Youth Voices in Gaza

Hothayfa: "I am starting to feel the effect now after the war is over. I learned to be patient, to help my family and neighbors. I became aware of so many things. I learned that there were things, which I thought are important but now I know they are secondary.

"Children are affected by the war. Psychologically, they are not stable. They are scared and they cry all the time. They talk about the conflict even when they play. Their dislike for Israel has increased. The problem is that what the children have been through will for sure affect their worldview when they grow up.

"The government should consider the psychological status of the people of Gaza and they must unite and represent all Palestinians."

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Ziad: "[Because of the war] I learned to be responsible and to not take anything for granted. There are things that I used to believe in and now I don’t and the other way around. I used to trust some people and now I don’t.

"Young people are affected by the war. They even play the role of Israelis and Palestinians in their games. They know what Fatah and Hamas are. They know what a sniper is. In other words, they are deprived of their childhood.

"I hope we learn our lesson from this war and understand that we have to unite."

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Fairouz: "I used to be frightened, but after the first two weeks of war, I was not scared anymore. I was careless. I don’t think that there will be a solution for this situation. I am trying to leave the country.

"It had a great impact on the lives of children. The first words that babies say are 'bombing' and 'Israelis'."

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Reem: "I learned a lot from what happened and in case there is another war, I know I will be able to handle it better. I also became more caring. After I lost many of the people I know, I realized that the people I know might not be with us tomorrow.

"What happened also motivates me to finish my degree and continue my studies and even try to get a scholarship and leave Gaza so that I won't experience this again. Before the war I used to think of today only but now I think of each day as a life. So I have to accomplish something each and everyday."

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Derar: "The war in Gaza taught me that I am responsible toward my country as well as my family and my friends. I believe that we are the only ones who must stand up for our rights and I believe that there are many ways to do that. War is not the only choice.

"[The younger generation] have been through tough times and I don't think they would forget what happened. Nor would they easily forgive those responsible for all what happened to them as a result of the war. It would be especially difficult for those who lost their families and homes.

"I cannot ask a child to forget how helpless he was watching his family die, let alone the fear he experienced during bombing. It is really hard. In order for them to overcome this, children would need some therapy although this may take a long time until they fully recover."

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Nasser: "The war affected me. My grandparents and parents always told me about wars but I did not believe that it would be that bad. Now I understand. I learned to be patient and tolerant. I learned not to complain especially because sometimes we do not have too many choices. I learned how to make use of my time when I have nothing to do.

"The younger generation must have dreams, but many of their dreams are changed. They are aware of other things that children in other areas of the world would not think of.

"I don't know how [to convince young people that will still need to live in peace]. I might tell them that at the end of the day we are all the same. We are human beings and that we all need to live in peace. But honestly at this moment, I don’t really believe in this. The chances for peace dropped 50% in my opinion. This attack has taken us back to before 1994.

"What happened proved that Israel did not differentiate between civilians and fighters. For Israel we are all the same, we are all Palestinian. Hence, most of those killed were civilians. Therefore, we must always remember our common goal as Palestinians."

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Hanadi: "I was surprised by the protests and the support for Palestinians from all over the world. I am also surprised by the amount of destruction in Gaza Strip. We have never seen such a thing before.

"The younger generation has gone through a lot. Many children even died. But there has to be some kind of solution to this problem because they are living under difficult circumstances. The Palestinian parties should unite and find a solution to the problem in Gaza."

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Haitham: "[Because of the war] I started to view the governments of other countries differently. It seems they think that the civilians and the victims are not real human beings. And so I do not believe in their role.

"My parents, siblings and even the younger generation all experienced war and will continue to experience that. Yet, I hope that there will be some peaceful solution after this war. We have to believe that peace is the only solution.

"I would like to tell the extremists to let the moderate parties find a solution. There should not be any kind of extremism because we, as Palestinians, have one common goal."

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Fairouz: "Life is back to normal. People go out, shops are open. People are somewhat optimistic. I went out yesterday and today. I called Mercy Corps office to check if they were working the next day. I also spoke with the leaders of Global Youth Connectivity and we met at the office.

"Psychologically I am affected by what happened. We lost people, many houses were destroyed. No one knows how the school year will continue, let alone the fear of another war. We are also left without water or electricity, so we have to adjust to a new lifestyle with many things missing."

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Haitham: "Life is getting back to normal, but institutes and banks are still closed. People are worried about their houses and are fixing the damages. It's miserable.

"I would wait and see what they will have to say first. We are stuck between the Israelis and Hamas. We are the victims. We are suffering. So let them see what happened in Gaza and learn about what is happening in order to have peace and security in the region. I don’t believe the war is over. Palestinians must unite before discussing any agreement with the Israelis.

"I will be back to work. I don’t know how things will look like though, but the coming months will be difficult because it will take ten years until we rebuild Gaza."

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