Film by Dr. Iman Farajallah, Producer and Director
IAK: The purpose of this film was to explore and elevate voices to Gazan children who have survived the violence of war and who continue to suffer today, all while trying to understand and accept what happened to them.
Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip do not live typical lives.
They observe their family members, neighbors, and friends being killed. Observing the murder of a close family member as a result of the Israeli bombing creates anger and frustration in children. They tend to be more aggressive and angry. These children suffer from depression, anxiety, and Continuous Traumatic Stress Disorder (CTSD).
Save the Children found that 95% of Palestinian children show symptoms of depression, hyperactivity, a preference for being alone, and aggression. They cannot even regularly attend school because of the bombing of school buildings and are prohibited from accessing essential school supplies.
Even when they are able to go to school, their lives are extremely agonizing, with constant drones overhead preventing them from concentrating. Children become depressed when they return to school and the friends who used to sit right next to them have been killed or have lost a body part due to severe injury. To make matters worse, they are trapped with nowhere to go – daily reliving their trauma.