Children living in the Gaza Strip are showing increasing signs of trauma, parents and psychiatrists in the enclave say, Reuters reported.
They said this was mainly due to the fact that there was no safe place to hide from falling bombs and little hope of catching a breather.
“The children started showing serious symptoms of trauma, such as seizures, bedwetting, fear, aggressive behavior, nervousness and not withdrawing from their parents,” said Fadel Abu Heen, a Gaza psychiatrist.
Conditions in temporary shelters in United Nations schools, where more than 380,000 people are sheltering in the hope of avoiding the bombing. people, only complicates the problem.
Sometimes 100 people sleep in each classroom, and all the classrooms need to be cleaned constantly. There is little electricity and water, so the bathrooms and toilets are very dirty.
“Our children suffer a lot at night. They cry all night, urinate against their will, and I don’t have time to clean them one by one,” said Tahreer Tabash, a mother of six who took shelter at the school.
Even there they are not safe. The United Nations said such schools had been hit several times, and the mother interviewed saw the strikes hit nearby buildings. When her children hear the chair being moved, they jump in fear, she said.
“The fact that there is no safe place has created a general sense of fear and terror for the entire population, and it has affected children the most,” Abu Heen said.
About 90 people, including 30 under the age of 18, are forced to sleep in shifts due to lack of space in one house in Chan Yunis, in the south of the enclave.
“When there’s an explosion nearby or a target is hit, they always scream, they always get scared. We try to reassure the younger ones, we try to tell them, “Don’t worry, it’s just fireworks.” But the elders understand what is happening,” said Ibrahim al-Agha, an engineer hiding in the house.
“They will need a lot of psychological support when the war ends,” Agha said.
Help group “Save the children” in 2022. the report states that after 2021 The psychosocial well-being of children in the 11-day fighting in the Gaza Strip was “alarmingly low”, leaving half of all children in the Gaza Strip in need of help.
#Parents #Psychiatrists #Children #Gaza #Strip #showing #increasing #signs #trauma
