Gaza PhD scholar now baker to feed family, others amid Israel’s war Israel-Palestine conflict news

‘It is my mission to teach Palestinian students, even if I have to build a classroom brick by brick,’ says Bader Salah.

Badr Salah is one of many Palestinian scholars from Gaza who have had to close their books amid Israel’s genocidal war on the enclave.

Salah, who was displaced several times with his family from Burij in central Gaza, started baking bread to feed them during the war.

But he still has a dream to enrich the minds of students in Gaza who have suffered deaths in their families, the loss of their homes, and the destruction of their schools and education.

He said, “The war was hard for everyone. We were tortured and humiliated.”

“Out of a desperate need, we built a brick oven to make bread for our children,” Salah told Al Jazeera.

“We had to cook food to feed our children and other people,” he added.

Palestinians have always been deeply committed to learning.

Before Israel’s war, the education sector in Gaza was thriving, and literacy rates were reported to be among the highest in the world.

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the illiteracy rate among Palestinians aged 15 and older was 2.1 per cent in 2023.

Salah said he was always committed to his studies from childhood to adolescence before earning master’s and doctoral degrees in Egypt and returning to Gaza to serve his homeland.

“[After I came back], I submitted all my certificates to universities in the hope of starting my teaching career,” he told Al Jazeera.

“But then disaster struck – the war started.”

Salah’s wife and son left Gaza for medical reasons, while he remained behind during the war.

“It was difficult for me,” he said. My son’s medical needs were more important, so I stayed back with other members of my family.”

educational system ruined

According to a UNICEF report released in November, Gaza’s education system is “on the verge of collapse”, with more than 97 per cent of schools damaged or destroyed.

The report said 91.8 per cent of all education facilities require either complete reconstruction or significant rehabilitation to make them functional again.

Local reports indicate that all 12 universities in Gaza have suffered complete or partial destruction, rendering them unusable.

Slah said he was determined to pursue his career as the ceasefire was in force in Gaza, adding, “Patience and determination are part of our DNA.”

He said, “I will work as a teacher, even in a tent. It is my mission to teach Palestinian students, even if I have to build a classroom brick by brick.”

“My hopes are still high; I am sure that I will make my dream come true soon.”