MUSLIMS LIVING UNDER SIEGE
The Effects of War and Terrorism on Palestinian Children The “forever cycle of violence” continues without any end in sight BY M. BASHEER AHMED
F
or last several decades, millions of Muslim children have been exposed to trauma due to wars, terrorism and displacement. No child is immune, whether they are in the U.S., Bosnia, Occupied Palestine, Indian-occupied Kashmir, Myanmar, or China. Millions of people around the world view such events on television, whereas countless Palestinian children experience it firsthand via bombs destroying buildings; killing family members, relatives, neighbors, and friends; and personal mistreatment. The media seldom describe how the survivors are affected, for they do not make headlines. The May 2021 Israeli bombing of Gaza killed 260 Palestinians, including 66 children
and 39 women. The ensuing intense psychological stress on Palestinian children disrupts their mental growth and psychologically weakens parents who are attempting to comfort them. In the past two decades alone, Israelis have killed more than 3,000 Palestinian children. War-related stressors may include shelling, bombing, home demolitions and exposure to the wounding and killing of family members or loved ones. In Palestine, 54.7% of children have been exposed to at least one traumatic event during their life (https://pubmed.ncbi. nlm.nih.gov/15664427/). Even when the threat is over, children tend to be over-vigilant and constantly preoccupied with the trauma they have
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experienced. This affects both their daily life and also their normal growth and development. According to recent information from Gaza, a father of five children recalled the sound of an explosion that left his six-yearold daughter in total panic. The next day she became speechless, withdrawn and unable to sleep for 24 hours. When she heard that the bomb was dropped on the next-door building, she was horrified and kept on asking what happened to the children. When she saw the demolished building, she still asked whether the kids were alive under the rubble. The parents found it extremely painful and hard to explain what had happened. Children remained terrified of any
