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We visited a number of youth centers in Gaza, all of which have had to change their program to deal with the traumatized children after Israel’s assault on the strip. At the Al Taqreed Association in Beit Hanoun, where 2500 children rotate through in a year, we met with kids aged 5-10. Most had had their faces painted in a workshop that morning, but some, who still weren’t speaking after the war, refused.
The UNRWA Youth Activity center in the Jabalia refugee camp, which is located just 2 km from the border and has the dubious honor of being largest in population yet smallest in area, provides a variety of activities for the young people, including theatre. We saw a performance of a traditional Palestinian wedding. Afterwards, during a question and answer session, we asked if they had any questions for us. Two requests were repeated by several people: to go back to our homes and tell their story and to work to end the siege. “We don’t need money or aid. What we need is your political support to end the blockade so we can take care of ourselves.”
We also visited the Al Amal Orphan Society, which first opened in 1949 to help the homeless children following the Nakba. In Arabic society, an orphan is defined as a child who has lost his or her father. If the mother remarries and the new husband chooses not to accept the children of her previous marriage, they will be sent to an orphanage. The children spend at least one day a week and two weeks during the summer with their relatives and mother, if she is still alive. The children also attend school outside the orphanage in order to be more integrated with society. Most of the children at Al Amal are from the poorer border areas.
During the 22-day Israeli assault, because the center is close to the Ministry of Health and other targets, the children were moved out to stay with members of their extended families. We were shown a large piece of shrapnel that was found in the yard. The kitchen of the center was used to feed people left homeless by the attack.
After the ceasefire, Al Amal sent out notices via radio and TV letting the people know they were prepared to receive new orphans resulting from the attack. However, not a single child was sent to the orphanage. Despite the desperate conditions, the families chose to keep the children close, even if they had lost both parents.
In the Gaza Strip there are 53,000 orphans, with an additional 2200 resulting from the war.
The director of the center had lived in Spain for 17 years. He spoke of Picasso’s Guernica and asked, “Who will create a painting for Gaza?” What we offered was a quilt donated by the “More Than Warmth” society of Tennessee made up of drawings representing peace and love from children in the U.S. to the children of Gaza, as well as paints and poster board so the children could tell their own stories.
Category: in gaza
