Gazan children bear 'scars of war' By Phoebe Greenwood

[ConsAreLiars]

Operation Cast Lead destroyed 3,500 Palestinian homes and 280 schools and Israel's tight restrictions on the movement of people or materials in or out of Gaza means that one year on, the region is yet to rebuild itself physically or psychologically.

Ahmed Awad, a child psychologist who worked as a counselling manager at the ministry of education until 2008, warns: "Every single child in Gaza is traumatised by what they experienced during the war. They all heard the aircrafts, the bombs and the shelling, they all feel unsafe. But around 60 per cent are still suffering from shock.

"These children display symptoms of acute fear, anxiety and depression. They have an overwhelming pessimism for the future. A huge number of children in Gaza have no hope."
...
Her four-year-old brother, Mohammed, screams and clings to his mother whenever he hears a car or motorbike, mistaking the noise for a plane he thinks will bomb them.

Phoebe Greenwood is a media manager with Save the Children.

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/gazaoneyearon/2009/12/2009122611523678496.html>

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. Permanaent damage has been done.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/health/research/24abuse.html?ref=health
For years, psychiatrists have known that children who are abused or neglected run a high risk of developing mental problems later in life, from anxiety and depression to substance abuse and suicide.


http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/090223-abused-children-genes.html
A study led by researchers in Canada who analysed post mortem brain samples of suicide victims with a history of being abused in childhood found changes in DNA expression that were not present in suicide victims with no childhood abuse history or in people who died of other causes. The affected DNA was in a gene that regulates the way the brain controls the stress response.


http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/139938.php
A study led by researchers in Canada who analysed post mortem brain samples of suicide victims with a history of being abused in childhood found changes in DNA expression that were not present in suicide victims with no childhood abuse history or in people who died of other causes. The affected DNA was in a gene that regulates the way the brain controls the stress response.


http://scienceblogs.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/child_abuse_permanently_modifies_stress_genes_in_brains_of_s.php
By studying the brains of suicide victims, Patrick McGowan from the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, found that child abuse modifies a gene called NR3C1 that affects a person's ability to deal with stress. The changes it wrought were "epigenetic", meaning that the gene's DNA sequence wasn't altered but it's structure was modified to make it less active. These types of changes are very long-lasting, which strongly suggests that the trauma of child abuse could be permanently inscribed onto a person's genes.

[shira]

Living with Rockets: Psychological trauma increasing among Sderot residents

Niv and countless other children in Sderot have been living with Palestinian rocket fire for almost 8 years. Many have trouble concentrating in school and suffer from anxiety attacks.

In a recent study conducted by NATAL (Israel Trauma Center for Victims of Terror and War), researchers discovered that close to 56% of Sderot residents have suffered in some way from Palestinian rocket attacks. According to the report, presented this past week by Natal Community Staff Director, Dr. Roni Berger, nearly half of Sderot's population has been either physically or emotionally damaged by Palestinian rocket fire.

One third of Sderot children, ages 13 to 18, have trauma-related learning disorders. Approximately 4, 000 Sderot residents are suffering from symptoms of post-traumatic-stress disorder (PTSD).

PTSD is a severe and ongoing reaction to a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm, according to the National Institute for Mental Health. People who develop PTSD may have witnessed someone who was harmed in a traumatic event or were victims themselves.

Symptoms of PTSD usually begin three months after the ordeal but can also emerge years afterward. Some people can recover within 6 months while others have symptoms that last for much longer. For some people, the condition becomes chronic. PTSD is a disorder that is commonly known to develop among soldiers returning from war.

Dr. Adrianne Katz, head of the Sderot Mental Health Center says that the shock impacts the victim's ability to function for months after experiencing a Palestinian rocket explosion. "Many rocket terror victims suffer from depression, sleepless nights, severe anxiety, and have trouble going back to a regular routine," she says. "Children return to wetting their beds and often experience nightmares at night."

During periods of intense rocket fire, Sderot parents opt to use the first floor of their homes. The living room or shelter becomes the sleeping quarters for the entire family. "We live in a constant state of fear," says Yehudit Dahan a Sderot mother of three.

The NATAL study also showed that it is not only Sderot children who suffer from symptoms of PTSD. Although the study found that adults living within rocket range in the Negev often dealt better with rocket attacks than their counterparts in Sderot, their children did not. Close to 75% of children living in Gaza vicinity communities, ages 12-14 suffer from symptoms of PTSD compared to 86% of Sderot children.

more...
http://cgis.jpost.com/Blogs/rocketlife/entry/psychological_trauma_increasing_among_sderot

[ConsAreLiars]

3. Thanks for the perspective and for showing such compassion for children of Sderot

Better than having none at all.

6000 kids in Sderot traumatized by the maybe 10-100,000 pounds of explosive aimed that way and few landing anywhere close. No significant damage to buildings or homes. CNN did, however, constantly replay a clip of some lady having an anxiety attack and being walked to an ambulance.

A tragedy for sure. I think everyone would agree.


Maybe 600,000 kids in Gaza traumatized by many millions of pounds of explosives far more accurately aimed at them and successfully killing hundreds. Thousand of homes destroyed. Infrastructure from schools to sanitation demolished. The whole population deprived of basic needs or the barest human rights for years.

Not a tragedy, but a just and holy action by a just and holy government of a just and holy nation comprised of just and holy people. I don't think any sane person would agree with your justification of the mass murder of the children and adults in Gaza, denying them food and medicine and the basic necessities.

I think you've made your viewpoint and values perfectly clear.

(tiny edit for punctuation and to add a qualifier)

[shira]

5. so where were you during 8 years of non-stop rockets on Sderot and southern Israel?

Do you know what it's like to have to wake up nightly due to warning sirens? Having just 15 seconds to find shelter? Sometimes more than 3-4 times daily? Several times a night. How's that for a life, or for a family? 8 fucking years of that.

Why weren't you and your 'just and holy' friends protesting this for 8 years? Maybe if you thought the residents of southern Israel were as human as Palestinians, and you and the UN, human rights groups, etc... protested heavily and pressured Hamas to cease and desist, OCL wouldn't have been necessary?

Ever thought of that?

It's not too late, you can still do something about it....

Hamas is fortifying themselves as we speak, and they will again use Palestinians as shields to maximize casualties in case Israel strikes in response to rockets again. What are you doing now to protest Hamas' use of Palestinians as their pawns, or using children as combatants and human shields? How about NOW you start protesting Hamas' indoctrination of hate and intolerance, aimed mostly at children? Protest Hamas' military fortifications in densely populated neighborhoods, schools, and mosques? Protest Hamas' total disregard for Palestinians. Hamas thrives on Palestinian suffering. Fight the hate and get others involved. It's not too late.

Aren't all victims of Hamas human enough for you, including and especially Palestinian child victims of Hamas? Why not stand up for them? Or do you only pretend to care for children when you can demonize Israelis?

[ConsAreLiars]

6. If nothing else, you are predictable. (nt)

[shira]

2. delete - dupe

[Violet_Crumble]

4. Video: Child's eye - One year on with the children of Gaza...

One year ago today, Save the Children met a Palestinian boy named Mohammed. He was living in a shelter school after his house was damaged by the Israeli shelling of Gaza. A year later he describes why his family have moved back to their ruined house and how they still live in fear of further attacks

Watch the first video with Mohammed here