Before sunrise, the day begins.
In the Al-Balqaa Bedouin gathering in Jericho, 17-year-old twins Haneen and Shireen Zayed start their morning inside a small zinc house with no electricity, water, or sewage system.
In a tight space that barely fits the family, they try to study for their Tawjihi exams before the long road to school begins.
Shireen says:
“Normal people wake up at 6 to go to school. We wake up at 5… the road takes more than an hour walking, and we stay the whole time afraid settlers might attack us.”
Every day, they walk more than 6 kilometers on open dirt roads, with no transport and no protection.
Once, settlers chased them on their way to school and threw stones at them. They had to run for a long distance to escape.
Haneen says:
“We used to want high grades and to make our family proud… now we just think about passing.”
And their dream has become simple:
“We don’t have time to dream… we just want to finish school.”
A few weeks ago, settlers stormed the area and threatened families to leave for Jordan, and the pressure reached even the surroundings of their home.
Their father, Suleiman Zayed (55), works in livestock and dairy trade to support his family. As attacks increased, he was forced to leave the Shalal Al-Auja gathering, fearing for his children.
He says:
“I was afraid my children would be killed… but I left to keep them safe.”
The family moved in search of safety, but found a harder reality—no services, no stability, and no real sense of safety.
Between a zinc house and a long road every morning, Haneen and Shireen keep going… holding on to what is left of a dream: just to pass.
