Suas Trinity, in association with “Students for Justice in Palestine-TCD”, yesterday hosted a panel discussion entitled “Education, Equality, and Activism”. Dr Gillian Wylie of the School of Ecumenics chaired the talk, opening it by emphasising the vast amount of privilege most of us have access to as Trinity students and alluding to the ways in which we can be made complacent about such privilege. Wylie called attention to the global trend of schooling systems increasingly run by private organisations and muddying the notion of equal access.
Wylie then noted how of the 57 million children in the world who are not in school, 50 percent are from countries impacted by internal and violent conflict, a fitting segue for the first panellist speaker, Malaka Mohammed, a Palestinian activist educated in Gaza and who was deeply impacted by the ongoing Israeli blockade. Her presentation mixed the personal with the political, allowing a jarring look into the realities faced by families in the densely populated 365 square kilometre region. Life as a student under Israeli occupation, Mohammed matter-of-factly asserted, is as far from Western sensibility as one could imagine. Students are often held in detention, attacked and even killed by Israeli soldiers. The education system works in shifts, Mohammed explained, providing three to four hour blocks of schooling in order to best make use of their substandard electricity and lack of resources.
Her speech attempted to depict how insular life in Gaza was for her as an intelligent young woman. Students seeking access to third-level education abroad, like Mohammed, are almost always restricted at the borders, both the Erez border to the north and the Rafah border shared with Egypt. Even with proper documentation and scholarship offers, travel out of Palestine is heavily restricted. Mohammed herself was initially denied at the Rafah border when control officers were calling out names at random. A stroke of luck ensued and she was the last of the 30 students let out of Palestine that day, allowing her to move to the UK to obtain her master’s degree in the University of Sheffield. Now, in her role as an activist, Mohammed could easily be detained by Israeli soldiers, making it nearly impossible for her return to her family. Her prioritisation of education, she made clear, was not without strife and sacrifice. Currently studying for her PhD in the University of Exeter, Mohammed also works in association with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement, which works to end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and also to pressure Israel to comply with international law. Mohammed stressed the need for support of Palestinian people’s basic human rights, including the recognition of education as one of those rights. Mohammed offered a powerful example of the interplay between education and activism, her desire to speak out on behalf of her people an impressive feat.
Providing a fascinating counterpoint to Mohammed’s presentation, two speakers from Ireland were also on the panel, explaining the numerous problems in the education system. Housing rights activist Erica Flemming spoke about her personal experience of homelessness in Dublin and jokingly noted that, as a young girl from a working class family, education was the only thing holding her back from making money. Instant gratification in the form of a wage packet was an alluring notion for Flemming as a young girl, until minimum wage no longer paid the bills for her and her young daughter. Once homeless, Flemming said that she felt furious at the lack of regard for her human rights. She realised the power of education only after having her daughter and considering how it was vital for her child’s success. After walking through Trinity’s campus, Flemming was prompted to apply for the Trinity Access Program (TAP). She was accepted and is currently doing her degree, her tale a testament to the positive impact of TAP, as well as her own resolve.
Traveller rights advocate Eileen Flynn was the last to speak, striking a similar chord as Mohammed by presenting a voice of an ethnic minority seeking recognition. Her speech was driven by emotion, stressing the need for continued support of Irish Traveller children once they are in the educational system. She emphasised the problems involved in increasing access to education as well as supporting the children already within the system. Only in looking at the wider issue, focusing on concrete success and outcomes, Flynn maintained, will progress be made. She condemned the state’s lack of respect for Irish Travellers and criticised the “us and them” mentality that still exists today.
The night, as a whole, provided a captivating look into the socio-political structures that govern our educational systems. The women’s stories emphasised that their own struggle for proper education encouraged all of them to speak out as advocates for themselves and their communities.
