GCMHP participates in an International Conference Titled ‘Palestinian Childhood: Human Rights, Mental Health, Resistance.’

Represented by Dr. Marwan Diab, Head of Research and Studies Unit, the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme participated in an international conference organised by Birkbeck University of London and the UK Mental Health Network (UKMHN). The conference was held under the title ‘Palestinian Childhoods: Human Rights, Mental Health and Resistance,’ on the 8th and 9th of March, and with the participation of a number of academics and researchers in the fields of Mental Health and Human Rights in Palestine and the United Kingdom.

Dr. Diab, invited by the UKMHN demonstrated a number of stories and experiences of Palestinian children from Gaza as part of a panel discussion titled ‘Personal Experiences of Childhood from the Occupied Territories since 1948’. This followed the streaming of a film titled ‘Surviving Childhood’ on the first day of the conference.

On the second day of the conference, four workshops were held viewing a number of papers.

The first workshop was entitled “Trauma, Grief and Resilience” and the second workshop entitled “Supporting Children’s Resilience through their political participation.” The third workshop was entitled “Children’s responses to political violence and its Aftermath”.

The fourth workshop, which was presented by Dr. Diab, was titled ‘Resilience in the Ongoing traumatic reality of Gaza, Reflections from case studies,’ in which he presented a research done by Dr. Yasser Abu Jamei, a Psychiatrist and the General Director at GCMHP, and Dr. Marwan Diab. The paper was titled ‘psychological implications, needs and coping strategies of the injured of the Great Return March in the Gaza Strip.’

Dr. Diab also showed a film which demonstrated the activities of the GCMHP especially those that target children in helping them overcome traumatic experiences under occupation and in the context of the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip. He also showed stories of children who experienced traumatic events while participating in the Great March of Return as well as how they are being helped by GCMHP through specialised mental health interventions. In addition, a number of drawings and posters done by the children were shown demonstrating the trauma they experienced.

At the end of the presentation, Dr. Diab answered a number of questions and discussed the specialised interventions undertaken by the programme to help children.

The conference was concluded with a panel discussion entitled “Children and Young people in Palestine and Beyond, Building Solidarity and Sustaining Connections”.

Gaza Community Mental Health Programme

Public Relations and Media Unit