Fascinated by the lives of others, George R Mitchell gets under the skin of a country, often uncovering the dark corners of culture, politics and people. He now has 25 years of off-grid travel and 85 countries under his belt, and he’s in no mood to stop just yet…
A visit to at least one school had been on my Gaza wish list. My fixer, Rami, as ever, had it all in hand. He picked me up at 7.30am. “Why so early?” I asked. “Because the children start school at 6am.” I’m led to believe it’s all down to electricity. Nevertheless, I tried to imagine my mother getting a 10-year-old me out the door for school at 5.30am. Not a chance.
We entered the school and first met the teachers, all female of course. They were kind and welcoming, as I was beginning to realise, near everyone in Gaza was. Schools in Gaza are segregated by Hamas for religious/ideological reasons. Girls and boys don’t mix. We entered a packed classroom of 36 girls aged 13 or 14. Learning English from a young age, they bombarded me with questions about Scotland.
By George R Mitchell.
Full story at Press and Journal.
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