About Us |
Country Profiles |
Themes |
International |
Home
|
| Home ::: |
| Contact Us ::: |
|
NEWS STORY
March 20, 2009 By Bilal Badwan, Correspondent Gaza Strip: As of February 5, 431 Palestinian children have died and 1,872 wounded in the 22-day Israeli attack that ended on January 18, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The impact of a conflict on children is high and often it is they who are hurt most in the wars fought by adults. The population of Gaza is about 1.5 million of which 56 per cent - approximately 793,520 - are children, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. Humanitarian access to all, especially to the most vulnerable, must be unhampered. On January 10, four children playing football were hit by an Israeli missile, which disfigured their bodies so completely their own families could not identify the bodies. "We have the right to play in a safe place and to enjoy life," 15-year-old Emad told Gulf News. Emad plays football along with his friends in the neighbourhood daily. "We didn't have the chance to play during the war because it was too dangerous at that time. So we play now and don't know whether we'll be able to play safely every day." Emad, his siblings, and all of Gaza's children are finding their lives diminished each day - a cruel, slow suffocation of their spirit and dreams. Instead of expanding their future horizons, they are trapped in a virtual prison, where things that every child should be able to take for granted are instead being taken away - the right to play, to go to school, to have enough to eat, to have light to study by at night, and to feel safe in their own homes. The children's lives are limping back to normal. They play football and other games trying to forget the tragedies of the war. The health and nutrition standards for Gaza's children since the recent war have declined to abysmal levels. Unicef remains concerned that the nutritional status and general health of children in Gaza are likely to deteriorate given the dependency of Gaza families on food aid and cash assistance, as well as the lack of access to clean tap water. From mid-January, Unicef has provided essential supplements of vitamin A and D, and iron-foliate, to 50,000 infants and children under five through the Health Ministry centres and UNRWA [UN agency for Palestinian refugees] clinics. People in Gaza have been spending a long time in queues for gas, fuel and food aid since the attack. Right now many families are living in tents or with relatives. A lack of adequate housing leads to a lack of clean water. By the end of February, an UNRWA assessment indicated that 2,350 families need to have their homes reconstructed; 10,500 families have homes needing repairs, and these figures are likely to rise. This correspondent visited Al Nasser Children's Hospital in Gaza City [one of two paediatric hospitals in Gaza], where Unicef is providing training and supplies, including incubators, monitoring equipment, and essential drugs. The hospital lacks equipment and is in dire need of medical supplies, mostly due to the 18-month-old blockade. The neonatal unit lacks spare parts that are needed to repair equipment. Education standards have also declined drastically since the war. Palestinians were once reputed to be among the best-educated people in the Middle East. But after years of violence, isolation, and poverty, their tradition in educational excellence has been shattered. Unicef Executive Director Ann M. Veneman recently paid a visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory to assess the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with special focus on children. "I visited Jabaliya Co-educational School in north Gaza, under the Palestinian Authority [PA], where Unicef is providing educational and recreational supplies. It was surprising how many schools were hit - directly and indirectly, including UNRWA and PA schools and even the American International School was destroyed," she told Gulf News. "Classrooms were devastated by the attacks and Unicef has provided tents to facilitate continued learning. Education is very important to children for creating a sense of normalcy and routine," she added. Due to severe damage to six PA schools in northern Gaza, 4,711 students were relocated to seven other PA schools, leading to overcrowding and double shifts. Prior to the hostilities, 151 schools out of 351 were working in double shifts due to restrictions on bringing construction materials. Concrete, cement and steel have not been allowed into Gaza since November 5. Gaza The psychological impact of the war and the blockade varies among the children themselves - but clearly it has had an impact, according to Unicef Executive Director Ann M. Veneman. "I visited psychological support programmes in northern Gaza run by Unicef in partnership with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society [PRCS] which include art therapy, singing, and stress relieving activities," she said. "At the centre the children were drawing missiles that were aimed at their houses. One little girl drew a black area at the bottom of her picture, saying 'This is where the dead people are' - perhaps indicating a cemetery." Children must have trained professionals available to help them deal with the trauma and time is of the essence. Asked about the most pressing needs of children, Veneman said Palestinian children's psychosocial well-being and mental health have been severely affected by the recent violence. The children in Gaza have been affected by the conflict and are in need of psychosocial assistance and support. Children of the conflict have borne the brunt of the violence for far too long, she added. URL: story url
|
|
| ::: External Links |
|
:: Gulf News |
| ::: Themes |
|
:: General |
| ::: Country |
|
::Occupied Palestinian Territory |
© 1999-
The Children and Armed Conflict Unit