Until recently, it was acceptable to summarize wars according to
the number of killed and wounded among the involved parties -
mainly adult soldiers who actively participated in the war, whose
territory was a battlefield distant from the civilian population.
Today, we are witnessing a significant change in how wars are
waged, and the result is that many civilians - men, women and
children - are getting hurt. Technological advances have
transferred wars from the battlefield to the civilian world - to
the home and neighborhood. In addition, we are seeing a different
discourse on the impact of war, refering not only to physical
wounds but also psychological wounds of combattants, civilians and
their children.
Other developments during the past few decades are connected to the
emphasis and importance given to the psychological welfare of the
child. There is no doubt that a child's early experiences have a
great influence on the thought and emotional components of its
personality. Therefore, exposure to experiences of death, injury
and destruction has an impact on the psychological development of a
child.
The fact that children are inside the arena of war, either
physically or via the media, shows there is a need to study the
affect of war on children and to look for ways of mobilizing the
maximal psychological assistance to help them. The impact of war on
children is connected to "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" (PTSD), a
psychopathological phenomenon originally identified in the context
of traumatic experiences in normal life, such as rape, accidents or
other life-threatening events. This led to a debate in professional
psychiatric literature about the degree to which the PTSD concept
could be applied to the reaction of children in violent conflict
and war situations.
Jensen and Shaw (1993) point out a number of differences between
violent conflict and war as a cause for stress and other life
events. In their view, violent conflict and war, unlike regular
occurrences, are ongoing and not one-time or temporary situations.
In addition, the events of violent conflict and war exist as part
of a broader national and ethnic conflict, and many more people are
involved than in an individual traumatic experience. They agree
with the argument (Rosenblatt, 1983) that it is possible that
children born into violent conflict or war and who grow up within
its conditions may experience the conflict-ridden situation as
normal and part of daily life.
Another debate exists about whether emphasis should be placed on
the pathological effect of violent conflict and war on children, or
whether it is preferable to study the resilience children reveal in
response to violent conflict and war. Scholars such as Dawes,
Tredoux and Feinstein (1989) warned against too sharp a movement
between the two extremes or an exaggerated emphasis on the
suffering caused to children, or the current tendency toward an
exaggerated emphasis on the components of power and ability to
cope. In any event, we should take into account the many studies
that point to the different psychopathological reactions that
children reveal during war situations (Arroyo & Eth, 1985;
Kinzie et al., 1989), and to the researchers who have explored the
Palestinian situation (Punamaki & Sulieman, 1990; Baker, 1990;
Abu Hein, Qouta, Thabet & El Sarraj; Maslaha, 1993).
Since the study of the impact of violent conflict and war on
children still hasn't resolved many questions, there is much room
for research to learn more about the psychological effect of
collective violence and wars, about the specific factors which can
increase or decrease the damage, about the variables responsible
for the differences in children's responses to the same trauma, and
about the impact of cultural background on children's responses. We
are mainly lacking studies which measure the long-term impact. Many
of the war situations that have occurred during the past 50 years
were experienced in the developing world where children constitute
about half of the population (Zwi & Ugalde, 1989). This limits
the possibility of research about children in violent conflict and
war because of the lack of resources for such studies in many
developing world areas and the limited number of scholars.
That reinforces the importance of the current research, a study
that provides an insight into the inner world of Palestinian
children through their dreams. This research has two unique
aspects: its method (dreams), which is indirect and bypasses the
child's "consciousness," and the study of the child's psychological
situation through its perceptions and thoughts toward the present
and the future.
Methodology
This study uses dream analysis to measure the psychological state
of Palestinian children. This method has its strengths, which are
expressed in the fact that the children didn't know what the
researcher was looking for, thus they projected their inner world
in an authentic manner. This observation is important particularly
when it comes to the political sphere, which is loaded and where
positions are usually clear to all the subjects of such research,
including children.
Bilu was among the pioneers of research in this approach to child
psychology in a political context (Bilu, 1989). During the first
Intifada, a follow-up study was done to examine the unique
situation of Palestinian children, who, for the first time, found
themselves in the line of fire (Masalha, 1993). The current study
is a continuation of this series which enables us to learn about
the changes that occur not only in the world of these children, but
also in the general situation as reflected in the world of the
child.
