Madison-Rafah Journal

Michel Moutot, Agence France Presse (AFP), December 30, 2006

GAZA CITY: For the children of Gaza, prisoners of the narrow coastal strip surrounded by the Israeli Army, the outside world is nothing but fury, violence and tragedy — a menacing universe that they fear. Most of Gaza's minors — 840,000 out of a population of 1.4 million — have never left their narrow piece of land stretched out on the Mediterranean coast, access to which is strictly controlled by Israel.

They grow up in frustration, anguish, anger and poverty.

Bassam Nasser, 37, director of the Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution, was one of the rare Palestinians in Gaza allowed to study at a university in Tel Aviv.

"My generation knows Israel because we used to work in Israel, so we are ready to make peace," he said. "We know Israelis are human beings." "I remember Israelis visiting Gaza in the 1970s to have their cars fixed, or to buy furniture because it's cheaper here. And I remember my friends working summer jobs in Israel."

"The kids today never see Israelis as human beings. All they see are soldiers, in tanks or helicopters. For them, they are just killing machines.

"They are surrounded by violence, human rights violations, poverty. Put all this in a big box, close it, shake it up and imagine what kind of new generation is growing up here," he said.

Mental-health hospitals in Gaza say more and more parents are coming in, overwhelmed by the traumas suffered by their children.

Dr. Sami Owaida heads one such center.

"The symptoms — anxiety, fear, rebellious behavior, refusal to leave the house — they need to be protected and their parents cannot do so. For a child, this is terrible," Owaida said.

"I often go to Israel for medical conferences," he said. "When I tell some adolescents in Gaza that all Israelis aren't monsters, they treat me like a traitor."

"The Israeli doctors and researchers whom I meet know that it is dangerous to see a new generation grow up with such hate next to them … We talk about it, but what can you do?" Gaza's northern town of Beit Hanoun has seen its share and more of Israeli troops. Over 80 people, including an entire family, died in an Israeli offensive in November.

In a town garage, "Smile Again," a Palestinian nongovernmental group, organizes activities and therapy for children.

On this particular day, around 30 children, five of them girls, sit in a circle. The theme of the day's session is written on a pink piece of paper taped to the wall: "How to protect myself." Yazid al-Shinbari, 12, sits with a "Top Gun" hat pulled to his eyebrows and says that he is "a prisoner. In Gaza, but also in the house because my parents don't want me to go out to the street." A whistling noise sounds outside. The children's faces brighten. "A Qassam, a Qassam! Bravo!" they cheer, referring to the homemade rockets fired by Gaza fighters into Israel.

Arij Nasser, a 13-year-old girl with a serious look, recounted how she passes her hours watching Israeli television, especially programs for children. "They play on clean beaches. I've seen gardens, games, even a zoo … It seems very far from here."

Olaa al-Shinbari, the director of the center, said that "the children are becoming more and more aggressive, at a younger age. They argue and fight between themselves, threaten each other with death for nothing."

"In the streets, they play stone throwers against the soldier. The soldiers are cruel, the stone throwers intrepid. The game is called 'Arabs and Jews.'"

Copyright (c) 2006 The Daily Star