"Protesting against war is one of the most educational things": Students from Clara Hammerl High School protest the genocide in Gaza.

PalmStudents at the Clara Hammerl Secondary School (Port de Pollença) have published a manifesto condemning the genocide in Gaza and expressing solidarity with the child victims. The text, written collectively by the students, denounces the violence and inequalities suffered by thousands of children, calling for an education that fosters peace, coexistence, and empathy. "No child should suffer or lose their life because of where they were born," they assert in the manifesto. The students reflect on what their life would be like if they had been born in Gaza and value their rights and privileges simply because they were born in Mallorca, a very different part of the world. This awareness has led them to demand a school that is not indifferent to global suffering, but rather educates to understand and transform it.

The students also criticize the decision of the Education Inspection Department to disavow the strike of October 2, called to protest the war. They believe that mobilizing for peace is a fully educational action and that becoming critical citizens involves actively participating in social reality: "Protesting against war, defending life, and demanding peace is one of the most educational things there is," they affirm.

The young people at Clara Hammerl want to demonstrate that, despite their age, they have a voice to be heard. The manifesto ends with a call for equality and dignity: "We want an education with values of peace, we want a world without war. We want all people to have the same opportunities, regardless of where they were born. We want to grow up in a school that helps us think, feel, and take into account who we are, but also who we are, and act with empathy. And we want, one day, no child or doll in the world to have to fear dying, but rather can live, learn, and dream in peace," the young people demand.

With this gesture, the students of this school in Puerto de Pollença have lit a flame that is spreading to other schools. Education for peace, far from being an abstract theory, is a practice that students, in a context of diverse wars around the world, demand as the central focus of their time at school. Furthermore, it is included in the Balearic Islands Education Law (LEIB), in force since 2022. It is curricular.

The centers make their move

The initiative by the Clara Hammerl Secondary School was not an isolated case. Dozens of schools in the Balearic Islands also showed support for the Palestinian cause through assemblies, symbolic events, and official declarations. Many schools have discussed the manifesto in class and have opened spaces for reflection on the role of education in building a more just world.

The Minister of Education of the Balearic Islands, Antoni Vera, defended the teachers who have carried out activities supporting Gaza, condemning the criticisms leveled against them by Vox. Vera emphasized that these initiatives are nothing more than acts to "denounce a humanitarian crisis, in favor of peace, and against violence," and recalled that the Islands' Education Law has as its fundamental principles respect for human rights and training for peace. In a plenary session in Parliament, Vox questioned whether the teachers had used public funds to "support the terrorist group Hamas," but Vera denied any evidence of this and expressed his confidence and pride in the teaching staff, assuring them that they have the support of the Government and that, in any case, the body of in.