Atta Sabbah, 13, is paralyzed after an Israeli soldier shot him in the spine. (Dina Elmuti)
Against the backdrop of concrete barriers, illegal settlements and the constant presence of violent Israeli soldiers, Palestinian children are introduced to catastrophe early on.
They quickly become familiar with moments that divide life into the times before and after trauma. The two have very little in common. Where once there was a sense of calm, there is now an overwhelming sense of shock and disorientation.
Violent experiences replay in their minds over and over. The stress that trauma inflicts on the body and mind corrodes attachments to other people.
Every place, sound and scent leaves an imprint inscribed in memory like irreversible negatives from cameras. Everything in their surroundings becomes imbued with terror. It’s an assassination of innocence.
Against the backdrop of concrete barriers, illegal settlements and the constant presence of violent Israeli soldiers, Palestinian children are introduced to catastrophe early on.
They quickly become familiar with moments that divide life into the times before and after trauma. The two have very little in common. Where once there was a sense of calm, there is now an overwhelming sense of shock and disorientation.
Violent experiences replay in their minds over and over. The stress that trauma inflicts on the body and mind corrodes attachments to other people.
Every place, sound and scent leaves an imprint inscribed in memory like irreversible negatives from cameras. Everything in their surroundings becomes imbued with terror. It’s an assassination of innocence.
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