12/23/2024–|Last updated: 12/23/202404:03 PM (Mecca time)
“Children in Gaza suffer from many symptoms that indicate psychological problems, such as clinging to their parents and refusing to stay away from them, severe anxiety and fear, and involuntary urination. They also refuse to participate in activities, cannot sleep, and have difficulty eating.”
Thus began a report in the British newspaper The Guardian, explaining the psychological effects of the war on the children of the Gaza Strip, based on what was reported by workers at the “War Child” charitable foundation, which works to provide services to enhance mental health and education for 180,000 children in the Strip.
The Guardian quoted Ibrahim responsible Protection in emergency situations. He said, “Children have lost their ability to speak and can no longer communicate with their family members due to severe trauma. Some of them suffer from extreme anger, and their behavior has become defensive and aggressive. Some of them have developed speech impairments, including stuttering.”
According to the report prepared by journalist Carolyn Davies, volunteers deal with children who have these symptoms every day while working in the sector, and the organization usually provides emergency psychological first aid in many forms, including gathering children in camps with a trainer to play, draw, and sing to relieve stress, and setting up temporary and equipped teaching places. Whatever school supplies are available.
The Foundation also holds sessions for parents to explain ways to support their children, while children suffering from complex psychological trauma are referred to specialized experts.
The organization also focuses on providing basic needs as much as possible, recognizing that “you cannot provide psychological support to a hungry child or education to a cold child,” according to emergency response officer Mohamed, including food, clean water, shelter, blankets, hygiene and menstrual supplies.
A child silenced by the noise of bombs
Muhammad spoke about a boy suffering from severe shock and receiving individual counseling in the corner of a crowded shelter housing 3,000 people. “He cannot communicate except through drawing. He has actually become mute, and has no ability to speak because of the terror that befell him as a result of the war.”
Muhammad continued, “The child is only 6 years old. It is very difficult for anyone to imagine that.”
War orphans
The report stated that there were children who lost their fathers and mothers as a result of the Israeli bombing, and some of them were seriously injured, leading to the amputation of their limbs.
According to UNICEF, there are now 17,000 unaccompanied children, vulnerable to countless threats, including physical abuse and exploitation.
Ibrahim said, “Not a day goes by without me meeting one or two children who are orphaned and separated from their families. Recently, we found 3 children on the street at one o’clock after midnight during the war, with danger surrounding them from every corner. The oldest of them was 10 years old and the youngest was a 6-year-old girl who was suffering from… Disabled people, and the search for their families is still ongoing, and there are many similar cases.”
Women and children are on the verge of psychological collapse
Nidaa, an emergency technical assistant who works daily with women and children, commented, “Without the support we provide – especially psychological services for women and children – many of the people I saw would truly go crazy.”
She stressed that women bear the brunt of the war, as they try to care for their children at times, and deal with the necessities of life at other times, including cooking scarce food on firewood.
Volunteers are also at risk
Based on video interviews she conducted with volunteers in Gaza, the report’s author said that the personal risks faced by the organization’s members are enormous, especially after other workers in non-governmental organizations were killed as a result of Israeli attacks.
The volunteers told the newspaper that they had been displaced between 10 and 12 times, and all of them had lost at least one loved one.
Muhammad, who is suffering from an injury, said that he lost about 100 relatives and loved ones, and his cousins, uncles, and aunt are still under the rubble a year later.
His colleague Ibrahim concluded by saying, “What people do not appreciate is that I feel anxious all day long, because my family may be bombed at any moment at home while I am at work.”