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.
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