Distinction in travel journalism
Is independent travel journalism important to you?
Click here to keep it independent

13 Aug, 2014

Gaza’s children: ‘Israel creating a new generation of enemies’ – The Guardian

Doctors and mental health specialists in Gaza can draw on a bitter store of experience of treating traumatised children. After Operation Cast Lead, a study by the Gaza community mental health programme (GCMHP) found that 75% of children over the age of six were suffering from one or more symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, with almost one in 10 ticking off every criterion.

In the aftermath of that war, Hasan Zeyada, a psychologist with the GCMHP, told the Guardian: “The majority of children suffer many psychological and social consequences. Insecurity and feelings of helplessness and powerlessness are overwhelming. We observed children becoming more anxious – sleep disturbances, nightmares, night terror, regressive behaviour such as clinging to parents, bed wetting, becoming more restless and hyperactive, refusal to sleep alone, all the time wanting to be with their parents, overwhelmed by fears and worries. Some start to be more aggressive.”

Read the rest: Gaza’s children: ‘Israel is creating a new generation of enemies’ | World news | The Guardian.