The school was built into a down-slope, so the recess yard in front of the school was a flat pad of concrete below street level.

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At the sidewalk he stopped, put down his case next to the sugar maple, wiped his jacket sleeve across his forehead, and gazed up the block as if he were the new boy in school, getting ready to cross the school yard, where faces were already turning to stare at him.

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Last summer archaeologists cut three, 20 metre (66ft) long trenches north to south in the car park and an adjacent school yard.

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Habib and the village elders recalled the attack while sitting in the middle of the devastated school, where debris was still scattered across a vast yard.

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Back in the dusty yard of her home just below the school built from tyres and mud in Khan al Amar, Manar is concentrating hard on her homework.

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The house is in a good school district, has a back yard and was in move-in condition.

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Her kids go to an exclusive private school, she has two, no, actually three cars parked in the yard, goes shopping in Dubai and Joburg, but she has no running water in her house.

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As we arrive in the yard I spot two boys, aged about 10, racing ahead into the school.

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