Kite flying festival offers Palestinian children brief reprieve from camps

By Annika Folkeson Special to The Daily Star Thursday, July 24, 2008 BEIRUT: A lone yellow kite greeted the visitors approaching Jal al-Baher Beach in Tyre on Tuesday morning. Soon, however, three more buses with Palestinian children from camps all over Lebanon arrived to participate in Tuesday's kite flying festival. Around noon, a bustling crowd of over 600 children could be seen dancing, playing games - on the beach and in the water - and, of course, trying to master the art of kite flying. Ten young kite-making experts from "Atfal al-Ghad" (Children of Tomorrow) center helped train 60 children in each refugee camp, who subsequently taught other children in their camp, to make kites. On Tuesday, these children brought their kites, with messages renouncing violence or greetings to loved ones written on them, to Jal al-Baher... [read full story]