In war-torn Gaza children are approaching almost a year without having an education. The United Nations says the overwhelming majority of schools have been damaged or destroyed. But for those Palestinian children who managed to get to Australia as refugees, their school life is back on track.
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00:00Moussa Ghariba's parents weren't sure they'd ever see their little boy play again.
00:18Like many in Gaza, Fadi and Dina just wanted to keep their child safe.
00:23Many nights I was crying, not being sure that I will have a morning.
00:29They fled in February after approval for tourist visas in Australia, and finally being able
00:34to cross the rougher border into Egypt.
00:37Now Moussa has started school in Sydney after six months without an education.
00:42The teacher understood because she knew the circumstances we were going through.
00:47And of course I stayed behind her, I mean, every day practice, practice, practice.
00:52But thank God now it's the same as before.
00:56I like to play with my friends.
00:58I like math.
00:59What do you want to learn next?
01:02Learn like how to plant things, and now I'm learning that.
01:07Moussa's dream job changes almost weekly, now ambitious about his future.
01:12I want to be a policeman.
01:13He's really happy at school, he's making new friends, he loves his teacher.
01:19Done.
01:20In Gaza, more than 45,000 other six-year-olds won't be able to start the new school year.
01:29The Palestinian Education Ministry says about 11,000 students have been killed and more
01:34than 17,700 injured since October 7, including this five-year-old boy who was found in shock
01:41when he was trapped under the rubble after an Israeli airstrike.
01:45That boy is still highly traumatised, he won't speak.
01:48So this child that was beautiful, speaking and singing and loving life is now here in
01:56Australia but is finding it very difficult to speak except to his mum.
02:00Now he's in kindergarten in Melbourne.
02:02He put on his Spider-Man little bag and went to school and wanted to play and he just wanted
02:09to be like any other kid.
02:12This week, his teacher finally heard his voice for the first time when he counted to five.
02:19Palestine Australia Relief and Action is providing settlement services to his family and the
02:23majority of the 1,300 Palestinians now in Australia.
02:28The federal government is yet to establish a dedicated humanitarian visa for Palestinians
02:33but has offered a small number of people a pathway to a three-year humanitarian visa.
02:38The not-for-profit says the government needs to call for safe exits out of Gaza for those
02:42with Australian visas and ensure family reunification and a clearer pathway to permanency.
02:50We want him, first of all, to be safe.
02:53We want him to be free.
02:55We want him a better education, a better future.
02:59We don't want him to suffer.
03:01A hope they also share for other children like theirs.