The majority of children in Gaza are suffering ongoing traumatic stress as a result of their experiences of conflict and living through a deepening humanitarian crisis.
Tuesday 22 December 2009
One year on from Israel’s three-week military offensive in Gaza, leading psychologists report that most Palestinian children in Gaza are suffering sustained psychological damage as their experiences of violence and loss during the conflict are compounded by the hardships of life under the blockade.
Until Israel’s tight restrictions on the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza are lifted and the threat of further conflict eased, the psychological health of the 780,000 children living in Gaza will continue to deteriorate with devastating consequences for the future of the region.
Traumatised nation
"The psychological crisis facing children in Gaza just keeps on getting worse," Salam Kanaan, Country Director for Save the Children in the occupied Palestinian territory said. "Thousands of children are still living in half-destroyed homes or in over-crowded conditions with host families. Hundreds still live in tents, where they’re vulnerable to packs of wild dogs and don’t have proper protection against the cold and rain.”
“This is a traumatised nation, and in many ways children here are reacting normally to an abnormal situation. Many we work with are not able to sleep at night for fear of soldiers returning. Many cry at the sound of loud noises, mistaking them for military jets and tanks coming to bomb their homes. Young children in Gaza are surviving under extreme levels of stress, which will pose long-term dangers not only for their health, but for the health of the region.”
Surveys by the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme reveal that the majority of children in the area currently suffer anxiety, depression and behavioural problems, including aggression and bed-wetting.
Parents feel humiliated
“Children in Gaza have lost their parents twice: first, during the conflict, when they saw their parents terrified and unable to protect them from the violence," said Dr Ahmed Abu Tawanheena, Director of Gaza Community Mental Health Programme. He has worked with victims of trauma in Gaza for 20 years. "Now, under the blockade, they see their parents can't give them the stuff of normal childhood, with a safe home or enough food. Many parents feel humiliated by the situation, and many children report feeling abandoned by their parents and by the outside world.”
Save the Children has provided psychological support to children in Gaza since February 2009, creating ‘safe places’ where they can play, draw and express themselves. The organisation has so far worked directly with 26,500 children.
“Children in Gaza need to feel loved and secure," said Kanaan. "Save the Children’s priority is to try and restore a sense of well-being and normality for children in Gaza. We're helping them take baby steps towards regaining their childhood, but there's a huge job in front of us. If things are really to change for children here, there has to be an immediate lifting of the blockade to allow children to recover, and Israeli, Palestinian and international governments have to act urgently to make this happen."
Find out more
Look at the photo story of Gaza produced by Paolo Pellegrin, world-renowned Magnum photographer, for Save the Children.