January 21st 2009
The pychological effects on children in Gaza
Hatem Shurrab, an aid worker with Islamic Relief based in Gaza, discusses the psychological effects of recent events that he has witnessed in children (For Hatem’s previous blogs, please see here: one, two, three)
Finally there is a ceasefire. Finally life in Gaza can begin to return to normal. Looking out of my window I can see scenes that would be normal in any other city, but that have been missing from Gaza for three weeks. Small things we all take for granted; the sound of traffic, children playing in the streets and people shopping for food. The sights and sounds of normal life.
But things in Gaza aren’t normal. Everywhere you look you can see the devastating impact of the conflict; the death, the destruction and the grief. But some wounds you cannot see. The psychological wounds inflicted upon to the people of Gaza are not immediately visible but are there to see if you look closely.
Today I visited Al-Faluja school which is sheltering some of the estimated 100,000 people who have been forced from their homes since the fighting started. The conditions in temporary shelters such as this are very difficult. There is little food and water, and people often have no way to keep warm during the cold winter nights.
This school came under attack during the conflict, and the effects of this are still being felt. At the school I met 11-year-old Yasmin. As I was talking to her she hit another child and started a fight with a boy the same age as she was. I was shocked and saddened to see such young children behaving like this. When I spoke to her father he explained that three weeks ago she was calm and innocent, but is now aggressive and angry.
Yasmin is not the only child to be acting like this. Momen, the three-year-old son of one of my colleagues has also started to act in violent ways. For three weeks the family would hear explosions day and night and now Momen’s personality has completely changed. He has destroyed his toys, constantly shouts and screams, and refuses to leave his mother’s side. May be this is not surprising; we have all suffered so much and even as an adult I often found it hard to cope with the strain of constant violence. I cannot imagine the confusion and fear felt by a young child.
Psychological problems such as depression and aggression are common in children who have lived through conflict. This is not a new phenomenon in Gaza as many children have lived through other periods of violence, but this latest crisis will have added to the mental health problems faced by Gaza’s children. However, families in Gaza are already struggling with the basics of life; getting enough water, food, fuel and shelter. Hidden psychological problems are not something they are able to deal with.
And it is not only families. The health system is still in disarray. The wards at Gaza’s hospitals are full and doctors are still struggling to treat patients with little medication or electricity. The priority in Gaza is still to keep people alive and there is not the time to treat those whose injuries you cannot see.
Islamic Relief runs a psychosocial project with CAFOD to provide support and counselling to children affected by the trauma of war. Islamic Relief provides them with the opportunity to play and have fun in a safe environment. The project also offers affected children with psychological support both in group sessions and through one-on-one counselling. This project had to be suspended during the conflict but will now resume. Unfortunately I fear that there will be an even greater demand for its services as children struggle to come to terms with the loss of family, friends and their homes.
Many children, and adults are also struggling with the psychological trauma of the horrific injuries they have suffered. At Al Shifa Hospital the burns department is full of patients whose features have been permanently changed or whose bodies have been terribly scarred. In many countries these people would have access to plastic surgeons; but these services are not available in Gaza. The psychological effects of these injuries are as yet unknown.
The last three weeks have brought terrible pain and suffering to the people of Gaza. While the ceasefire means that people in Gaza can finally start to think about picking up the pieces of their lives, we are all going to have to work together to heal Gaza’s wounds.
Hatem Shurrab
Islamic Relief
January 24th, 2009 at 6:16 am
Thank you very much for this report as it is impossible to read anything other than Israeli propaganda lines in western media. I hope Mulsim and Sane world takes care of these little one so that they can live in a safe environment. That is only possible if Israel is made to pay for its crimes and Palestinians get what has been due to them for long. Otherwise, you are creating lot more suicide bombers than you can ever accomplish to get rid off.
January 24th, 2009 at 6:18 am
I am deeply offended by the Lancet’s one sided stance as to conditions in Gaza. The lancet is a Medical Journal and not a Political Journal. Yet is is publishing politically slanted one sided accounts of the situation in Gaza. When publishing an article about the psychological damage to the children of Gaza, has anyone stopped to think and inquire as to the psychological damage to the children of Southern Israel who are living in constant fear for their lives. Children who have classes in bomb shelters and sleep in bomb shelters. Children, who for the past 8 years have lived a life of constant fear, tension, anxiety and insecurity. It is incomprehensible to me that a journal of such high regard, for Medical professionals, would accept and publish political garbage in disguise as medical information. I strongly urge the editorial board of the Lancet to re-examine it’s policies.