On his visit to the children and adolescents, the Prime Minister was accompanied by Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon and former President of the Republic of Slovenia Danilo Türk, who is the founder of the Let Them Dream Foundation. Since 2009, the foundation and its partners have been bringing children and adolescents to Slovenia for rehabilitation through the humanitarian project “Rehabilitation of child victims of the war in Gaza”. This time, the children and adolescents from Gaza are receiving treatment and rehabilitation in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Caritas Slovenia and the Let Them Dream Foundation.
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), who is attending the international conference as part of the Slovenian Development Days in Ljubljana, also joined the visit.
In his statement to the media at the end of the visit, Prime Minister Golob stressed how unimaginable the stories had been from the young people he had met. “Today’s visit with the first group of children from Gaza who came to Slovenia reaffirmed how harrowing their stories are and that none of us wants our children to be forced to live through anything similar,” he said.
He thanked the Let Them Dream Foundation of former President of the Republic Danilo Türk and the foundation’s Director Mojca Seliškar Toš. “With such projects we can conjure a semblance of normal life and hope for these children. Their stories are not just harrowing, but they are focused on the future. These children want answers from us. Will they be able to live a normal life again? But nobody knows the answer to this. The international community will have to clearly define its position on the question of what to do with the displaced Palestinians and it will have to find solutions,” the Prime Minister was clear.
He extended a special thanks to UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini. “This organisation is the only hope for the future of these children. Slovenia has increased its financing of UNRWA and will continue its efforts to assist the organisation in fulfilling its noble mission. We are aware of the importance of education for all generations of children in both Gaza and the West Bank,” the Prime Minister concluded his statement.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that during the visit he had heard harrowing stories, which, unfortunately, represent only a small portion of all the stories of children in Gaza who are suffering terribly and are deprived of education. “The longer the situation persists, the likelier it is that we will sacrifice an entire generation of young people,” he stressed, adding that in today’s conversations at URI Soča the children and adolescents were asking when they would be able to continue their education. “We owe this to Palestinians, as education is the only way for them to maintain their dream of a better future,” he said.
In his statement to the media, former President of the Republic of Slovenia Danilo Türk said that the situation has changed considerably since the foundation’s establishment. “When we started the project, our hope was stronger. Today, it is weaker and the harm caused to children is much greater than it used to be,” he said. He also said that Slovenia must adopt an active role and do everything in its power to help the victims.
On 13 October 2024, 10 severely wounded children and adolescents and their escorts from Gaza arrived in Slovenia. The youngest child is four years old. Several children have had limbs amputated and all of them need intensive medical care and rehabilitation. They were admitted to the University Rehabilitation Institute Soča, where they will receive the necessary treatment and psychological support. They will stay there for at least 42 days, as specialists will provide them with prosthetics and other necessary medical devices.
In Gaza, more than 1.1 million people are suffering due to severe food shortage and hunger, most of them children on the brink of survival. In addition to the rehabilitation of children in Slovenia, 1,000 most vulnerable internally displaced families will receive financial assistance as part of the project. With this, Slovenia will help more than 5,000 residents of Gaza buy food and other essentials.
In his keynote address at the event held by the Save the Children organisation on 23 September in New York, Prime Minister Golob said that, over the years, Slovenia had contributed to the rehabilitation of more than 200 children from Gaza and the West Bank. Some of them have lost their lives in the last aggression on Gaza, but this did not stop Slovenia from continuing its efforts towards ensuring a better future for Palestinian children. With this group of children and their escorts, Slovenia wants to show that it will do everything it can. The Prime Minister also passed a message from the children in refugee camps on to the UN General Assembly.