After the US, Britain and Arab countries cut down funding to UNRWA, the international relief agency has asked thousands of teachers in Gaza to go on 'unpaid leave', causing them immense distress
Slama Omar has been teaching science at a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for the past four years. In the first year, she enjoyed doing her job. It suited her skill set and gave her financial stability. But last month, Slama was gutted to hear that the UNRWA has rolled out a new law called "exceptional unpaid leave," which affects her directly.
At present, the allocated funding for the agency is $20 million each from the British government and the Arab countries. While the British government reduced financial aid from $42 million to $20 million, the Arab countries made a massive cut from $200 million to $20 million over the past three years.
It was not the first time that Salma had this feeling. She experienced it amid the ongoing UNRWA financial crises, particularly after former US President Donald Trump cut off funds to the agency in 2018. Al-Mishal considered the exceptional leave very dangerous since it could lead to the suspension of UNRWA services, including health care, education, and assistance for a million refugees. This is in addition to suspending 28,000 employees from work without salaries until further notice.
Samar Atef, who works as a UNRWA doctor, fears the recent decision has terrifying consequences for patients who are used to obtaining their medical checkups and treatment. Among patients is Seham Abed, 61 years, who gets free treatments from the agency due to her high blood pressure and diabetes. Samah Rabah is a mother of a 10-yeard UNRWA student, Ahmed Abed, who attends the 4th grade. She complains about the quality of education the agency has provided in recent years.
"Unlike my son, there were 35 students in my class, and we go entrainment activities, which are unavailable nowadays," she explained. "I think the lack of funding has ruined the educational system."