For those of us who want to raise the key question that is signified by the title
of this book, “Can education change society?,” the actions that these refugees
immediately took to create a school demonstrate in no uncertain terms that for
them there could be no respectful society without a functioning and democratized
education system for their children. We either have to say that they were possessed
by some mystical consciousness and didn’t have a clue about what was happening
to them or we have to admit that their very identities and their hopes for a better
future were intimately tied up with a deep respect and concern for an education
that was closely connected to a vision of a society that provided solace and hope
in a time of tragedy. Education wasn’t merely about jobs; it was about one’s very
being. Whether the refugees were secular or religious, schooling—and education
in general—was a central part of their very identities. Oppressed people may realize
simple facts much more readily than those who take certain things for granted
much more easily. It is not “just” refugees who feel this way