Jana: School was my escape, now I don’t have anywhere else to go.

Jana* lives with her parents and two brothers in a small one-bedroom apartment in northern Lebanon. Her father is the breadwinner, however the scarcity of employment opportunity has left the family in a rather vulnerable situation. They can barely afford to feed their children, let alone pay for the necessities such as electricity and running water. 

Her mother Sawsan*, 39 year old, explained, “My 5 year-old son was over the moon, happy to get a bar of chocolate the other day. That moment gutted me. My children are going to bed hungry and cold. My only reprieve was their education, but now, even that was taken away from them.”

11 years old Jana* has been out of school for almost a month due the education/public schools’ strike: “My dream was to become a doctor, now I only dream about going back to school.

I love going to school, and my favourite subject is science.I was heartbroken when our teachers told us the school will close due to the strike. It reminded me of the COVID-19 days and those weren’t fun times. Just like before, my days pass with nothing to do.I don’t know how long it will be until I can go back to school. School was my escape, now I don’t have anywhere else to go.  I’m scared of the future.”