Gaza’s emotional wounds bring many to seek support, may Allah ease their suffering
As-salamu alaykum. Since the recent truce, mental health workers in Gaza say they are seeing a huge surge in people asking for help - like a volcano of trauma opening up after years of bombardment and hardship.
After two years of intense strikes and repeated incursions that local health officials say have left tens of thousands dead and caused widespread homelessness and hunger, the suffering has touched nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million people.
The Gaza City mental health team, whose hospital building was damaged, is now trying to run services out of a nearby clinic. Its head, Abdallah Al-Jamal, says that once the lull in fighting began people finally started coming forward. The stigma and fear around seeing a counsellor that used to stop many from seeking help have lessened, and the number of people asking for care has risen a lot compared with before the war.
Al-Jamal and a colleague are doing what they can, but with the hospital badly damaged their resources are very limited. They even have to share a room, which means patients don’t get full privacy during consultations - something he called deeply distressing, but they are trying to find other options. They now see more than 100 patients each day.
Children are particularly affected: specialists report night terrors, bed-wetting, trouble concentrating, and other signs of trauma. Nivine Abdelhadi from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said Gaza’s children are living with shortages of food, clean water, shelter, and clothing. Her team is offering child-friendly activities like games and stories to try to bring some relief.
The ceasefire that began on Oct. 10 paused much of the large-scale fighting, though there have been sporadic outbreaks of violence since then. May Allah grant sabr and healing to all those affected, and bless those working to help them.
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