He stands in front of the class,
So many youngsters in front of him.
“I teach the pupils what I know already”.
He cannot see them
As he has been blind since birth,
He stands amongst the rubble of the school
Destroyed through war,
But still the children return.
“We want a new school,
We want chairs, doors and windows”.
They work in this rubble
Learning what they can,
Learning from this blind boy.
“We want the floor rebuilt,
A door to keep out the wind and the sun,
And windows so the rain does not come in”.
A shot is heard,
He jumps!
“When I hear that noise, I think I am going to die”.
But still they go to school every day,
So many of them.
“We arrive in danger, we leave in danger”,
The sad words fill my heart.
“We come to school to see our friends,
We come to learn so that we can become a doctor”
Such sincere words from the child.
“For us it is always dangerous,
We want the war to end,
You cannot relax ion wartime.”
Such profound words
Spoken by a child,
One of the children being taught,
Being taught by Ahmed,
A nine year old blind boy
Who shows me and the world
That war can be beaten,
Beaten by children.