Once again the children of Ramle's unrecognized Railway neighborhood were forgotten as the school year began. The school bus just didn't show up. SHATIL's Mixed Cities Ramle Field Coordinator Jamal Salameh, who works with the project's Housing Forum and A'dar Association, contacted Ramle Municipality's legal advisor and the next day, the Railway children were taken to school.

The neighborhood's location, strangled by motorways and express rail routes, makes walking to school a life-threatening experience. Several children have indeed lost their lives over the past years. Since its inception in 2003, the Mixed Cities project has supported the struggle of residents in this neighborhood to persuade the Ramle Municipality to solve the problem of safe access. It has also supported their court petitions to force the municipality to provide school transport. Last year, after that issue appeared to be resolved, the residents then appealed for the erection of a safely located bus shelter. A bus stop was finally put in place, though not in the safest spot, nor did it adequately protect the children from sun or rain. Nevertheless, both the bus stop and the officially provided transport did at last offer a modicum of safety – but it seems not for long. It just took the summer vacation to erase the municipality's memory of its commitment and to remind the residents of the neighborhood and their children how unimportant they are. Yet another black mark on the administration of Mayor Lavie, who has made clear his antipathy to equal rights for Ramle's Arab citizens.