The latest from Catrin Ormestad, translated by Google, edited by moi: The kids were the great sacrifice of the Gaza War September 8th, 2014 at 05:48, Updated: September 8, 2014 at 06:52 The four boys were playing on the beach when artillery shells from an Israeli ship suddenly began to beat down on the sand. The first hit of the shed used by the fishermen. The children started to run away from the sea, but did not have a chance to get away from the second grenade that killed them all. Thanks to the journalists who witnessed the event from a hotel terrace, cousins Ismail Zakaria, and Ahed and Muhammad Bakr became perhaps the most noted Palestinian victims of the Gaza War, . Most of the other children who were killed during the 51-day conflict remain nameless. For example, the seven children who died in a playground in the Shati refugee camp, and the 19 children who were buried in the rubble when a four-storied house was bombed in Khan Yunis. The great sacrifice of the war was Gazas children. Around 500 young people are thought to have been killed, a quarter of the total Palestinian victims. Tens of thousands were made homeless and one-third of the 3,000 children who were seriously injured are at risk of becoming disabled. Almost half of the applicants to the refugee centers which are UN schools were under 18 years old. According to the UN, there are hardly any children in Gaza who havent been affected. By their estimates, at least 370 000 children show symptoms of post traumatic stress. The symptoms have been insomnia, bedwetting, concentration difficulties, separation anxiety, aggression and hyperactivity. If we talk about the symptoms, I would say that all children are affected - 100 percent. Then maybe 40-50 percent of the cases are so severe that they need treatment, says Hasan Zeyada, a psychologist at the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP), the largest mental health care organization in Gaza. A hundred girls and boys participate in the camp that GCMHP have organized for children in northern Gaza, and they wait for the deferred start of school in September. (Two other camps accept children in central and southern Gaza.) On the day when the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet visited the camp, the boys played football, while the girls painted on colorful plasticine. Twelve year old Hadil al Ejla made a flower of the first letter of her name in Arabic. Today I feel a little happier, she says, smiling shyly. Its so fun to be here. Hadil, like many other children in Gaza finds it difficult to forget what she experienced during the war. Her family comes from Shajaiye, the area hit hardest during Israels ground offensive. She sits a little higher up on the edge of her chair when she talks about the day when they left their home. Her parents didnt leave at first, but when a grenade struck their bathroom, they understood that it was time. The fighting was already in their neighborhood. Hadils eyes get watery when she remembers how they ran through the narrow streets, which reverberated with explosions and gunfire. They stepped over dead bodies, many children. Some missing both arms and legs. In the beginning I could not sleep because I was thinking so much of them, says Hadil. I still think of them every time there is a power failure. It is in darkness that Hadil relives her memories of the war. Counselor and Social Worker Kitam Abu Shwareb sees how the children hold much inside, which they dont know how to express. The day before, Hadil suddenly burst into tears. She sobbed heavily, until she couldnt anymore. At Miras nursery close by, a clown jokes with the kids. The staff do their best to make them forget what they have been through, but its not easy. Six-year Nabila Bahar is still holding her ears every time she sees a bombed house, and she no longer dares to go out alone, even at the daycare playground. She is afraid of the sky, explains her mother, Aisha Bahar. Both Hadil and Nabila have, in their short lifetimes, experienced three major military operations that claimed thousands of victims and caused great devastation throughout Gaza. The fact that new attacks keep coming is something that complicates treatment of the children, explains Hasan Zeyada. Just when they have begun to recover comes the next attack, and then you just have to start over. Sometimes I feel I just prepare them for the next attack. Meanwhile the therapists have their own traumas to process. Six of Hasan Zeyadas close relatives, including his mother and two brothers, were killed by the same bomb. Social worker Kitam and three preschool teachers in kindergarten Miras have all lost their homes. When Hadil and her family returned to their house after the war, they concluded that they would have to rebuild it again. Her grandmothers house was also gone, as well as the shop where her father sells meat. Hadil lost all of her dolls as well as the new clothes she got for Eid, the feast that breaks the Ramadan. But when she was asked about what she desires most of all, its not new toys, or even a house, only for Israelis to leave Gaza alone. The occupation creates new generations of enemies, says Hasan Zeyada. Who will be able to convince these kids that Israelis are ordinary, decent people? Do you think there is a child in Gaza who believes that Israel wants peace? Catrin Ormestad svd.se/nyheter/utrikes/barnen-blev-gazakrigets-stora-offer_3887770.svd Barnen blev Gazakrigets stora offer svd.se
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 08:23:43 +0000