"We live a tragic life, made only of horror and fear, because they" – Israeli soldiers – "enter our homes and send us outside and do not spare the schools." It is Farah, Brahim and Yakoub who tell their stories, their fear and their flight – they are among a group of ten Palestinian children who spoke at Palazzo Sacrati Strozzi, the seat of the Tuscany Region, where they were received by Vice President Mia Diop and Education Councillor Alessandra Nardini.
"I come from a refugee camp," recounts one of them, who only wants to live like other children: "we must live in peace, we must play in peace. Instead we are in a prison." They all repeat this when recalling what they have experienced and what they are still living through. "We Palestinians too," they say, "have the right to live like all other children in the world."
The refugee camp they speak of is Balata, on the outskirts of Nablus, in the West Bank. For 15 days they are now guests at the Pascoli-Dini primary school in San Giuliano Terme, with the support of the Municipality, thanks to the Ponti di Pace (Bridges of Peace) project, promoted by the Arci committee of Pisa and the Alta Val di Cecina together with a network of local bodies and associations in the area, in collaboration with the Childhood and Tolerance Centre of Nablus.
"Fifteen days away from fear, in which they can simply be children again: playing, studying, making friends. And that is the true meaning of what Tuscany understands by welcome," said Diop. "It is a wonderful gesture on the part of the Region, but also from the Municipalities that are hosting them. It is an important signal because today, unfortunately, Palestine is receiving less and less attention, but it is an emergency that continues to challenge all of us." Nardini added that "we cannot think that in the face of a ceasefire that is no such thing, attention to what continues to happen in Gaza and the West Bank should wane."
Both Diop and Nardini recalled the bill before Parliament for the recognition of the State of Palestine, describing it as "a step that is not merely symbolic, but necessary." "The Italian government," Nardini added, "has not yet taken a clear position, and we consider this serious, because silence ends up being complicity. Institutions have a duty to uphold international law and to demand respect for human rights and the right of peoples to self-determination."
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