Gaza: End the blockade

Muna and her family at their home in the Gaza strip. [Islamic Relief]

CAFOD calls for an end to the Israeli blockade on Gaza now entering its fourth year

Fourteen-year-old Ahmed has seen terrible things in his short life. During the 2008/09 war in Gaza he sat, terrified, in his house as the bombs dropped and his uncle, aunt and three cousins were killed.

“Ahmed was trapped in the house for five days,” says his mother, Muna, as she sits with her youngest child on her lap. “He was stuck in the house with the dead bodies of his relatives – and since then he hasn’t been the same.”

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Muna, 41, explains that all her seven children have psychological problems that started after the war. “Ahmed doesn’t go to school regularly, and he wakes up screaming every night. He goes out for long periods of time. Nobody knows where he goes, and he returns late at night.”

Muna’s house is made up of three rooms – all of which have no furniture in them. The windows have no glass and most of the doors are battered and broken.

Trauma

Muna’s husband used to work in Israel, but has been unemployed since 2000. The family relies on food aid to survive.

“Even if we had the money – we wouldn’t be able to buy new windows and doors because the markets are empty. Even when I do find things – they’re so expensive that I can’t buy them.”

Muna’s family is one of thousands affected by the blockade on Gaza, that has now been in effect for three years. On top of the strains of the blockade, came the war – which no one could flee, so entire families are traumatised because of what they have experienced.

We are supporting our partner, Islamic Relief to run a trauma counselling centre in Beit Lahia district, one of the areas worst affected by fighting in the Gaza strip.

Counselling

Rasha El-Ajouri, who works at the centre says: “We hold one counselling session a week for children with psychological disorders. Most children will get at least 12 sessions.

“We use story-telling, relaxation techniques and play, art and drama therapies, as well as individual counselling.”

Muna’s son, Ahmed, is visiting the centre and has already had five sessions. But Rasha is finding that some children, who live further away from the centre cannot afford the transport costs to get there.

“Lots of people are unemployed, so if they live far away they can’t afford to get to the centre,” she explains. “That’s why we’ve set up a service where counsellors travel to people’s homes and treat them there.”

“We’ve also realised that as well as supporting the children, we also need to support the adults. Many parents are also traumatised, so when the child leaves the centre they are not getting the support they need at home. We hope that by also counselling the parents this will improve.”

At CAFOD, we believe that the people of Gaza deserve the chance to rebuild their lives. Annabelle Williams, who works on CAFOD’s Middle East programme says:

“Every four out of five Gazans are now reliant on aid. They urgently need the material to repair their homes and they must be given the opportunity to provide for their families.

“The Israeli government must lift the restrictions on Gaza’s borders to allow all supplies in, allow goods to be exported and people to cross the borders freely.”

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