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Paleostinians try to wean Gaza children from war
 | This article rates a two-thirds full glass of warm milk and a nice chocolatey cookie. There appear to be a couple of halfhearted examples of the PA trying to restore some semblance of order, but the little girl quoted at the end of the article will probably never get to be a doctor. At least not in Paleoland. |
"Freedom for Palestine!" chants 9-year-old Ahmad Abu Sharia in a Gaza Strip refugee camp, as he listens to a small radio bringing news of Israeli air strikes. | Quick note: It's been at least a week since Israel had any air strikes... |
"I want to become a commander in al-Aqsa," he says. Abu Sharia's | Abu Sharia? That's criminal. For shame, mom & dad. |
dream of fighting Israel and perhaps achieving fame as a "martyr" is one shared by many of his friends and other youngsters in the Gaza Strip, a militant stronghold in an uprising against Israel since 2000. Palestinians trying to rebuild the Gaza Strip must now deal with the legacy of a culture of martyrdom and militancy that appears better suited to years of violence than to making the territory a model for statehood. Cutting poverty and unemployment, and creating a conducive atmosphere to reduce militant tendencies among children is the top priority," said Ghassan al-Khatib, Palestinian planning minister.| Yeah, and Hamas is plotting your demise and laughing at you behind your back, Ghassan. |
"We are looking to develop the right kinds of programs that will absorb their energy, and channel it in the right direction," he told Reuters. The government is focusing on improving school curricula and fostering an environment to help children focus on education, civic duties and eventually finding jobs, Khatib said.
Meanwhile, authorities have slapped whitewash on Gaza Strip walls to cover up the murals of "martyrs," mostly young men, brandishing assault rifles or showing off suicide bomb belts. "We don't have athletes, or movie stars or other celebrities that the children can look up to," said Eyad Sarraj, a prominent Gaza psychiatrist and human rights activist. | All those things are unIslamic. Ask anyone. |
"Anyone who fights Israel is a role model. Militants and martyrs are the only role models here."
In rundown cities and refugee camps, battered by Israeli raids and air strikes during the years of Intifada or uprising, many youngsters are given saw no other few better opportunities than joining one of the armed factions. Those who died fighting could expect thousands to attend their funerals -- ceremonies of billowing flags and shots in the air where cries of revenge mingled with tears of mourning. "I want to have three stripes on my shoulder," said 12-year-old Nidal Dahman, placing three fingers on his shoulder, indicating senior ranks in the al-Aqsa brigades.Before the Israeli pullout, a survey done by Sarraj's Gaza Community Mental Health Program showed 37 percent of 12-year-olds in Gaza wanted not only to fight Israel, but to "become martyrs." Any shift in feelings appears nonexistent gradual among youths on the dusty streets of Gaza City. "The change in their attitude depends on the pace of change in the environment. The pullout created a change in the surroundings, and that affected the children in a positive way. Further changes will influence them more," Sarraj said.
More than half the Palestinian population of 3.8 million is under 18.
"I want to join Hamas because they try to make me less afraid and I want to make others feel less afraid," said 12-year-old schoolgirl Abir Jarradah, wearing a blue uniform with a white headscarf. "But I also want to become a doctor."
Posted by: Seafarious 2005-10-11 |