One hundred and fourteen children, aged nine and ten, half boys and
half girls, from the Ramallah and Bethlehem area in the West Bank,
participated in the study. The children were asked to write about
their dreams in a notebook over a l0 day period. They were also
given the opportunity to write imaginary stories, to avoid any
confusion between dreams and stories. The analysis was based on the
dreams alone.
The 114 children presented a total of 171 dreams, an average of 1.5
dreams per child.
Categories Examined in the Dreams
Content of the Dream: About two-thirds of the dreams were political
(a dream who's central subject is political), and one-third were
nightmares (dreams which raise fears to the degree of sleep
disturbance). A very small percentage of the dreams expressed
personal wishes (personal desires that express a wish the dreamer
wants for himself, such as economic, academic or other
success).
Beginning and End of the Dream: About three-quarters of the dreams
had a bad ending, while only one-quarter had a good ending.
Role of Parents in the Dream: Parents appear in only 25 percent of
the dreams, and only try to help in one-third. In the remaining two
thirds of dreams the parent either tries to help and doesn't
succeed, or is himself hurt.
Interaction Between the Images: In 85 percent of the dreams, there
is a physical confrontation, while 15 percent of the dreams contain
verbal confrontation. In none of the 171 dreams was there friendly
contact with Israelis.
Example of a Nightmare:
A girl from a refugee camp in the Bethlehem area wrote: "While I
was sleeping, I dreamed an Israeli plane began to shoot at and bomb
houses. I was there, I fell on the ground, a missile hit me in the
head. I felt that my head was separated from my body. I was very
frightened, and I woke up in a panic."
Example of a Dream that Begins Well and Ends Badly:
A girl from the Ramallah area wrote: "We went on a trip from
school. We walked in the countryside. It was pretty. Suddenly a
jeep arrived with Israeli officers. I managed to get away and climb
a hill. I looked down and saw the soldiers make the children stand
up and raise their hands and begin to interrogate them."
Example of a Dream which Begins Badly and Ends Well:
A girl from a refugee camp in the Ramallah area wrote: "I dreamed
that shooting began at our house. No one was home. I panicked. I
hid in one corner of the house, looking for a way to escape.
Suddenly I found myself running to a house in the neighborhood
where I found my parents. I felt happy."
Discussion
Let me note that, at this stage, there is no reference to other
comparison groups that might teach us about the meaning of this
data. Comparison groups in this sphere will be those directly
involved in a conflict, such as the Jewish and Arab populations in
Israel, or the populations in the neighboring Arab states.
Comparisons will also be made with other populations in the
world.
According to our data, it is clear there are a high percentage of
political dreams. This shows us that the children invest a great
deal of energy in the political conflict. It is, of course,
possible to ask to what degree this investment comes at the expense
of other spheres of life, such as education and games that are a
central part of children's lives. This is compatible with the
findings that there are only a small percentage of dreams that deal
with personal wishes. The wish of the Palestinian child is a
collective national wish, meaning there is a loss of individual
borders and a blending with the collective. It is possible to view
this tendency as a defense mechanism against an existential threat,
because when there is a threat against the individual, it is much
safer to be part of a larger group. Individualism is reinforced by
culture but the assumption here is that the cultural values
encounter a difficult reality for the individual, reinforcing his
readiness to abandon individualism.
Thirteen percent of the children studied see themselves as shahids
(martyrs) in their dreams, many actively blowing themselves up in
Israel. We can see this phenomenon in the perspective of the giving
up of self for the sake of the group. The borders of the "I" expand
and encompass the collective.
Interaction with Israelis is characterized by physical
confrontation and very little verbal confrontation. There is no
positive encounter between the sides in the dreams. This raises
serious questions about how the Palestinian child perceives the
Israeli. It clearly reflects the reality of violent confrontation
that has existed during the past two years, a reality where there
are almost no positive experiences between Palestinians and
Israelis, particularly when it comes to children.
Concerning the nightmares that constitute one-third of the dreams,
one can think about the repercussions of the situation on the
psychology of the individual and on the degree of damage to the
child's soul. Tamar Lavi, who studied the same population about a
year after the outbreak of the second Intifada in 2000 as part of
her doctorate at the University of Tel Aviv's School of Social
Work, found that more than 70 percent of the Palestinian children
answer the criterion for PTSD (Lavi, 2002).
