by Michael Jansen

Geraldine Shawa, head of Gaza's Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children, says Israel is making a mistake when it deprives Palestinians of lights, fridges, air-conditioning. Palestinians know how to cope with deprivation better than Westerners. She warns that Israel is creating "a culture of misery"? in the Palestinian community.

"People are more comfortable in this terrible situation than in a normal situation where they can be happy."

Gaza's 20,000 deaf people are particularly hard hit by the ongoing crisis which began when the international community cut off funding for the Palestinian Authority after Hamas won January's parliamentary elections and formed a government. Israel's military offensive, launched on June 28, seriously harms deaf children who are at home due to summer vacation.

"Deaf children don't have a sense of what is going on without explanation by signing,"? she states. While they are at school, their teachers can tell them what is happening and reassure them. But when they are at home, they have to rely on their parents and siblings who may not know how to sign.

"The centre is a safe haven for most of these kids. They don't like being at home; they are not in control, they know something is very wrong. While they are part of the deaf community they know what is going on, they feel comfortable here. "Sonic booms cause pain in the ears of the deaf. We ask them to remove their hearing aids because the sudden vibrations from the booms can harm their ears."

Depriving these children of their hearing aids makes them more fearful, confused and isolated than when they wear the aids.

During the first Intifada, Israel did not bomb Gaza, so there was no increase in hearing problems. But bombing during the second Intifada has created more and more hearing problems. And, since the current crisis began, the centre has been screening people for temporary hearing loss due to sonic booms and bombing.

"There are lots of pierced eardrums in Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun due to explosions,"? Shawa said. "If ruptured membranes are repaired by surgery, their hearing can be saved. But if they cannot obtain surgery, they can have permanent hearing loss."

The "culture of misery"? Israel has created is unhealthy not only for the deaf but for the entire Palestinian people whose very existence has been challenged since Israel was established in 1948.

Palestinians have lived under increasing pressure since Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967. Israeli occupation is surely and steadily transforming Palestinian society and the behaviour of each and every Palestinian. Constant Israeli political, economic and military pressure is having serious psychological consequences for Palestinians.

Speaking about the situation in Gaza, D. Ahmad Abu Tawahina of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme characterises the Palestinian psychological environment as "terrifying" and "traumatising". Israel's policies are "creating a health and environmental disaster".

He points out that all human beings have two fundamental needs: on the one hand food and water, and on the other, security. When these basic needs are denied, people suffer psychological imbalance in both the short-term and the long-term.

Israel's policy of targeting Palestinian leaders, constantly shelling open areas, opening and closing the gates of the strip to allow in food and fuel, overflying the area with warplanes which bomb and break the sound barrier, shutting off water and electricity, and withholding funds from the Palestinian Authority is creating serious imbalances. "Every single Palestinian is affected, even mental health professionals," Abu Tawahina states.

Israel is waging "psychological warfare" against Gazans. "Life becomes unpredictable. No one can avoid involvement. No one can hide. Trauma is caused by these uncontrollable, unavoidable and uncontainable factors. People cannot develop coping strategies. They have a feeling of helplessness which induces depression. Israel is driving the whole community into a pathological state, paralysing Palestinians."

Abu Tawahina offers a personal example: "My mum cannot walk or stand up even though there is nothing physically wrong with her. Many old people cannot use their legs."

Adults suffer from other psychosomatic ailments such as headaches, pain in the ears and back, vertigo and general fatigue. Children, who see their parents are frightened and cannot protect their offspring, feel abandoned. These children chew their nails, pull out their hair, wet their beds, have nightmares and attention deficit and lose their appetites. This can be serious amongst children who are already malnourished.

Children between 10-12 have low self-esteem, cannot grow normally physically, emotionally and intellectually. There is an escalation of violence in Palestinian families, schools and streets where most boys play and interact. Girls, largely, stay at home and repress their anger. "Within the family environment they feel more safe."? Women whose husbands are killed or imprisoned bear the double burden of being homemakers and heads of the household. "They have to find work to support their families. They have huge responsibilities and have breakdowns."

Before the first Intifada, he said, boys used to play a game of "Jews and Arabs. Most wanted to take the part of the Jews rather than Arabs because they wanted to identify themselves with an image of power. Arabs have a powerless, hopeless image. Boys did this to keep psychological balance. But this changed over the years of the occupation once Palestinians began to show that they have the ability to resist. They wanted to become [Palestinian] fighters, heroes and martyrs. Martyrs are admired in our society. Even youths... they die, they believe they are winners and have won a moral victory."

Now the fighter is the new image of power.

"In the streets, the domain of the boys, they clash with Israelis to protest" the occupation and their treatment. "But at home they exhibit all the signs of trauma. They develop split personalities and suffer from disassociative disorders. The number of autistic children is increasing. Parents are constantly in mourning and cannot take care of their children. Some laugh at sonic booms [which shake buildings and unnerve adults and children]: this is unnatural. They will have advanced problems in the future."

Since their youth has been stolen from them they do not care about their own and others' sufferings. They become hard, vengeful men.

Youths join resistance groups both to regain their self-esteem and fight the Israeli enemy. When they fight and die, they perpetuate the cycle of violence begun by Israel when it occupied Palestine.

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This article was published in the Thursday, July 13, 2006 edition of the Jordan Times. It is used here with permission.