Yemen – Volunteer teachers start makeshift school at construction site in besieged Taiz

Location: Taiz – Yemen

Language: Arabic

Duration: 00:03:03

Sound: natural

Source: A24 in Yemen

Restrictions: A24 subscribers

Date: 09/14/ 2022

Storyline:

Volunteer teachers in Taiz have pressed on with starting the school year in Yemen’s third largest city despite the ongoing  refusal by Iran -backed Houthis have refused to lift their seven-year siege of Yemen’s third largest city,

A24 documented the efforts of volunteer teachers to convert a construction site into a school for the children of Taiz.

School officials say they have begun instruction despite the absence of financial support and demanded that authorities and people with means step in to build new, safer schools for children.

On Monday, the UN Security Council urged warring parties in Yemen to urgently intensify negotiations towards expanding their truce into a “durable ceasefire,” and called upon the Houthis to immediately open the main roads to the besieged city of Taiz.

Shotlist:

– Soundbite (Samia Hammoud – Principal of Al-Zailai School)

“This school moves from one place to another, either a house or an unfinished building like this one. This year we are teaching in an unfinished building where students are at risk of exposure to cold, diseases and strong heatstroke when they go out during recess or leave for their homes. We are in dire need of a proper school building in Jarajer neighborhood. We hope concerned authorities take this issue under consideration.”

– Soundbite (Um Abdullah – Volunteer teacher)

“I have been a volunteer at this school for 9 years, and we have not received any financial support from any party. The entire team in the school are volunteers. The school is an unfinished building that is up for sale. After the building is sold, students and teachers could end up on the street. We have been teaching in this unfinished building for 9 years, we ask benefactors and supporters to help us solve this problem.”