Some reflections on the effect of the occupation on children in Jayyous.

It is difficult to get recent information about the effect of the occupation on children. One has to put together pieces of information from different sources. We will start with features of the occupation by which children are affected most in their daily life.

The Annual Report 2007 of B`Tselem is a good starting point. The information given there can be divided into two groups: extraordinary incidents and everyday incidents by which children (under age 18) are affected.

1. As to extraordinary incidents:

• when conducting an arrest operation soldiers are permitted to fire live ammunition at a suspect trying to flee from the house without warning and without ascertaining the identity of the person, even if the soldiers know that civilians, including children are in the house (p. 6);
• during 2007 Israeli security forces in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip killed 379 Palestinians, among them 133 civilians, 54 of them were under age 18 (p. 5);
• minors who have been arrested are beaten and tortured (p. 29);
• but 2007 saw also a rise in human rights violations committed by Palestinians against Palestinians: at least 346 Palestinians were killed, among them 73 civilians of which 23 were minors (p. 56).

1. As to everyday incidents B`Tselem points out that beatings and humiliation by Israeli security forces occur in many situations: while enforcing restrictions on movement (when somebody is caught trying to bypass a checkpoint he is not permitted to cross); during searches for weapons at home (this usually entails also damage of the occupants` property); in the course of the arrest of persons wanted for interrogation; while dispersing demonstrations (p. 26/27).

It is all too clear that all of these situations are daily life situations in which children usually are present or are told about by their parents, friends etc. From what the children experience, they get that life is governed by incertitude, threat of violence and violence. “Eventually, fear becomes a part of our lives. It steals our freedom and destroys our feeling of security; it deprives us of our innocence and childhood. It also takes away those who are close to us, so it makes sadness and loneliness grow inside us.” (Mariam, 16, Our Voices, 2005, p. 15)

In addition, to mention just one further topic, the collapse of the economy in the occupied territory has hit the children hardest, because of the financial insecurity the family has to face, but also because they suffer and are sad with the father when he is unemployed or is unable to reach the place of work.

This means that the occupation is a central feature not only of the lives of adult Palestinians but also of the lives of their children. To show how many people are affected by extraordinary incidents and what it implies for the children: Between 1967 und 2004 over 600 000 Palestinians have spent some time in prison, and in almost every Palestinian family there is a male member who has been arrested.“ Consequently, the prison experience is a cornerstone of the Palestinian national narrative.” (Cook; Hanieh; Kay, p. 7) “The other experience which was full of pain and it’s the most helpless moment when the Israeli soldiers arrested my father. That was the first time they arrested him which affected my feelings of safety.” (Noor, 15, Our Voices, p.21)

Besides, children fear that they themselves might be arrested. This is quite understandable, because Israeli forces have arrested many Palestinian children, for example between September 2000 and June 2003 over 1 900 (Cook; Hanieh; Kay., p. 4), and in 2008 the number of minors in custody of the Israeli security forces per month was between approx 300 and 340, in February of 2009 it had risen to 374. (www.btselem.org)

On top of that the future employment situation for children in the West Bank and particularly in Jayyous is rather unfavorable because only few young people get a permit to work on the land of their family behind the separation barrier so that there is hardly any opportunity for most of them to become a farmer. Other job opportunities in the region are rather bleak. So, if their parents can afford it, after school many youngsters proceed to higher education – but most of them leave Jayyous after graduation. They are “the victims of strangulation by permit, intimidation and isolation.” (Dolphin, p. 101)

What does this mean for children? Certainly, on the whole, the same as for their parents: First of all, that daily life is under absolute and comprehensive control by the system of occupation, secondly, that children are no less at the mercy of the occupation as their parents, and thirdly that resistance and even hope for change have no reasonable chance. But on top of that for children there are special constraints in daily life. ”This occupation has stolen our freedom: a lot of checkpoints, a lot of barriers and sometimes we have a long curfew. That makes us feel we are living in a big prison. That makes me feel unsafe and afraid to move around alone.” (Sanabel, 16, Our Voices, p. 20)

Some examples: Children cannot just visit friends in a neighbouring village, because there might be a curfew so that they cannot get home. Places in the countryside, where their parents used to play when they were young, are no longer accessible because they are behind the separation barrier now. Although from Jayyous they can see the Mediterranean at clear days, they are not allowed to go there. Because of the economic situation under the occupation many parents cannot afford things children would like to have: toys, clothes, titbits etc. Although not all parents can afford to send their children to higher education, in general there is much pressure on the children to get good grades in school not to obstruct future job opportunities outside the region. Maybe, games which children play are more about fighting, and they are taken more serious, namely: “We with our slingshots against the soldiers with their guns in their jeeps” – occupation intrudes into the children`s games. Making shooting sounds when playing in the streets the children are playing a game of army against the boys. Children are permanently afraid that their father might be arrested, that he might not be allowed to pass the agricultural gate or the checkpoint to get to his work place and that he might even lose his job. “I often feel afraid that in the future I will lose one of my family or one of my best friends. So with this kind of feelings I can’t live as normal child. I miss feeling safe and secure. I wish to have peace in our country and in the world.” (Rana, 17, Our Voices, p. 18)

