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<h1 class="article-title">Study: 51% of Gaza Children, 31% of Adults
Suffer Post-War Trauma</h1>
<div class="article-subtitledetails">
<span class="article-details">
<span class="article-detail"><img class="icon"
src="cid:part1.07010700.00010700@freedomarchives.org"
alt="author"> Friday July 24, 2015 07:01</span><span
class="article-detail"><img class="icon"
src="cid:part2.08000904.09000702@freedomarchives.org"
alt="author"> by IMEMC News & Agencies</span></span> <br>
<b><small><small><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.imemc.org/article/72346">http://www.imemc.org/article/72346</a></small></small></b><br>
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<blockquote class="article-intro">Gaza Community Mental Health
Program’s (GCMHP) Deputy Director General for Professional Affairs
Taysir Diab Thursday said around 51% of Gaza’s children and 31% of
its adults suffer Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result to
the latest Israeli mass attack on the besieged Gaza Strip.</blockquote>
These results were presented following a series of activities
organized by the program to test the psychological condition and
mental health of Gaza’s community; including children and adults.<br>
<br>
According to WAFA Palestinian News & Info Agency, Diab along
with Head of External Affairs and Resources Development Department
Husam El-Nounou met with a delegation from the GIZ, which included
the Regional Director of GIZ Rudolf Rogg, accompanied with GIZ
Gaza-Representative Wael Safi.<br>
<br>
The meeting, held in the GCMHP’s headquarters in Gaza, aimed at
strengthening the means of joint cooperation between the GCMHP and
the GIZ.<br>
<br>
GCMHP’s Director General Yasser Abu Jamei warmly welcomed the
visiting delegation, giving a brief about key activities and
services provided by the GCMHP to the Palestinian community through
its therapeutic and psychological interventions, in addition to its
advocacy efforts, and developing the skills of professionals working
in the field of community mental health.<br>
<br>
Showing evidence and statistics collected from research and studies,
Abu Jamei reaffirmed the need to offer the Palestinian people access
to many psycho social and mental health services.<br>
<br>
GCMHP’s Director General stated that GCMHP has bought a piece of
land on which its permanent headquarter, funded by the Islamic
Development Bank, will be built, and it will include Gaza Community
Centre and departments affiliated with the GCMHP.<br>
<br>
Diab illustrated the reasons why a great deal of men didn’t
participate in the community mental health activities carried out by
GCMHP, the most important of which was the excessive anger that this
segment of the society is feeling because they are homeless until
now, in addition to the feeling of shame for appearing in a weaker
position.<br>
<br>
The high percentage of Palestinian families in Gaza that is
suffering from mental and psychological issues is not a new topic,
nor a surprising one. According to Save the Children, “Homelessness
and repeated exposure to violence, coupled with soaring unemployment
for parents and limited mental health support, have prevented
children from recovering from the mental trauma of war.”<br>
<br>
Save the Children CEO Justin Forsyth said in a statement, 'Many
children in Gaza have now lived through three wars in the past seven
years, the last one notable for its brutality. They are emotionally
and, in some cases, physically shattered.”<br>
<br>
According to the organization’s report, “An average of 75% of
children surveyed experience unusual bedwetting regularly. In one
area, al-Shoka, nearly half the children interviewed wet the bed
every night. Up to 89% of parents reported that their children
suffer consistent feelings of fear, while more than 70% of children
said they worried about another war. On average seven out of 10
children interviewed suffer regular nightmares.”
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