The Community Training Centre for Crisis Management
16 February 2009
The Community Training Centre for Crisis Management
Israel's recent widespread military offensive in the Gaza Strip lasted twenty two days, resulting in the deaths of over 1,400 Palestinians inside Gaza. The overwhelming majority of victims were civilians, including at least 430 children. More than 5,380 other Palestinians, also mainly civilians, were injured, many of them sustaining devastating life-long injuries.
But the scars of this offensive are not only physical. Thousands of families across Gaza are grieving the loss of loved ones killed during the offensive. The psychological toll is especially difficult for children and young people. One of MAP's local partners in the Gaza Strip is the Community Training Centre for Crisis Management (CTCCM), which offers psycho-social support to children and families across Gaza, and is now supporting thousands of Palestinian children traumatized by the recent Israeli offensive.
CTCCM is supporting sixteen year old Senah and her family. Senah is from Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip. Five members of her family, including her father, Mohamed, her elder sister and her two younger brothers, were killed on 3 January 2009, when the Israeli military shelled her home.
"We were sheltering in our house in Jabalia" says Senah. "Most people had already left the area, but we had stayed inside our home, and our neighbours were sheltering with us. On January 3rd an Israeli tank fired a shell that struck our house, injuring my sister, Fida. We knew the situation was very dangerous, but we needed to take her to the hospital, so we all left our house together." As Senah and her family were attempting to leave their house an Israeli tank fired a second shell towards them, killing eighteen year old Fida, and Senah's four year old brother, Rehan, instantly. Her sister-in- law, Iman was also horrifically injured. "Iman lost both her legs, and my mother was wounded too" says Senah. 'We managed to get them into another neighbour's house - but we could not find my father or my younger brother, Ibrahim."
Iman died almost immediately. Senah and her surviving family spent the next five days hiding with their neighbours, too frightened to leave the house because of the Israeli intense bombardment of the area. Even medical personnel could not reach them. Eventually, on 8 January, they felt safe enough to try to move out of the area. "I searched for my father and my brother, Ibrahim" says Senah. "I was hoping they were still alive. But our neighbours found their bodies in the rubble." Her father, Mohamed, had been dismembered by the Israeli tank shell.
Ismail is one of the community workers at CTCCM. Last year the Centre worked with more than 4,000 children in Gaza, and is now expanding its work because of the devastating effects of the Israeli offensive. He is supporting Senah and her family as they try to rebuild their lives. "We have spent a lot of time with Senah" he says. "At first she couldn't even speak - she just cried and bit her nails. But eventually she began to trust us." When Senah's school re-opened after the ceasefire on 18 January, she was too scared to attend at first -she told Ismail she was frightened the rest of her family might be killed while she was out at school.
Senah attends three CTCCM sessions a week, including personal support, group sessions and psycho-drama, and is now back at school full time. She and her surviving family are living with their uncle in the Shaf district of Gaza city. MAP, which has sixteen local partners in Gaza, is funding CTCCM to continue working to support children and families across the Gaza Strip as they attempt to rebuild their shattered lives. "Senah is now supporting her family as they start to deal with their experiences and how their lives have changed forever" says Ismail. "We will support her, and the whole family, for as long as they need us."
