The children of Gaza

The Children of Gaza. Before watching the documentary I admit I hadn’t thought past the children who might be injured directly in conflict. The dispatches documentary on channel four was a real eye opener to the long term injustice that exists without, it seems, much support. "Where are the human rights organisations?" one man asked... Of course it would be naive to expect a counsellor for each child scared by war, but is that what is really necessary? The scarring of war goes deeper than the wounds children recover from. It is the confusion, the misplaced guilt and the fear that no child should know. It seems in this situation the children’s mental well being is being forgotten assuming their physical state is okay... which of course is not even the case in the majority of instances. But what was deeply disturbing to see was the children’s rationale of the entire thing; despite their mature acknowledgement of the practical aspects of war... there is an underlying disturbance in their violent play which includes mock torture and abuse. Additionally the undertone of wars influence is included in the aspirations of the youth... is it really right for little boys of seven to be encouraged and to openly crave vengeance for the death of a man? It is an issue which is hard to address in a culture depicted by violence and written off as a lost cause which could not possibly be compared to the ultra-comforting, overly-nurturing environment which we expect for children in the UK... right?