Our teachers in Gaza - from left to right ; Needa, Helene, Hanin, and Taghreed. Front kneeling: Ahmed)
In 2014, five individuals, all bright eyed and full of hope, arrived in Malaysia to attend the Brainy Bunch Islamic Montessori training program we have prepared for them, that they may impart all they have learnt to the children of Gaza. The Brainy Bunch Gaza School came into existence the following year, headed by Al-Sawaeed and* the five pictured on the left, establishing the very first Montessori school in Gaza. Everything ran smoothly for many years for the school, despite the ongoing occupation of Palestinian lands and the harassment suffered by the people at the hands of Israel.
Then came the 7th of October 2023, when havoc and mayhem escalated, with Israel gaining the upper hand in destroying what was once a beautiful nation turning it into rubble, including the Brainy Bunch schools.
In the aftermath of the schools’ destruction, the teachers had to scrounge around for scraps to survive. Some Gazans had to dodge bullets, mines and ammunition in order to cross the Rafah border into Egypt to obtain much needed jobs for their survival and that of their families left behind in Gaza. Two such individuals are Taghreed (a Brainy Bunch teacher, pictured above on the right) and her sister Amani.
FROM EGYPT TO MALAYSIA
The arrival hall of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport was pretty quiet except for a few passengers arriving from various destinations. Then a flock of more passengers came, greeted by their waiting entourages. One after the other, they disappeared towards the exit gates and onto their separate ways.
Thirty minutes passed, then an hour, and then another hour. Until what seemed to be an eternity of waiting, a glimpse of two frail figures appeared at the customs exit gate. They are the two brave sisters from Gaza, Taghreed and Amani, with their eyes wide open, looking around the mass of people waiting and waving behind the railed steel fence, seeking familiar faces. And, almost in an instant, when they heard their names called out from a distance by Claire Marcellana (BB head of Registrar) and Charisma Dela Cruz (XO to the CEO), their eyes turned towards the callers, hearts pounding, and a sigh of relief overcame their scared and troubled faces. Overjoyed, they rushed to the warm embrace of the Brainy Bunch crew. As Taghreed held onto Claire’s comforting embrace, she started to shiver uncontrollably, unable to conceal the tears and the physical, emotional, and psychological trauma borne by the toil and sufferings of the war. Later on, she confessed to me that she feared she and her sister would be sent back to Egypt and into no man’s land, an experience she dreaded and hoped would never happen to them again.
With the tightest embrace that Taghreed could muster, the shaking that overtook her body slowly melted into a warm embrace of calmness, relief, and an outpouring of tears borne by years of suppressed anger, helplessness, and a stifled cry for the hands of justice from the world to do what they ought to have done.
(From left Aamani, Taghreed, Claire.
Foreground - Charisma)
As composure dawned on Taghreed and Aamani, they headed to the Brainy Bunch Headquarters at Cyber Valley, greeted by some staff as well as Coach Fadzil and his wife Efizah. DVMs Azira and Fieza took the two sisters to their temporary domicile at the Cyber Valley residences to stay for at least a month, to rest… as rest is what their bodies desperately needed.
The following day was the chance for me to meet Aamani for the first time and Taghreed once again after almost 11 years. Needless to say, the meeting was more than just a happy reunion. It was a moment of bliss, a reminiscence of beautiful moments in the past, when five bright-eyed Gazans came to Malaysia for the first time. To this day, those moments will forever be etched in my heart.
Aamani - foreground, left to right - me, Taghreed, Claire, and Charisma)
The hope of many of us in Brainy Bunch is for these two sisters to be given the chance to stay in Malaysia longer and be granted extensions on their visas. We also wish to thank Ustaz Aden and the kind-hearted parents who assisted Taghreed and Aamani through immigration. Without their help, who knows what fate awaited the sisters.
Through it all, despite their hardships and the sufferings the Palestinians experienced at the hands of the occupiers and their government, Taghreed and Aamani have not uttered a single word of hatred and disdain against their oppressors. Such is the power of their faith and their virtue of humilty, and perceverance. Let us all pray for the peace and freedom of Palestine.
As the days roll by for these two brazen sisters, time will tell how their story unfolds.
“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”
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