7 Years of Legendary Steadfastness, Yemen’s Educational Front Facing Saudi-led Aggression

On Aug 18, 2021

A new school year begins, at a time when US-Saudi aggression is still on the mission of hysterical bombing of Yemen, but despite the great burdens facing the educational sector, its soldiers( the teachers) are steadfast in the field, believing that their message will continue and that the aggression will not achieve its goal in turn off the education. .

Over the past six years, education has been facing serious challenges, foremost of which is the direct targeting of schools by the US-Saudi airstrikes and the brutal deliberate killing of children. With the aim of stopping the educational process and forcing Yemenis not to push their children to school; Fearing the attacks and bombings of the aggression, however the schools were not closed, and the students continued their education in a legendary steadfastness unparalleled in the world.

US-Saudi Crimes Against Educational Sector

Some crimes of aggression against the educational sector remain in mind, such as the targeting of Al-Falah School in Nihm District, Sana’a Governorate on Tuesday, January 10, 2017, killing 8 students and a teacher, and injuring 15 others. The scenes of students’ martyrdom in their school uniforms remain one of the scenes that Yemeni memory can never forget and forgive. The image of the girl (Ishraq) lying on the dirt in her school uniform next to her school bag also has not been erased from memory.

Among the tragic pictures of the educational sector, the targeting of the Al-Ra’i School for Girls in Sana’a in April 2019, where the aggression warplanes carried out raids very close to the school, causing a state of fear and terror among the students, who scrambled while fleeing. In this crime 13 female students were killed, and 83 others were injured, most of them female students.

Educators still remember sadly what happened to their colleagues in the deliberate targeting on Tuesday, August 18, 2015, when the building of the Teachers Syndicate was targeted next to the College of Education in Amran governorate, while they were preparing for the upcoming exams for the basic and secondary certificates. 21 educators and four children were killed and 21 others were injured, most of them teachers, including two women.

During the past six years, the US-Saudi aggression committed crimes to most of the schools in the governorates under the control of the Supreme Political Council in Sana’a, targeting many schools in Sa’adah, Taiz, Ibb, Sana’a and others, trying to stop the educational process and forcing students to stay in their homes, but it failed.

Unprecedented Readiness

During the past few days, public and private schools opened their doors to receive students. They started a new school year, Saturday, as all schools are witnessing an unprecedented high turnout and a high enthusiasm towards education.

The student, Mohammad Al-Siyaghi, says that he and his colleagues do not fear aggression, stressing that they have the right to learn, and to obtain their full rights, pointing out that their suffering is great and painful while they receive their education during the aggression.

He added in a statement to Almasirah newspaper: At the beginning of the aggression we were living moments of unspeakable fear and terror, and we were absent for some days for this reason, we return from the roads, and we are late and we missed some classes until my father knew about this, so he asked me why, and when I explained to him, he advised me not to be afraid.”

Al-Siyaghi continued by saying: The aggression bombed a number of schools, including Al-Hussein School in Al-Hima District in Sana’a Governorate, and 5 students and a number of paramedics were killed in it, so going to school was like going to the cemetery. That school that was under the rubble, reinforced our fear and anxiety, and some of my colleagues I did not find in those early years of the aggression, they stopped going to schools.

In turn, the student, Ibtihal al-Khawlani, says: From the first day of the US-Saudi aggression, my father and two of my brothers moved to fight in the fronts, one of whom was martyred, and they were throughout the years of aggression when they return home on their visits, urging me, my sisters and my younger brothers to study stressing on the importance of studying and learning to serve and build a homeland.

Al-Khawlani asserts that “the educational front held despite the hardships, so we were leaving our house and we were not confident of returning to it. The US-Saudi aggression bombed many schools, and bombed roads, streets, cars and buses, the last of which was the Dahyan student bus, killing and wounding over 50 students.

Farewell

In this phrase, the guardian of the student, Mawaddah, Professor Ibrahim Saadan, speaks, saying: “After the US-Saudi massacres and bombing of schools, I used to say goodbye to my daughter every day when she left the door of the house heading to school, as if it was the last farewell.

Saadan added: “We are in the seventh year of aggression and siege, and no one will deter us from educating our children. This is their right whatever the financial difficulties are in addition to the lack of school books. They must arm themselves with the weapon of awareness, knowledge.