Qatari Students Take On A Green Thumb Initiative Planting Olive Trees In Solidarity With Palestine
Ten schools across Qatar came together in a special show of support for Palestine. Students across these schools planted 50 olive trees in an act of solidarity with Palestine. Taking place at the Gaza Garden, the entire initiative was led by Rola El Annan, a teacher at Qatar Academy In Doha. Students taking part felt very proud to be planting such an important symbol of Palestine.
An 11-year-old student, Kenan Nazar Muhammed, said, “When I was younger, my grandparents used to plant olive trees in Palestine and would tell me about them. So, having these trees here in Qatar makes me feel closer to my home.”
Having the olive tree be the plant of choice during Qatar’s country-wide show of support is quite significant knowing how deeply rooted the olive tree is in Palestinian history. In the pleasantly warm climate of the Levant, for centuries olive trees populated the land offering a steady source of income from the sale of its fruit as well as its oil. To this day, thousands of families still rely on olives and their oil as their main source of income.
The way it transitions into a more symbolic fixture of Palestine is in the way it symbolizes rootedness in an age of displacement and ongoing violence. To many, the olive tree is rooted in the ground and so represents the perseverance of the Palestinian people who continue to survive under difficult life circumstances.
