Lesbos: Educational Center - Getting Started!

Our teachers' room.

After long weeks of construction work, our Educational Enrichment Center at the refugee center on Lesbos is ready to start operations!  Today we held the first staff day of the Education Center.

We sat for two hours of introduction and first thoughts about the schedule and the subjects.
The first to speak at the meeting was Salem. Father of a large family in Syria who was forced to flee and leave his family behind: "Today we are building the most special school in the world." He said and smiled. The conversation was conducted in four languages: English, Arabic, Persian and Hebrew. "This is the most special school in the world because Syrians, Israelis, Iranians and Afghans are sitting in this room, trying to understand together how to connect the world instead of tearing it up." Again the translators exchanged languages before Salem continued, "I will give you an example. The first time I met my friends here from Israel and sat with them, someone came to ask me how I was sitting with Jews at the same table. I looked at him and told him he was wrong. I told him we should sit together. I told him that this was the real way and that it was just the politicians who were the ones who had an interest in separating us. It is our responsibility, of the people sitting in this room to raise a new generation that will bring peace. Through us the children who are growing up in the camps today will see that it is possible to act differently. We will show them that there is another way. "

Meet our school staff: Salem and Ami from Syria, Ramzan, Nikos and Katrina of Iran, Abdallah and Javad from Afghanistan and we, Jewish and Arab teachers from Israel.