The children's internal feelings and approach to life are expressed
in the finding that two-thirds of their dreams end "badly." Is this
the expression of a pessimistic outlook, of a lack of optimism, of
a discouraging perception of the situation and perhaps to life?
Bilu (1989) found that Jewish children's dreams tend to have a good
ending. In most instances, a strong, armed adult arrived to extract
the child from any situation with an attacking Arab. In contrast to
these feelings of security reported by Bilu, the Palestinian child
today doesn't have any safe places. Children and their families are
hit in the very places which were supposed to be the safest, in the
home and at school. The adults are unable to help and parents are
hurt in one-third of the dreams. This raises questions about the
lack of a basic sense of security and about a perception of parents
as impotent.
Another finding worth noting is the high frequency of dreams that
have a halt in the flow of an event. When it's connected with a
blow, it usually refers to a physical blow, and when it's connected
to a psychological blow that expresses itself in post-traumatic
symptoms, it is rarely connected to a "restriction" effect. Perhaps
the curfews and roadblocks that appear in many of the dreams create
an inner sense of deadlock or stoppage in the children. The dream
of the girl from Ramallah, where the class trip ended in a halt and
the raising of hands, is a good example of flow interruption.
The first findings of the current study raise a number of serious
questions at the psychological level of the individual and the
family, and also at the level of society and the relations between
the Palestinians and the Israelis. Palestinian children are growing
up and it's possible to ask to if, within a reality which is
saturated with violent conflict and fear, they will trust the world
or if social regression and paralysis will be part of their
response to traumatic events. Can the relatively high motivation
"to explode" that is expressed in their dreams possibly be
interpreted as the opposite of the sense of immobilization and
impotency? There are still many unaswered questions about the
growing phenomenon of suicide bombing among Palestinian
youth.
On the plane of Israeli-Palestinian relations, the leaders in the
main political streams on both sides recognize there can be no
solution based on the physical elimination of the other. In the
end, a solution has to be achieved through negotiations which will
end the era of war and begin an era of bridge building. In light of
the harsh experiences this Palestinian generation is experiencing
the question is - to what degree will these emotional experiences
leave room for reconciliation and the establishment of relations
between the two peoples? Will the continuation of the current
situation mean a growing gap between the two sides, what type of
experiences will have to be cultivated to bridge this gap, and over
what length of time?
Another question raised by the findings concerns the passivity of
the children in their dreams. The children usually saw themselves
being hurt, which occurred when they didn't initiate an attack or
were unable to defend themselves. Abu Hein et al. (1993) pointed to
the effect of activism on the children as a positive factor that
helped them confront trauma. So what happens to children in the
second Intifada when they return to passivity? This study did not
examine buffer variables that have been reported in professional
literature.
Zahr (1996) reported on the importance of a family atmosphere to
help children cope with a war situation, in the Lebanese context.
Others have explored the effect of social and community sources of
support as a moderating factor on war traumas (Jensen & Shaw,
1993). A careful examination of the social and community situation
of the Palestinians reveals factors that serve as buffers and
factors that frustrate. The community factor moderating the effect
of trauma here is the solidarity among the Palestinians in their
perception of the struggle which sees everyone hurt as a hero and
every death as an act of martyrdom.
The frustrating factor is the difficult economic situation, the
high unemployment rate and the existence of limited community
services, particularly in the field of mental health. Though those
services underwent significant growth over the past two decades,
particularly during the first Intifada at the end of the '80s and
the beginning of the '90s. During that period, services were
developed that included rehabilitation and mental health centers on
both governmental and non-governmental (NGO) levels.
Conclusion
A number of conclusions can be drawn from this study at the level
of the mental health of the individual, the family and society, and
at the level of relations with the other nation with which an
ongoing struggle is being waged. The first findings raise a number
of disturbing questions about the mental health of the Palestinian
child and its attitude and perception of the Israeli. The
multiplicity of nightmares, the fear and the violence are
disturbing at the individual level. The lack of any positive
interaction and the minimal verbal exchange between the two
nations, the Palestinians and the Israelis, are not encouraging
indicators to find a way out of the current deadlocked
situation.
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