Gaza -

Have you ever heard of "hidden victims"?

They are victims whose names are not included in the official statistics that monitor the victims of the repeated Israeli wars on Gaza, including martyrs and wounded. They are victims of a special kind, who come out of wars burdened with severe trauma that “wounds” their mental health.

Some of these victims are aware of the “post-traumatic” effects and do not hesitate to seek help and treatment in specialized centers that provide “psychological intervention services.” The eyes of society.

Al Jazeera Net obtained shocking numbers for victims of psychological trauma in the Gaza Mental Health Program.

According to the program's head, Dr. Yasser Abu Jameh, confirmed to Al Jazeera Net, the number of people seeking help for "psychological interventions" has increased significantly after the wars and violent events in Gaza.

The program dealt with 3,920 cases after the fourth Israeli war in May last year, while the annual average is estimated at 2,200 cases (French)

Waves of shock

The Gazans had not yet recovered from the effects of 11 days of killing, destruction and displacement in the fourth Israeli war on Gaza in May of last year, until Israel surprised them with 3 bloody days, the most violent among the repeated and successive waves of escalation and aggression over the past 15 years.

Almost two million Palestinians in small and besieged Gaza faced death in every moment of these three days as warplanes "sown" death and destruction everywhere.

The Abu Qaida family in Ezbet Beit Hanoun, adjacent to the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing, in the northern Gaza Strip, had a "tragic tale" of the sad, bloody tales of the aggression, which will leave its mark on the family members for a long time.

In Gaza there is no safe place, and Izbat Beit Hanoun is one of the "most dangerous areas", whose residents pay in every war with their lives and property a "bill" for their proximity to the Israeli security fence.

Sayed Abu Qaida, 28, told Al Jazeera Net, "The shock was severe, and we still cannot believe how joy turned into a funeral in the blink of an eye."

Due to the repercussions of the Israeli aggression, the Abu Qaida family canceled the wedding ceremony of the "groom Akram", and decided - according to Sayed's description - to complete the marriage "in silence", by bringing the bride to her husband's house without any celebrations.

The atmosphere of siege and Israeli violence severely affects the mental health of Palestinian children (French)

The mother of the groom in his sixties, Naama Abu Qaida, was accompanying him and his bride in a car. She stopped moments in front of her family's house to bid her farewell before moving to the "marital home." .

An ostrich was martyred, and others were injured, including children from the families of the "bridely brides" and the neighbours, and those behind her were left experiencing prolonged pain and sorrow.

According to Sayed, it is not the first time that his relatives have been "victims" in the Israeli wars on Gaza.

In the last war - and according to Sayed - "a number of family members were wounded, and we had to flee our homes, due to the intensity of air raids and artillery shelling on the area."

Sayed, whose family roots go back to the town of "Yabna", which was displaced during the Nakba in 1948, did not receive a higher education, and said in a colloquial tone, "Memory is full of bitterness and oppression, and there is no sweet need in it."

hidden victims

The tragedy of this family is not in the martyrdom of the “mother of the groom.” Dr. Abu Jameh says that wars have victims from among the living, those who are left with heavy effects on their mental health, and suffer from these effects for varying periods even after the dust of the explosions has cleared.

Abu Jameh monitors the most prominent post-traumatic effects, including:

  • Deep feeling of despair and hopelessness.

  • Frustration and lack of positive outlook on the future.

  • major depression.

  • Obsessive and panic disorder.

  • Increased rates of family and community violence.

These are general effects that affect adults - according to Abu Jameh - and there are effects that often affect children, such as involuntary urination, panic and a decline in academic achievement, and he said that “the Gaza Mental Health Program has psychological interventions with families, schools and kindergartens,” in addition to visits by specialists who provide treatment and counseling services to “groups.” most affected by the shocks.

The traumatic events related to the wars in Gaza are increasing the pressures that have led in recent days to a noticeable increase in the incidence of societal violence, in addition to the tragic reality of the population due to the high rates of poverty and unemployment.

According to Abu Jameh, "these pressures lead to negative reactions to deal with stressful events", such as the use of weapons and casualties in societal disputes.

Abu Jameh demonstrates, by numbers, the impact of the repercussions of wars on community mental health, and said that the program dealt with 3,920 cases after the fourth Israeli war in May last year, which coincided with the spread of the Corona pandemic, which is the highest number in the history of the program’s work, as for the usual annual rate. It is estimated at 2,200 cases.

After the third war on Gaza in 2014, the program dealt with 3,700 cases, and Abu Jameh says that “two thirds of the program’s reviewers after the wars are adults, men and women, and one third of children,” expecting pressure on the services provided by the program through its three centers in the Gaza Strip, in The next stage, following the calm after the recent wave of violence.

The cases are much more than that, and these numbers - according to Abu Jameh - are not for all post-traumatic victims, many of whom "keep silent" about what happened to them or seek help in "complete secrecy".