Children are deeply influenced by their environment—their thoughts, feelings, and wants are defined by what they live through and experience. To learn what they feel and aspire, Rebuilding Alliance asked a select group of children from Palestine and the United States to make Pinwheels for Peace and join us for a Zoom Meet-up on International Day of Peace, September 21, 2021.

Pinwheels for Peace is an art activity that was started by two teachers in Florida in 2005 and has gained much traction since then, with 4 million pinwheels made in 2019. Centred around the concept of sharing thoughts and feelings, this simple activity brings joy to children and adults alike.

Famous Gaza artist Laila Kassab, who teaches art to children in her garden, made pinwheels for peace in the aftermath of the May 2021 bombings in Gaza as part of the emotional support program for the children. We then asked her to do a video tutorial on how to make Pinwheels for Peace with her art students. The children were asked to create Pinwheels and put down their emotions and views, especially on peace on the back of the paper. The video tutorial was then shared with children of Gaza and the West Bank, Palestine and schools in Virginia, United States.

Palestinian children

The idea behind the Zoom meet-up was to provide a platform for the children to come together and express themselves. From Palestine, children from Susiya and Um al Kheir (South Hebron Hills), Al Aqaba (Jordan Valley), and a child in Gaza City participated. Al Aqaba village is where the Rebuilding Alliance first asked the children of Al Aqaba Montessori to create Pinwheels for Peace as part of its advocacy efforts in 2008 when an Israeli court issued demolition orders against the village including the kindergarten.

Two schools from Virginia, United States—Medina Montessori and Al Fatih Academy—graciously accepted our invitation for the Zoom Meet-up. Having hosted the Palestinian children in the past, Al Fatih children were eager to meet Palestinian children who had visited Washington D.C. and spoken to Congress before. Four of these children—Lama, Sadeen, Ahmed, and Hamoudi— were online as our esteemed guest speakers. They noted how happy they were to be given a chance to speak to Congress in the past and having highlighted the challenges they were facing.

The best thing about children is their unadulterated expression. Often their innocent questions give much food for thought to the adults. This is exactly what happened when children from Al Aqaba started putting up questions. Shadi, who is 13 years old, asked why Israeli forces escort them to their high school that is only 1.5 kilometres away. Other questions children asked—why there are so many Israeli military training camps around them and why the Israeli military forces occupying their land—stared in our face.

American children

The American children were curious to ask their Palestinian counterparts many questions. Having seen the beach in the Pinwheel tutorial video and learning about Gaza from their teachers, their imagination was running wild. They asked: Can you swim? Do you see Israeli ships blocking the sea? Do you still have schools? Something that stood out was the kindness and humanity in these children as they asked if the Palestinian children needed help. A reminder for us adults that kindness and compassion are innate to humankind and can be rekindled through getting in touch with our inner self.

Sharing the same spirit of humanity, Lama from Gaza expressed her desire to own a cow so she could serve a glass of milk and cheese to others. Ahmad wished there was peace in the world and that people of all faiths and religions get along well.

While the adults were pleased that the children could connect. In our heart of hearts, we knew that these simple wishes of the children carried a much deeper meaning, something to reflect upon and work for.

Celebrating Children's Vision of Peace