Children of conflict: stress takes its toll on both sides of border

[Violet_Crumble]

On the Gaza-Israel frontline violence is traumatising a whole generation

Toni O'Loughlin The Guardian, Tuesday July 15, 2008

Fifteen-year-old Nour Aidi has hardly spoken in seven years since Israeli soldiers bulldozed the olive trees around his home, barricaded his family in a room and turned the house into a base, fortified with sandbags, camouflage netting, barbed wire and machine guns.

The soldiers stayed 12 months and then moved into barracks next door where, for another four years, they continued to control when Nour and his family could leave and enter the house.

Israel withdrew its army and settlers from Gaza in 2005, but the soldiers still occupy Nour's life. Nour is introverted, angry, sometimes violent, and without friends.

Nearly four miles away, on the other side of Gaza's deadly perimeter, similar behaviour has also taken root.

In the Israeli border town of Sderot Raziel Sasson, 13, sleeps huddled next to his mother and father. Raziel retreated to his parents' bed four years ago after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza exploded in a playing field, knocking him from a tree. He eventually returned to his own bed only to later move with the entire family into the lounge downstairs where they have slept for the past year, sheltering from the escalating attacks.

Raziel has watched rockets fired into his front yard and seen explosions cause serious injury. He has nightmares about the rockets and lately he has taken to sleeping in the reinforced steel box that his brother built in the living room for added protection.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/15/israelandthepalestinians.middleeast

[LeftishBrit]

1. Heartbreaking...

Growing up under war conditions has a terrible effect on children, even those lucky enough to be physically unharmed. And it so often leads to hate being carried into the next generation.

I hope the grownups on all sides can ACT like grownups, and finally bring this tragedy to an end.

[pelsar]

2. my first reaction....was that...

this article cannot possible be "fair"...meaning whereas there is probably a "wealth of stories from the Palestinians" on kids traumatized-on the israeli side, they probably had to do quite a lot of searching for the kid in the story.

The israelis have bomb shelters, bomb proof bus stops, an army that is constantly present-which does in fact help psychologically...the Palestenian kids (and adults) are subject to midnight raids, the constant buzzing of unmanned arial vehicles. helicopters (which unlike to an israeli kid-is a threat) no bomb shelters etc.

________

i realize that the attempt is to show how too the israelis are traumatized, but in the larger scheme of things, i dont believe there is much to compare

[azurnoir]

3. An important diference between the children of Sderot

and those of Gaza. While both have lived through untold violence the children of Sderot hav never lived through a military occupation, a good deal of the children of Gaza have, as that occupation only ended not quite 3 years ago, meaning most children in Gaza over 8 years of age can remember what it was like to live under occupation.

Also the children Sderot can leave if only temporarily and visit Tel Aviv for example and see and experience that life is not an endless cycle of terror and violence everywhere and for everyone, unfortunately the children Gaza have no such escape.

Hopefully the "grownups" on both sides will give all of the children a permanant one.