– You cannot go a day without seeing a headless corpse or an amputated child. It’s terrible. You go there, you’re covered in blood, and then you go back home. Every second is so dangerous. Medical student Manar Hazem Al Khodari from Gaza talks to news before she goes to the podium in front of an ocean of people at Youngstorget in central Oslo on Saturday. LONGING FOR HOME: Manar Hazem Al Khodari (23) says her mother feared for her life every day she went to work in a hospital. Photo: Astri Olsen Husø / news She is one of ten medical students from Palestine who have been allowed to come to Norway to complete their studies at the University of Oslo. Before she got that far, she had to flee from Israeli bombs. Many times. – I worked in most of the hospitals in Gaza. In all, I fled 16 times. It wasn’t easy, but every time I went to the hospital in that area. To help those I could. Despite the risk, the 23-year-old will return as soon as the degree is complete. – Yes. I felt like a traitor when I left Gaza. I can’t imagine being gone a day longer than I have to. The longing gets worse every day. On the podium, Manar opens with a fiery poem, to great cheers. – They can bomb our schools, our homes too, and threaten to take our country, but they can never take the spirit that drives us! SOON DOCTOR: Manar Hazem Al Khodari is in his sixth year of study, and was due to graduate from Al-Azhar University in Gaza in a few months. Photo: Amanda Pedersen Giske / NTB Schools are bombed Today’s commemoration is in support of Palestinian schoolchildren, teachers, professors and students, says organizer and head of the Palestine Committee in Oslo, Anine Barg. – Today we mark that the school children and students in Gaza have no schools to go to. Because about 90 percent of them are broken bombs. And those that are not completely destroyed have been turned into refugee camps. But they are also attacked, says Barg. CRITICAL: Leader Anine Barg of the Palestine Committee in Oslo believes the government must do more to stop the war in Gaza, including withdrawing all Norwegian investments from Israeli businesses. Photo: Astri Olsen Husø / news According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), half of all schools where Palestinians seek refuge are directly affected by Israeli rocket attacks. The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) claims, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, that several schools they have attacked were used by soldiers from Hamas. After the attack on the al Tabieen school on August 10, the IDF said the school was a command center for Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The school attacks are the reason why 10-year-old Elias Saker Hassan was also among the speakers at the commemoration in Oslo. – It is very stupid, because when the war is over in Gaza, the children will not be able to learn anything. He hopes the war will soon stop. – Because I want to save my country from occupation. And I don’t want many children to die. UREDD: 10-year-old Elias Saker Hassan spoke at the commemoration at Youngstorget. Photo: Astri Olsen Husø / news Teachers in protest The Norwegian Education Association in Oslo is among the organizations present with a banner. Several teachers are there to show their support for colleagues in the Gaza Strip. “School is security. School is friendship. School is hope. Stop the bombing of schools,” reads a poster. COLLEAGUES: The Swedish Education Association participates in the support march for, among others, teachers in Gaza. Photo: Amanda Pedersen Giske / NTB Two girls dressed in traditional Palestinian costumes each hold a poster with the slogans “Free Palestine” and “497 school buildings destroyed”. According to an overview from Al Jazeera, 500 schools have been hit by attacks in the Gaza Strip since the war broke out between Israel and Hamas on 7 October last year. According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, the war has cost more than 40,000 Palestinians their lives, including hundreds of children. It is believed to be large dark numbers. Published 17.08.2024, at 18.36
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Palestinian student spoke when several thousand showed support for Gaza in Oslo – Greater Oslo
