Former child prisoners from Holy Land visit London schools

Palestinian schoolchildren in London- pic ICN

A group of Palestinian schoochildren are currently on an exchange visit to London. Several of the young teenagers have experienced being in prison, and having their homes broken into by the Israeli Army.

La Sainte Union and Maria Fidelis are among the nine schools hosting the visit, which has been organised by Camden Abu Dis Friendship Association (CADFA) - linking the borough of Camden with the village of Abu Dis near Jerusalem.

This is the sixth annual visit organised by CADFA. The organisation is now helping other boroughs to make similar links.

Accompanied by kids from Camden, the youngsters are enjoying a busy schedule which range from tourist visits to the river and the London Eye, concerts and a barbecu to workshops at Camley Street Natural Park and the Science Museum.

They began with a weekend’s camping in Wiltshire arranged by the local organisation Global Generation. A week in London will culminate in an Environment and Human Rights Day at Acland Burghley School this Saturday, 25 June.

"This visit is about the environment that we all share and about our shared humanity " said Nandita Dowson, co-ordinator of CADFA –"We hope the kids will end up caring about looking after the world and caring about looking after each other."

"In Palestine it’s clear that environmental questions link to human rights. Eight of the Palestinian kids come from Abu Dis, next to Jerusalem which suffers water shortages all year round while the Israeli settlements built on its land are full of watered lawns and swimming pools. Their town now has on the one side the Israeli Separation Wall that cuts farmers from their olive trees and on the other, severe pollution coming from Israeli settlements. This includes a massive rubbish dump filled with settlement waste on expropriated Abu Dis land - a cancer hotspot appears to link to it. On the south of the town, what looks like a gleaming river is in fact sewage from the Israeli settlements of East Jerusalem."

Last night three young people (pictured) spoke at a meeting in Kentish Town library about their experiences of having their homes broken into in the early hours of the morning and being arrested themselves, or seeing their brothers, as young as 13, being handcuffed, blindfolded and taken away for interrogation. In each case the boys report being repeatedly beaten and kept awake for hours under bright lights. A school counsellor who attended the meeting said she was very concerned that children were undergoing such traumatic experiences and not getting any psychotherapy to help them cope afterwards. "You can't assess what effects this can have on a young person" she said. "Such experience can cause terrific problems in later life."

One of CADFA's main campaigns is against child prisoners. If you would like more information see: www.camdenabudis.net or call Nandita Dowson on 07791 536 620