In February last year I crossed through a heavily fortified border crossing (Erez) into North Gaza. I was going in to monitor an Australian government funded program with a mental health specialist. One of the components of the program is psychological first aid (PFA): training ordinary people (adults and children) how to assist those who have survived crises. At one of the schools I visited, (now rubble) I watched a trainer teaching teenagers how to "look, listen, link".
I listened to children sing songs about freedom and watched as they danced and played, I visited home gardens, tomato greenhouses and strawberry farms that only 3 months before had been bombed in the most recent 'incursion', but now were rebuilt. I listened to stories of resilience, but frustration and confusion. The area of North Gaza I visited, the streets I walked, the building I worked in are all rubble now - but more importantly the people I sat with, the children I listened to are again suffering.
PFA is a surprisingly simple yet extremely powerful tool that, for a number of years now, has been assisting the people of Gaza. (We have also used it in the North of Sri Lanka.) In response to this latest war, Alison Schafer, the person I travelled with, the architect of our PFA program who has a lot of experience in Gaza and one of the authors of this tool made these comments:
Alison Schafer says most human beings have a remarkable capacity to recover naturally from a crisis, once their sense of security is restored and their basic needs are met. But in Gaza children are in a perpetual crisis because of either war, the threat of war or a blockade that prevents the delivery of essential supplies.
“The challenge that is unique to Gaza is that children never achieve any ongoing sense of safety at all, and their parents cannot provide it because they have no control and they have nowhere else to go,” she says.
Ms Schafer says such prolonged periods of stress cause a massive increase in cortisol levels in the brain, which adversely affects the mental development of children. Research is suggesting that this could be making children more at risk for aggressive behaviours and psychological problems in later life.
She adds that people suffering extreme adverse childhood experiences may have their lives shortened, with a significant risk of death before 50 years of age compared with children who have not experienced such events.
Ms Schafer says it’s critical for children’s mental health for the current hostilities to cease and for the blockade of Gaza to end.
Once this is achieved, it will be important for children to get back to a regular routine as quickly as possible, such as by going to school and participating in after-school activities. Children will also require more support from their parents.
“You are going to have children clinging to mother’s legs; you’re going to have children seeking attention. If they are not provided that attention in a positive way such as during family meals or family games then they are going to start exhibiting negative behaviours,” she says.
Ms Schafer says while aid organisations can provide a range of psychosocial support, the most important thing they can do is support parents to assist their children’s recovery.
“Children will naturally seek support from their parents and so they should. We should not be disempowering parents.”
Ms Schafer, who is based in Australia, has supported work in Gaza for about five years, providing psychosocial support to farmers and their families. The programs have been suspended due to the current fighting. Ms Schafer hopes to return to Gaza in September to continue work in mental health and psychosocial support.
As missiles rain down on Gaza, the war is exacting a huge psychological toll on children, which will plague the region for decades to come according to a World Vision mental health and psychosocial support specialist.
Alison Schafer says most human beings have a remarkable capacity to recover naturally from a crisis, once their sense of security is restored and their basic needs are met. But in Gaza children are in a perpetual crisis because of either war, the threat of war or a blockade that prevents the delivery of essential supplies.
“The challenge that is unique to Gaza is that children never achieve any ongoing sense of safety at all, and their parents cannot provide it because they have no control and they have nowhere else to go,” she says.
Ms Schafer says such prolonged periods of stress cause a massive increase in cortisol levels in the brain, which adversely affects the mental development of children. Research is suggesting that this could be making children more at risk for aggressive behaviours and psychological problems in later life.
She adds that people suffering extreme adverse childhood experiences may have their lives shortened, with a significant risk of death before 50 years of age compared with children who have not experienced such events.
Ms Schafer says it’s critical for children’s mental health for the current hostilities to cease and for the blockade of Gaza to end.
Once this is achieved, it will be important for children to get back to a regular routine as quickly as possible, such as by going to school and participating in after-school activities. Children will also require more support from their parents.
“You are going to have children clinging to mother’s legs; you’re going to have children seeking attention. If they are not provided that attention in a positive way such as during family meals or family games then they are going to start exhibiting negative behaviours,” she says.
Ms Schafer says while aid organisations can provide a range of psychosocial support, the most important thing they can do is support parents to assist their children’s recovery.
“Children will naturally seek support from their parents and so they should. We should not be disempowering parents.”
Ms Schafer, who is based in Australia, has supported work in Gaza for about five years, providing psychosocial support to farmers and their families. The programs have been suspended due to the current fighting. Ms Schafer hopes to return to Gaza in September to continue work in mental health and psychosocial support.
