Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 9. november 2009 / Timeline November 9, 2009
Version 3.58. November 2009, 10. November 2009
11/09/2009
Krystalnatten i Nazityskland, 1938.
11/09/2009
Berlinmuren nedrives af den østtyske befolkning, 1989.
Hvornår kommer der en politiker og siger "Ich bin ein
Palestinier!"
11/09/2009
Marking Berlin
anniversary, Palestinians breach Israel's wall
Protesters pull down part of Israel`s wall on Monday [courtesy
Ahmed Meslah]
Ramallah – Ma'an – Marking the 20th anniversary of the
fall of the Berlin Wall, Palestinian demonstrators breached
Israel's concrete barrier near the West Bank city of Ramallah on
Monday.
Reporting from the scene, Ma'an's correspondent said the
protesters, once they reached the other side, set fire to tires.
Israeli forces also opened fire, the reporter said.
Around 100 demonstrators waving Palestinian flags and wearing
fluorescent jackets reading, "We are going to Jerusalem," broke
through near the Qalandiya military checkpoint, onlookers said. A
truck was used to pull down the concrete slabs making up the wall,
an organizer said.
11/09/2009
Vast majority of Gaza children suffer PTSD symptoms
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10879.shtml
Aditya Ganapathiraju, The Electronic Intifada, 9 November 2009
More than 40 years of Israeli military occupation have had a
devastating impact on Palestinians in Gaza. Air strikes, artillery
shelling, ground invasions, jet flybys and other acts of violence
have all led to an epidemic of suffering among Gaza's most
vulnerable inhabitants. The most recent studies indicate that the
vast majority of Gaza's children exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD).
Soon after the Israeli winter assault, a group of scholars at the
University of Washington discussed different aspects of the
situation in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).
Dr. Evan Kanter, a UW School of Medicine professor and the current
president of Physicians for Social Responsibility, delivered a
somber talk describing the mental health situation among Gaza's
population. The numbers he cited described a staggering level of
psychological trauma.
Dr. Kanter described studies that revealed 62 percent of Gaza's
inhabitants reported having a family member injured or killed, 67
percent saw injured or dead strangers and 83 percent had witnessed
shootings.
According to Dr. Kanter, in a study of high school-aged children
from southern refugee camps in Rafah and Khan Younis, 69 percent of
the children showed symptoms of PTSD, 40 percent showed signs of
moderate or severe depression, and a staggering 95 percent
exhibited severe anxiety. Meanwhile, 75 percent showed limited or
no ability to cope with their trauma. All of this was before the
last Israeli invasion.
Dr. Eyad El-Sarraj, head of the Gaza Community Mental Health
Programme, and whom Dr. Kanter described as a "medical hero"
working under seemingly impossible conditions, has produced "some
of the best research in the world on the impact of war on civilian
populations." In a 2002 interview he said that 54 percent of
children in Gaza had symptoms of PTSD, along with 30 percent of
adults. The hardest hit were young ones who had their homes
bulldozed or who lost loved ones like their mothers, he said.
Again, these figures were obtained well before conditions
dramatically deteriorated.
Gaza's population is overwhelmingly young. About 45 percent of the
population are 14 years old or younger and roughly 60 percent are
19 years and younger. The long-term effects of constant violence
and PTSD on such a young population are incalculable.
A recent study by international researchers and the Gaza Community
Mental Health Programme entitled "War on Gaza survey study" reveals
more worrying figures. Of a representative sample of children in
Gaza, more than 95 percent experienced artillery shelling in their
area or sonic booms of low-flying jets. Moreover, 94 percent
recalled seeing mutilated corpses on TV and 93 percent witnessed
the effects of aerial bombardments on the ground. More than 70
percent of children in Gaza said they lacked water, food and
electricity during the most recent attacks, and a similar
percentage said they had to flee to safety during the recent
attacks.
In addition, 98.7 percent of the traumatized children reported that
they did not feel safe in their homes. More than 95 percent of the
children felt that they were unable to protect themselves or their
family members, causing a feeling of utter powerlessness that is
compounded by a sense of loss over unfulfilled lives.
A whole generation is being lost to the horrors of large-scale
military violence and a brutal occupation. In front of many
distraught members in the audience, Dr. Kanter described a study
that showed that witnessing severe military violence results in
more aggression and antisocial behavior among children, along with
the "enjoyment of aggression." There are similar studies among
Israeli children who witness violent attacks.
PTSD, Dr. Kanter explained, is an "engine that perpetuates violent
conflict." It leads to three characteristic symptoms. First,
individuals re-experience the traumatic events in the form of the
nightmares, debilitating flashbacks and terrifying memories that
haunt individuals for years afterwards. Second, other individuals
may develop avoidance symptoms in which they become isolated and
emotionally numb, deadened to the world around them. Third,
individuals have symptoms of hyper arousal, which may lead to
excessive anger, insomnia, self-destructive behavior and a
hyper-vigilant state of mind. Other maladies like poor social
functioning, depression, suicidal thoughts, a lack of trust and
family violence are all associated with PTSD.
The most recent study, "Trauma, grief and PTSD in Palestinian
children victims for war on Gaza" by the Gaza Community Mental
Health Programme, revealed that in the aftermath of the winter
assault on Gaza, an unbelievable 91.4 percent of children in Gaza
displayed symptoms of moderate to very severe PTSD. Meanwhile, only
about one percent of the children showed no signs of PTSD.
The outlook for children in Gaza suffering from these symptoms is
not optimistic. Whereas soldiers who experience traumatic events in
a war zone can return home to relative calm and seek treatment, the
people of Gaza continue to be held in what one Israeli human rights
group labeled the "largest prison on Earth"-- a methodically
"de-developed" island isolated from the rest of the world.
One of the most distressing prospects for peace are studies of
similar war-torn populations like Kosovo and Afghanistan that
showed that military violence often leads to widespread feelings of
hatred and the simmering urge for revenge. One can easily predict
the future consequences of a large number of young people exposed
to this level of trauma.
In an op-ed published during Israel's winter invasion Dr. Eyad
El-Sarraj warned that "Palestinian children in the first intifada
20 years ago threw stones at Israeli tanks trying to wrest freedom
from Israeli military occupation. Some of those children grew up to
become suicide bombers in the second intifada 10 years later. It
does not take much to imagine the serious changes that will befall
today's children."
"The breakdown of an entire society is happening in front of us,"
Harvard political economist Sara Roy warned in July. Many share
Roy's feeling that "what looms is no less than the loss of entire
generation of Palestinians," which she fears may have occurred
already.
This will be the enduring legacy of the Israeli occupation.
Aditya Ganapathiraju is a student, independent writer and local
organizer. He lives in the Seattle area and works on Palestine and
other social justice issues.
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