Counting the cost in children's lives

By Martin Lumb
BBC News Online

Muhammad al-Dura: One of the first young victims of the intifada

Whatever the outcome of the latest Middle East peace initiative, it has come too late for the many children on both sides who have been maimed physically and mentally by the war.

Since the current upsurge in violence - the second intifada - began in 2000, 528 children have been killed.

Of those 436 were Palestinian and 92 Israeli, according to the United Nations children's agency, Unicef.

The violence in Gaza on Wednesday night - some of the worst ever seen there - has added to the list.

Among the Palestinians killed were three more children - a boy of two, and two 13-year-olds, doctors said.

Children are screaming... we are trying to calm them down, but bullets are coming from all directions Dr Fadel Abu Hein

Israeli military officials said they were seeking three top Hamas fugitives in Gaza - brothers Yousef, Mahmoud and Ayman Abu Hein.

Troops had surrounded a four-storey building in the Shijaiyah neighbourhood that was home to 60 members of the Abu Hein family.

Dr Fadel Abu Hein, a prominent child psychologist and brother of the fugitives, was contacted by reporters as the building came under fire.

"We are sitting in total darkness. Children are screaming," he said.

"We are trying to calm them down, but bullets are coming from all directions."

After daybreak, one reporter saw two boys, aged 12 and 14 being hit by Israeli fire.

One was struck in the neck, and doctors said later he was paralysed.

The deaths and the injuries are carefully monitored by Unicef and human rights organisations.

Israeli children suffer psychologically, too

But at the same time an unwritten and much longer list is growing - the number of children traumatised and brutalised by the war.

Palestinian children, apart from suffering as a result of the violence, are also hurt by the conflict's environmental consequences, including destruction of basic infrastructure, and shortages of food and water.

Their schooling is disrupted. They play at being fighters.

UN studies of mental health in Gaza suggest most youngsters there suffer emotional problems.

These problems manifest themselves as speech disorders, bedwetting or crying, evolving into aggression as the children grow older.

Among the signs that children demonstrated are fear, regression and anxiety Monica Awad Unicef

"Since the outbreak of violence more than two years ago, there has been a rapid and profound decline in the quality of life for Palestinian children," said Unicef spokeswoman Monica Awad.

"This is a direct result of shelling and gunfire on their homes and schools, the violence they experience daily, the damage to property, and the sustained closures of the past year, " she told BBC News Online.

Most of Unicef's work in the region is for Palestinians, but for Israeli children too, the conflict is badly affecting their psychosocial well-being.

"Among the signs that all children demonstrated are fear, regression and anxiety," said Ms Awad.

Meir Indor, director of the Israeli Terror Victims Association, says many Israeli children fear that they will be blown up by a suicide bomber on their way to school.

"This is not a normal life for children - that they go off to school fearing they may get caught up in an attack. We have to calculate the route, plan it so we can find the quickest way, to lessen the chance that something will happen," Mr Indor told BBC News Online.

He added that the conflict is ever-present in children's homes, too.

"They are affected by news broadcasts of bombing campaigns. Parents tell the children to turn it off but they don't want to be always shielded from reality. More and more children are reporting that they are having recurring nightmares."

The Terror Victims Association raises money for families affected by the violence, runs therapy sessions and sends children who have lost parents or siblings on holiday.

Empathy

In the Palestinian territories, Unicef believes families are still generally succeeding in protecting their children and keeping them away from flashpoints.

Most of their children who have been killed have been bystanders, in their homes or on their way to and from school.

In the most difficult circumstances, Unicef believes it has had some success in alleviating the suffering of Palestinian children.

Much of this has centred around summer camps, which over the last two years have benefited more than 30,000 youngsters.

Unicef says the camps allow the children to play and develop such skills as empathy, critical thinking, listening and decision making.

The UN also supports media activities, including story writing by Palestinian adolescents on the current conflict.

A book of short stories was published in which Palestinian youth detail their experience of the crisis and their hopes and aspirations.

Local non-governmental organisations and media outlets have also worked with Unicef to provide young people with an opportunity to express themselves on television, radio and in newspapers.

Unicef also claims success in innovative schemes such as a Youth Parliament, and counselling hotlines where young people provide psychosocial support to their peers.