in order to safeguard the future of the southern cause and the right of the southern people to restore their state according to their will and aspirations, and to preserve peace and social security in the South and the broader region—we make the following declaration:
The Southern Transitional Council was established to carry the cause of the southern people, represent them, and lead them toward achieving their aspirations and restoring their state. We founded it with the belief that the goal was to achieve this mission—not to cling to it as a means of gaining power, monopolizing decision-making, or excluding others.
Since we were not involved in the decision to launch the military operation in Hadramout and Al-Mahrah—an operation that harmed southern unity and damaged relations with the coalition led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has made and continues to make great sacrifices and provide ongoing political, economic, and military support—the continued existence of the Council no longer serves the purpose for which it was created. In light of this and our historical responsibility toward the southern cause, we hereby announce the dissolution of the Southern Transitional Council, the disbanding of all its main and subsidiary bodies, and the closure of all its offices inside and outside the country. We will instead work to achieve our just southern goal by preparing for and participating in the comprehensive southern conference under the Kingdom’s sponsorship.
We commend the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its clear and explicit commitments and the sincere concern it has shown for our cause in seeking solutions that meet the aspirations and will of the southern people.
We call on all active southern figures and leaders to engage in the path of the comprehensive southern dialogue conference, hoping that the participants will reach a vision and framework to resolve the southern issue and fulfill the people’s aspirations through their free will, and to establish an inclusive southern framework.
From this platform, we call on the people of the South, our colleagues in the capital Aden, and all the governorates of our beloved South to recognize the gravity of this moment, the sensitivity of the current phase, and the importance of uniting efforts to preserve our gains and protect the South from chaos or instability.
We reaffirm our continued commitment to serving the just and legitimate cause of the southern people and achieving their aspirations according to their will. We also extend our gratitude to the leadership and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for hosting the comprehensive southern dialogue conference and for their support of the South, its cause, and its people across all fields and stages.
