<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/22/children-in-gaza-developing-severe-trauma-after-16-days-of-bombing>
"Children in Gaza are developing severe trauma symptoms alongside the risk of
death and injury, according to a Palestinian psychiatrist.
On Sunday, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 1,750 children had been
killed in the 16 days of bombardment by Israeli forces since Hamas’s murderous
onslaught on 7 October. That is an average of almost 110 children a day.
Thousands more have been injured.
The psychological impact of the war on children was showing, said Fadel Abu
Heen, a psychiatrist in Gaza. Children had “started to develop serious trauma
symptoms such as convulsions, bed-wetting, fear, aggressive behaviour,
nervousness, and not leaving their parents’ sides.”
The “lack of any safe place has created a general sense of fear and horror
among the entire population and children are most impacted,” he said.
“Some of them reacted directly and expressed their fears. Although they may
need immediate intervention, they may be in a better state than the other kids
who kept the horror and trauma inside them.”
About half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population are children. Since 7 October, they
have lived under near constant bombardment, with many packed into temporary
shelters in UN-run schools after fleeing their homes with little access to food
or clean water.
Tahreer Tabash, a mother of six children sheltering in a school, said: “Our
children suffer a lot at night. They cry all night, they pee themselves without
meaning to.”
Israeli children have also shown increasing signs of trauma since 7 October,
according to Zachi Grossman, the chair of the Israeli Paediatric Association.
“We’re witnessing a tsunami of anxiety symptoms among children” and the issue
was “not being adequately addressed”, he told Ynet, an Israeli news website.
“Around 90% of children visiting paediatric hospitals complain of anxiety. Many
are suffering from anxiety, and it’s certainly something we haven’t seen in the
past. The recognition is beginning to dawn that this issue will be much more
prolonged than before,” Grossman said."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
