Lebanese children go back to school with tales of horror

JUWAYA, Lebanon (AFP) - "What I liked most was the victory of the resistance and what I hated most was the death." Pupils in this southern Lebanese village began the school year by being asked what they felt about 34 days of war with Israel.

Lebanon's private schools reopen this week, a month late because of damage from Israeli bombs, and public schools from next Monday. Over the coming days, hundreds of children will return to this Shiite private school, including 130 from a boarding school destroyed in the July-August war with Shiite militia Hezbollah.

The UN children's agency UNICEF has set up an intensive psychological programme for children traumatised by the days and nights of bombardment, with teachers returning from training in the capital Beirut to train others in the war-torn south.

Children in the class of Iman Hariri -- a young teacher wearing a modest denim tunic and headscarf -- stand up one by one to express their feelings about the war that claimed the lives of many of their friends and relatives.

"What I liked most was the rockets fired at Israel, what I hated most were the (Israeli) bombardments," said one 12-year-old.

The class began with a reading from the Koran and a homage to the "martyrs of the resistance" -- Hezbollah fighters. Children were given games to educate them about the danger of unexploded Israeli ordenance still peppering the south.

"The start of this school year is special," headmaster Ahmad Matar told the children. "We will celebrate victory over our enemies and those who allowed it."

"The resistance fighters called on science, knowledge and their faith in God to win," he said. "They (Israelis) wanted to plunge you into ignorance (by bombing schools) but you will continue to learn, even if it's under the trees."

Eight weeks after the end of the war, considered a victory by Hezbollah after Israel failed to achieve its main objectives, children are slowly returning to school, despite the fact that dozens were killed by Israeli bombs.

Hussein Jishi, 15, has come to a temporary building in Juwaya after his boarding school, home mostly to orphans, was destroyed. A child is missing during roll call, and Jishi says sadly "Haidar is dead."

His classmates tell of a month of war: "Every time we heard the airplanes, we thought they were going to bomb us," said Ali.

Over 1,200 people, mostly civilians and including hundreds of children, were killed in Lebanon during a campaign carried out largely by Israeli aircraft dropping bombs and missiles on southern Lebanon.

"What affected me most was my cousin being wounded," said Hadil, holding back her sobs. "On the road that took us to Damascus, we saw decapitated people," said Salam.

"Whenever a child wants to speak, there will be someone to listen to them," assured school psychology advisor Zakia Nasrallah.

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