On the whole, daily life of the children is affected by restrictions, constant danger, fear and uncertainty. As one boy put it: “We really think that the occupation makes us forget our childhood and how to live this childhood.” (Our Voices, p.16)

To be certain, for the children it is more difficult to cope with living under threatening conditions than for their parents. This is shown by some results of the study by Cook; Hanieh and Kay which shed a light on the effects on children (p. 129 ff). To live under permanent stress and danger reduces the children`s resources and affects their ability to cope with daily life, reduces their ability to form long-lasting relationships and to make plans. Increased aggressive behaviour and fear of soldiers is widespread among them. Another study which deals with wall-related symptoms in the Qalqiliya area found a high prevalence of depressive factors apparent in sleeping and eating disorders as well as psycho-somatic symptoms not only among adults but also among children. (Dolphin, p. 83)

How does this show in the conduct of the children in Jayyous? We can refer here to the experience of two institutions - the Boys` School and the Charity Center in Jayyous – and on our own observations.

As to the Boys` School, daily experience with the students in the classroom underlines the results of the studies cited above. The headmaster of the Boys` School points out: “All children are affected passively by the presence of the soldiers in itself, by gates and treatment of family and parents they experience almost every day.” Many have seen their parents being humiliated, insulted, threatened and even hurt by Israeli soldiers, especially when houses were searched. For them Israeli soldiers are enemies who are part of the occupation system and are in no way people you should talk to but who you should fight. Throwing stones at the soldiers is the most common answer of this group of children, especially for those who are close to being at the age of 18. They disregard the consequences for themselves (e.g. possibly arrest and interrogation) and for the community (e.g. animals killed by tear-gas thrown by Israeli soldiers, agricultural gates are not being opened at all or not opened on time). The headmaster told us that he tries to hold his students back from confronting the soldiers. Another teacher even tries to keep them out of the weekly demonstration against the separation barrier, saying they should rather use the time to learn for school. Another group which responds to their situation are the children who are paralyzed and depressed by the conditions under the occupation. It seems to be very difficult for the teachers to talk to them about their situation. When children of the kindergarten who participate in the Butterfly Project of the YMCA were asked to draw a safe place most of them did not draw their house or apartment, indicating that the do no longer regard their house or apartment as a safe place. The children of both groups have similar problems at school because their performance is afflicted by the consequences of the occupation for their daily life. The headmaster pointed out that he is trying to cooperate with the parents in order to support the children. But as the parents as well suffer from the occupation, in many cases they lack the energy and the time to cope with the problems of their children. In this field the Charity Centre and the kindergarten support the parents and the children. One of the projects is the Butterfly Project of the YMCA which tries to help the children to express their feelings on incidents they experienced under the occupation.

All the more it is amazing that in the Jayyous Boys` School as in Palestinian schools in general, transition rates from basic education (Preparation Stage - grades 1 to 4 - and the Empowerment Stage - grades 5 to 10) to secondary education have been over 90% during the last five years, which is high by international standards. Moreover, the overall pass rate in the school-leaving examination of the secondary schools in the West Bank has increased from around 56% in 1995 to almost 70% in 2005, though this is partly attributed to less difficult tests due to the disruption in school attendance and other Intifada-associated problems students face.

(www.passia.org) Nevertheless, transition rates and pass rates seem to indicate that education is regarded as the main hope for the future that is left - a hope which because of the bad economic situation on the West Bank might come true for only few of them. This, again, makes it impossible for them to make long-lasting plans for their life. The headmaster of the Boys School: “We try to give them other options than seeking confrontation with the soldiers or abandoning hope.”

Bibliography

B`Tselem: Annual Report 2007 www.btselem.org

Catherine Cook; Adam Hanieh; Adah Kay: Stolen Youth, London and Sterling, Va., 2004

Defense for Children International: Our Voices, 2005

Ray Dolphin: West Bank Wall. Unmaking Palestine, London and Ann Arbor, Mi, 2006 www.passia.org

The views contained in this article are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of the sending organizations of the authors and the World Council of Churches. Götz Schindler and Fraser Ritchie, Ecumenical Accompaniers of EAPPI in Jayyous from January to April, 2009

This post was submitted by Ingrid Colvin.