Reply to Gaza war and College Campus Protests

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[quote=Anonymous]In Rafah, Ghada Oudah shares a tent with her nephews between the ages of 3 and 13. The children were orphaned after their parents were killed, along with her niece, aged 10. She says the bodies of her deceased family members are still under the rubble where they were killed in the north.

Ghada, a former international NGO worker, says there are many cases of children who suffer from traumatic stress. Some have lost their entire families, are still in shock and can’t speak." Her nephews wet the bed and have suffered hair and speech loss.

Ghada moved from the north to the south and got separated from her daughters, aged eleven and nine. The couple are divorced, and the father has been looking after the girls. She longs to reunite with her daughters and fears they don’t have enough to eat.

Currently, children have no access to specialised health services. Only 12 of the 36 health facilities are partially functioning. Ammar says the only psychiatric hospital in the Gaza Strip was ravaged, and six other mental health clinics on the Strip are not accessible.

UNICEF runs some projects and activities with service providers. They have trained some staff in shelters to help children and parents deal with trauma. But it is not enough, warns Ammar.

Against a sea of white tents in Rafah, acrobats dressed in bright orange, with red noses from the Free Gaza Circus, somersault, play tricks, pull funny faces and organise games.

Children paint their faces, interact with the performers, and laugh in a brief respite from the bombing and grief which has consumed them for months.

In 2018, Free Gaza Circus was founded to provide a safe environment to engage the youth in creative arts in a safe space.

After seven months of bombing, Israeli forces have obliterated its building, and the whereabouts of hundreds of children who acquired circus crafts and skills — are unknown.

Despite the struggles, the circus artists and acrobats provide psychological support. Mohammed Khader, the group’s founder says it is their passion project, their calling, their artistic purpose."

The depression of this situation can be unbearable. At least the children have something to let them smile a few days per week — whenever it is possible," says Mohammed.[/quote]

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