20 December 2017
The modern history of the Palestinian people is one of waves of dispossession. In May 2018, Palestinians will mark the 70th anniversary of the ‘Nakba’, or catastrophe, when over 700,000 Palestinians were expelled from or fled their homes under threat from armed groups during the creation of the state of Israel between 1946 and 1948.
Hundreds of Palestinian towns and villages were emptied of their populations and destroyed, and many of those who fled settled in areas of the West Bank and Gaza, or neighbouring Jordan, Syria or Lebanon.
Today an estimated five million Palestinian refugees around the world are eligible for the services of UNRWA, the UN humanitarian agency which is mandated to support them.
Some Palestinian refugees have been double-displaced over the past 70 years, most recently those who have fled to escape the devastating conflict in Syria.
The original trauma of the Nakba is still lived by many Palestinians today. Three generations of children have been born and grown up in exile.
In Lebanon, the obstacles to the health and dignity of Palestinian refugees are considerable. In the 12 Palestinian refugee camps across the country, unemployment and poverty are rife, and overcrowding and poor public sanitation threaten health. The services UNRWA can provide are limited by its chronic budgetary shortfall and the increasing needs of a refugee population that is growing and beset by conflict and crisis.
Amid this situation a new generation of children are growing up. Life as a refugee for Palestinian children in Lebanon poses serious threats to their psychological wellbeing and mental health.
Some have experienced the horrors of Syria’s war and flight to neighbouring Lebanon. Among Palestinian refugees from Syria, 96% have witnessed armed conflict, 53% have witnessed the destruction of their homes, and 21% have witnessed the death of a close relative or friend.
Others have spent their young lives growing up amid the deprivation and marginalisation of Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps. Many have been born into families who have witnessed the traumas of the Lebanese civil war and massacres in Sabra and Shatila and Tel al Zaatar.
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) supports the wellbeing and mental health of Palestinian children in Lebanon. In partnership with UNICEF and local organisations, MAP is bringing psychosocial and mental health support to thousands of children affected by the Syria crisis. Through play therapy and counselling, the programme aims to mitigate the impact of war and displacement and protect children from violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect. The programme is open to all Palestinians in Lebanon, including those displaced from Syria and those already in Lebanon.
Eshe is one of six facilitators providing psychosocial support to Palestinian children at Association Najdeh’s Education and Psychosocial Centre in the Beddawi refugee camp, supported by MAP and UNICEF.
“I have been working as a facilitator for five years. I lead games and activities for Palestinian children, including those who have fled war in Syria. The trainings I receive from UNICEF and MAP help me to best support the children. For example, I have learnt how to support children to overcome the psychological trauma of conflict. I worked with a Palestinian girl from Syria who, when she first came to the centre, did not talk and was unable to express herself. She was withdrawn and didn’t want to play with other children. Now she can express herself through drawings and talking. She participates in activities, such as crafts and meditation, and has many friends. I feel that I have made a big difference to this girl’s life. I hope in the future children will overcome all their problems, be happy and always smiling.”
Thanks to the enthusiasm and hard work of facilitators like Eshe, and the support of people like you, Palestinian children in Lebanon are receiving the comprehensive psychosocial support they so urgently need. This work is helping children affected by trauma and displacement to rebuild meaning and coherence, relieve stress, and limit the development of further complications, whilst also addressing interpersonal, family, social and cultural issues.
But MAP is also looking to the future, and the need to ensure that Palestinian refugees can attain their rights to health and dignity. In 2018, MAP will mark the anniversary of the Nakba by calling for a just, lasting political solution to the longest-running refugee crisis in the world. Only through concerted international action can we ensure that the next generation of Palestinians can attain their rights to health and dignity, free from the trauma of this decades long displacement.
This article originally appeared in the Winter 2017 edition of our supporter magazine, Witness.
Name changed to protect identity
