April 10, 2006

The school in Gaza. . .what could have been. . .

Here are some excerpts from e-mails from a teacher who works at our sister school in Cairo. We met at the job fair in Boston where I got hired to teach in Gaza.
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Two of the other teachers are escapeee's from our sister school in Gaza. They are full of stories of rockets being fired and the little freedom they had living there. Three weeks ago the school was attacked by militants...stories of masked gunmen, caring machine guns, running in the halls looking to capture teachers...students screeming in terror...finally took four teachers...two they held for kidnapping negotiations. Two support staff shot!!! Needless to say they are very traumatized...and to think you and I were open to a Gaza assignment when they offered me Cairo...as the palapa turns!!!

As for the gaza thing...the only teachers that were kidnapped were released in a couple of days..unhurt but very tramatized...About 12 of them came to Cairo (on esol ticket) and hung out for about 10 days...then administration had a big meeting with them and about nine of them returned to the school yesterday. I guess they were offered a bonus to return. Most of them want to get their stuff and finish the year/contract...money trip home etc...
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What's a palapa?

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