Looking for Trouble

Gaza: Optimism amid the universal trauma, by Gerri Haynes

(Gerri Haynes and Laura Hart, of Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, have returned to Gaza, taking in medicine. Gerri will be sending back reports.)

We are coming to the end of our first full day in Gaza. Last evening, we had a good meeting with Dr. Sarraj and the Minister of Health and several other directors in Dr. Sarraj’s home. There was a good discussion about the level of trauma in the Palestinian society – and about planning by the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme to care for the people.

It has been observed that children who experience the level of trauma and uncertainty of life in Gaza often disconnect emotionally from their parents and other adults. Trust in security is lost when there is a sense that no one can keep a child safe from harm. The staff of GCMHP is planning to develop and test a tool to evaluate this disconnection in children and to formulate a healing plan.

For the future of Gaza, there is some optimism. The truce seems to be holding and there is a promise of increasing freedom of movement. Increasing the boundaries for fishing and for working in the agricultural areas can result in some relief for the economy. At the same time, there is a general concern about the ever-present threat of war.

Today we met with many health care people. We had a brief meeting with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society staff who worked round-the-clock while Gaza was under attack from Israel this month. The nurses, housekeepers, physicians, technicians and security guard are meeting together to review their work and provide support to each other for the experience of working in war.

In a meeting with personnel of the Gaza Community Mental Health Care Programme clinic we again heard about the universal level of trauma experienced in Gaza. Staff members spoke of their plans to train health care workers to provide care in homes and noted the debriefing sessions they are holding for the Programme staff. As all the people of Gaza have experienced the continuous injury of trauma (from the reality of living in an open-air prison to the terror of bombs falling close to their homes), there is a comprehensive need for emotional and mental health care.

One gentleman we spoke with today told of his extended family gathering in his home for safety during the bombing. In the two hours prior to the signing of the truce, bombing was constant and very near his home. For those two hours, forty people crowded into a 9×12 foot kitchen area (the area furthest from the bombs).

Every person we speak with expresses hope for peace and greater freedom. With kindness, we are also hearing a wish for the people of Israel to live in peace and without fear of war.