Before the visit....

ME

My name is Mohammad Faroun. I am 13 years old. I live in Bethany (Azarea in Arabic), in the Palestine West Bank. I study at the Arab Institute in Abu Dis. I like Art and swimming and I support Barcelona. My favourite player is Puyol. When I finish studying I want to be an artist.

MY FAMILY

I have a big family. In my immediate family I have a two brothers and one sister. On older brother, one younger and one older sister who is the eldest of all of us. All of my family love me very much.

MY SCHOOL

My school’s name is Arab Institute. It is a very big school. In my class, there are 40 children and 5 teachers. Each teacher teaches 4 subjects. My classes are 45 minutes long. The school has a very good level of learning, and I love my teachers and my friends. My favourite subject is art, I like it very much.

PALESTINE FROM MY EYES

“In Palestine we used to have a lot of culture and mosques. Now the Israeli soldiers have taken it. I hope that someday we can get it back”

I have a lot of friends who live in Jerusalem. Before the Israeli’s started building the wall I could play with my friends all the time. I was three when they first started building the wall between Jerusalem and Abu Dis, but we could jump over the wall because it was small. Now, because I live in Bethany I have a green I.D and this means I cannot go to Jerusalem without permission. Also if my friends want to come here they will be questioned a lot about why they want to come to Palestine so it is difficult for us to see each other.

SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO ME

Al Aqsa Mosque

The Al Aqsa Mosque was built between 600-700AD by Umar ibn Al-Khattāb, an important Muslim ruler. It is in the old city of Jerusalem.

I like Al Aqsa mosque because everyone goes there to pray and it has special significance to Palestinians and Muslims because we have a lot of culture rooted there. It is one of the three main mosques in the Islamic religion.

People who live in my village cannot go to Al Aqsa mosque anymore since the Israeli government built the wall and installed checkpoints. We have to have permission to visit Jerusalem and this is not easy to get. Sometimes soldiers will stop people at the checkpoint even if they have a permit and send them home.

LONDON

I am going to London to learn something new and to know more about a new culture. I hope to make many friends and talk to the people I meet about Palestine and Palestinian culture.

With THANKS:Mohammad Faroun