Gaza Summer Camp Takes on Extremism
The UNWRA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) has received a serious amount of criticism from onlookers in recent years, but according to a Christian Science Monitor article published recently, it looks like they got at least one thing right.
The article is about recently concluded summer camps in the Gaza Strip, where children had an outlet from their otherwise stressful and dangerous surroundings. In a safe environment, these children played sports, worked on arts and crafts, and, you know, acted like kids.
But more than just "a break from the oppressive and depressing environment which is their daily reality," as UNWRA Gaza director John Ging said, the camps have an important ideological purpose:
The camps were about more than fun and games, they were about countering the extremism that can...