Man's perception of reality is a product of a long process of a
dynamic interaction between himself and his universe.
To understand how one construes reality and reacts to it, I will
attempt in this short paper to present a construct, i.e., a
cognitive system, to explain how we, Palestinians, may have
perceived and responded to an environment of conflict throughout
the years.
From birth on, man is in vigorous interaction with his physical,
cultural, political, psychosocial and _economic environment. The
results of these interactions determine the nature of his
experience. These special interactions and experience lead to an
accumulation of knowledge about the world and the formation of a
value system upon which one appraises the worth of things and
events in one's life. Man's experience, knowledge and value system
will inevitably influence his attitudes toward his environment.
Though each one of us has a unique cognitive system through which
we choose how to adapt to reality, people living within the same
environment are exposed to the same external factors, and this is
the source of shared cultural values and group consciousness.
So what are the features of the Palestinian experience which have
determined our shared perception of reality and molded our group
consciousness?
The population of Palestine has suffered from the anguish of
countless wars of invasion and conquest going as far back as the
Canaanite era, around 2500 B.C. But it is the immediacy of the
Arab-Israeli conflict, with the trauma of the wars of 1948 and
1967, and our subsequent displacement and oppression which have had
the most important impact on the Palestinian psyche.
Although all previous wars and aggressions have been stressful, the
peculiar characteristics of the Israeli retaliation against the
Intifada made this special event inevitably very bloody, resulting
in unexpectedly high casualties.
For one thing, the Intifada was the boldest attempt on the part of
the Palestinian people to resist the Israeli occupation since the
Arab-Israeli war of 1967. The number of Palestinian people who were
killed, injured, jailed and deported during the Intifada was
exceedingly high in comparison with previous years of occupation.
In addition, the first two years of the Intifada were marked by the
closure of all institutions of learning. There were also other
measures taken by the Israeli authorities, such as the demolition
and sealing of houses and the uprooting of olive and fruit
trees.
The Intifada was also very stressful because the unarmed
Palestinian stone-throwers were facing alone a very well-armed,
well-trained and powerful army which had defeated the combined
armies of three Arab countries in the 1967 war. And, until
recently, those civilians have been living in a combat/war
condition. These violent conditions have made the risks of death,
injury, disability and imprisonment very high. Inevitably, the
prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) casualties has
increased.
During the Intifada, most Palestinians, especially those residing
in villages and refugee camps, were exposed to life-threatening
situations. The violent and unpredictable nature of the combat
situation, such as sudden house-¬to-house searches, smashing
of furniture, exposure to direct verbal and physical abuse and
interrogations from the army during the early hours of the morning,
produced a sense of fear, disorientation and estrangement. The
protracted nature of the conflict and the constant exposure to such
appalling conditions caused traumatic stress reactions in many
Palestinians similar to those of soldiers involved in long periods
of combat.
In addition, the traumatic nature of Palestinian stress reactions
are severe, reinforced and reactivated daily by Israeli soldiers
since the Intifada; this makes recovery problematic, even
impossible.
Finally, since the beginning of the Intifada, the Palestinian
people have been experiencing psychologically traumatic events that
go beyond their range of usual experience and tolerance. These
stressful experiences are also perceived by the Palestinians as
unjustified suffering because they believe
they are struggling to obtain their freedom, self-determination and
legitimate rights. Consequently, the Palestinian people, who daily
experience traumatic events, have no opportunity to process
traumatic experiences or to adjust to dramatic life-style
changes.
It is hardly surprising, then, that a Palestinian's perception of
Israelis is strongly affected by the experience of his own
traumatic condition. Interpretations and understanding of the
actions of the Israelis are made by Palestinians based upon that
basic system of inferences and assumptions. In other words,
Palestinians and Israelis do not share the same field or cognitive
system base with which to comprehend major distressful events in
their lives, such as the Arab-Israeli conflict, though they are
living within the boundaries of the same world. Both enemies have
different aims when they make each other suffer. To use Nietzsche's
words: "He who has a 'why' to live for, can bear with almost any
'how'." It seems that the leaders of the Arabs and the Israelis
have succeeded in providing a "why" for every war and aggression
toward the other. They have also provided their people during the
years of the conflict with reason, with purpose, with aim, in order
to strengthen them to bear the terrible "how" of their existence.
Those who lost sight of the purpose of their struggle saw no point
in carrying on.
Today, what is the psychological impact of the peace process on the
people of both nations? Is this process consistent with their
cognitive systems? Do constructs such as sacrifice, commitment to
struggle, loyalty to group, hatred
of the enemy and martyrdom have an effect on Palestinians'
perception of the Israelis now that the peace process is under
way?
Of course, the answers to such questions need an empirical
investigation because any assumption or prediction made by the
writer is subjective. Nevertheless, according to Kelly (A Theory,
1963), "constructs are used for prediction of things to come, and
the world keeps rolling along and revealing these predictions to be
either correct or misleading. This fact provides the basis for
revision of constructs and, eventually, of the whole construction
systems." Again, as during the conflict era, and now during the
peace talks, Arab, Palestinian and Israeli leaders alike have been
able to find a "why" for tolerance, for mutual understanding,
forgiveness and empathy, for reconciliation and for the
construction of a new cognitive system. But since man is in a
continuous interaction with his own environment, the creation of
such wonderful constructs and the erection of a new system based on
peace constructs will be in jeopardy, unless huge amounts of effort
and concrete achievement on the ground are implemented soon for the
common interest of both nations.
<