Too many people
We won't turn our backs on you,
Not now,
Not ever!
"The prevalence of adverse mental health and psychosocial issues are of increasing concern to Palestine refugees. In many UNRWA fields of operations, children and adults are exposed to violence, conflict and displacement. This is further complicated by a variety of external factors, including poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, oppression and exclusion. If not addressed, psychosocial distress can lead to mental illness, unhealthy and dangerous behaviour, substance abuse, low academic achievement and increased school dropout rates, in addition to exacerbating the prevalence of non-communicable diseases".
One story
"I was born and raised a homeless person, a refugee. lived through the whole situation from getting my meals and supplies from the UNRWA ( The United Nations Relief and Works Agency ) to getting dressed up by them and go to their schools for 12 years .The worst time of my life , living in a tent, when I developed what I was told at that time to be: Arthritis.
my limps get stiff , joints got inflamed cause of severe cold weather, and improper clothings, end up forced stay me for three month in our tent sweet tent."
Since 1993
Crisis and its effect on Refugees
What Is Crisis?
According to Wikipedia, a crisis is an event that is going to lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group or community, or a whole society.
How Does Crisis Affect People?
Different kinds of disastrous events happen in the world that may affect individuals, families or the whole society. Some people lose their homes, loved ones and some lose a whole family. Some are separated from their community. Some people experience violence and destruction, first-hand. Some even see their fellow humans die right before their eyes.
When these events take place in a given location, it may affect quite some people, but the way people react to this may vary. Some people have mild reactions, but some people’s reactions may be severe.
Crisis situations can cause trauma. Trauma envelopes numbness, uncertainty, fear, anxiousness, confusion, and a feeling of detachment.
What is Trauma?
When a person experiences or witnesses an actual or threatened serious injury or death, the result is trauma. They become traumatized.
Emotional and physical shocks following a traumatic event are normal. It appears immediately after the event. However, sometimes it takes hours, days and even weeks before the aftershocks come on full display.
When the trauma comes on full display, the individual experiences intense fear, horror or helplessness.
The symptoms of trauma may last for days, weeks, months and even years, depending on the severity of the event that led to it. Sometimes, the sign and symptoms of trauma might become so painful that it may require professional care to help the victims cope.
However, some people become traumatized by the experiences of others that they have heard. This is known as secondary trauma. Sometimes, help givers may become traumatized because of the trauma that the people they are helping have experienced or are experiencing.
Numbness
When people experience a severe disaster, they may become overwhelmed, and their only self-protection might be a feeling of isolation from people and even their thoughts.
Depression
Disaster victims may have trouble focusing or even remembering. This may lead to diminishing interests in everyday activities and cry behind closed doors more often. They may also show signs of hopelessness and despair.
Nightmares
Traumatized people often experience a re-occurrence of the crises in their dreams. This can lead to sleep issues and increase the feeling of panic.
Flashbacks
After a crisis, some people often re-experience the disaster in their head from time to time, and they become tortured by the uncontrollable and invading thoughts.
The way people react to crises may depend on the following,
• The nature and severity of the event
• The support that others are giving them
• Previous record of trauma
• Their health
• Their culture and traditions
• Their age
As people are different, so is their abilities to cope in times of disasters and other tough life challenges. Although some are pretty strong, some are vulnerable and may need extra help.
Those who need extra help may be those who are targeted by the violence, have a mental disability or physical disability and children or advanced people.
We are there, where you need us.
