Sheyma, 24, is an animator working with World Vision’s local partner in Gaza, the Palestinian Centre for Democracy and Conflict Resolution (PCDCR), where she is currently part of a team implementing World Vision’s three month psychosocial programme that began on 1 February 2009. The group of experts and ‘animators’ devise various activities that encourage children to express themselves and cope with feelings of trauma, anxiety and fear, particularly in the aftermath of Israel’s latest military offensive on the Gaza Strip, that lasted between 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009.

The activities are being implemented in various pre-schools throughout the Gaza Strip and today Sheyma is in the Tel Al Zatar neighbourhood of Jabaliya refugee camp, where children were subjected to constant bombardment during the 22-day offensive, accompanied by the often equally terrifying buzzing sound that Israel’s unmanned drone aircraft make in the skies above. As Sheyma leads the children in expressive dance, it’s clear she is the embodiment of someone who is gifted in working with children.

The children are attentive, engaged and comfortable in her presence while she guides them gently through art activities, puppet shows, and informal counseling discussions.

The majority of children in Gaza are very frightened and sad and their families often do not ask about their feelings

The north of Gaza, where Jabaliya is located, was very badly affected during Operation Cast Lead, and many children from the area are exhibiting signs of post-traumatic stress, agitation, lack of feelings of security, and problems sleeping. Young people saw scenes of devastation and death that would be hard for most adults to cope with and these scars remain with them, long after the explosions subside. “The majority of children in Gaza are very frightened and sad and their families often do not ask about their feelings,” explains Sheyma. “Through my work and the work of the other animators, they have an opportunity to express themselves.”

At the start of the activities, the animators give the children an opportunity to express things on their mind through a session called ‘Talk with Me’. Sheyma often starts off the discussion by giving a personal account of something that happened to her during the offensive: “I don’t guide them on what to talk about – the children are free to say whatever they want,” she says. “They are nervous in the beginning but once they start talking, they often find it difficult to stop.”

Five-year-old Wiyam, puts her hand up during one of the ‘Talk with Me’ sessions and says, matter of factly: “I saw a dead man lying on a blanket in the street. My father’s cousin was killed in the war too, and I saw another dead person stuck behind the electricity transmitter on our streets…”

After Wiyam finishes speaking, Sheyma pulls out a long sheet of blank paper that covers the floor of the classroom, and provides paints and paintbrushes. The children are encouraged to express their feelings through art, and to draw whatever comes to mind. Wiyam starts drawing dozens of shapes, which represent the cross-shaped unmanned drone aircraft that Israel deploys over the skies in Gaza, which take aerial photos for security purposes but were also allegedly used to drop bombs in the recent offensive.

They are nervous in the beginning but once they start talking, they often find it difficult to stop

“I’m drawing a drone and a dead person who the Israelis killed,” says Wiyam, pointing to the blue and green abstract shapes on her paper. “There’s a tank too… a bomb hit my aunt’s house during the war, and we had to go and live in another place. All the windows in my house were broken. You know, my brother took a body to the hospital, and didn’t even recognise it was his cousin because the rocket changed him so much.”

Wiyam’s family had to flee their home during the military operations to shelter with her aunt, whose house was also subsequently shelled. “We saw so many lights in the sky in the war and I heard many bad sounds,” says Wiyam. “There was something burning all over the garden in my house [white phosphorous], and we thought our house was going to burn down so we ran away.”

These words from such a young child indicate the scale of traumatic experiences that children in Gaza have to cope with. The psychosocial sessions are helping children like Wiyam find a way to talk about what they witnessed, and be creative in a safe environment. “I really liked the hats and presents we received today and the day made me happy”, adds Wiyam, who says she wants to be a doctor when she grows up “because when someone dies I want to help them.” She goes on to talk about loving her homeland, despite everything. Of visiting the seaside in the summer and eating ‘mendi’ chicken cooked underground on charcoal. “Those things make me happy,” she says.

World Vision’s team is carrying out two sessions per group, spaced over two days, and have already reached out to six groups of 25 children, as well as their parents. In some of the most badly affected areas, the children start crying when the animators speak to them. One four-year-old girl who participated in the activities hadn’t spoken since the war but her mother reported some progress after the psychosocial sessions. The sessions also include unexploded ordnance (UXO) awareness, where the children are shown photos of UXO that they may find in piles of rubble but are warned never to touch.

“As much as you give, it’s never enough after what these children have been through,” says Sheyma. “One of the most tragic cases I have worked on so far was with a ten-year-old boy called Lou’ah Souboh who lives in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza. Shrapnel destroyed his optical nerves and he is now blind in both eyes. His brother was killed in the war and he was shot in the arm too. He’s such a clever boy, and a real optimist. He kept telling me ‘I thank God it wasn’t worse. This came from God.’ He participated in all our activities and was even singing and dancing with the other children. He just needed someone to guide him because he can’t see and is now attending a school for the blind.”

Take care of your children’s feelings, and help them let go and express themselves, especially after this latest offensive

As civilians and residents of Gaza, the animators also suffered during the offensive and have to find ways to maintain their strength and coping mechanisms in order to carry out their work. “I help myself in my own way by drawing and talking,” says Sheyma. “We animators often use the same methods as the ones we use with the children.”

These psychosocial sessions are often the only opportunity children of this age have to talk about what they’ve been through. Mohammed, aged five, has been quiet and withdrawn since the start of the session, but starts to relax towards the end. He asks to speak and tells the group about his uncle’s house that was hit and destroyed by helicopters during the war. His cousin was injured and subsequently died and he hasn’t spoken to anyone about it until now.

Sheyma strongly believes in the importance of her work because “Palestinian children are so marginalised”. She asks to send a message to the parents of children living in Gaza: “Take care of your children’s feelings, and help them let go and express themselves, especially after this latest offensive. I would also like to urge local teachers to provide a safe environment for children and to try to avoid aggression within the classrooms. That is where our work is different – the children feel safe with us. They have finally found someone who listens to them and understands what they have been through.”

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