"If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children." -Mahatma Gandhi
Last Tuesday my program visited the city of Sderot. Full disclosure on this post. I am not picking sides. As many of you must know. I HATE politics and just want World Peace (no I'm not a pageant queen just saying that because I have an audience). I am purely relaying information that I have seen firsthand or learned from locals who live this life everyday.
Sderot is a small city in Israel that is located, at it’s closest, 8 km from Gaza. When you drive into the city you see a quaint city that looks pretty similar to most other cities in Israel. There are new buildings and old buildings. Heavily used industrial areas as well as modern renovated homes and apartment buildings. However this city has something that most other communities in Israel do not. 15 seconds. ONLY 15 seconds.
1 Mississippi. They are so close to Gaza that when a rocket or missile is fired into Israel, they only have 15 seconds to find their way into a bomb shelter for protection.
2 Mississippi. Tzeve Adom, Tzeve Adom (Red Alert, Red Alert) the woman's voice says calmly.
3 Mississippi. Instead of having open outdoor spaces in the kindergartens, they have cement tents over them so that the children can play in the space safely. However, when the siren goes off, they know that they must seek cover in a completely enclosed shelter. The children are trained from birth to go quickly and quietly to the shelter. And, they sing. They sing the song that you just listened to. The song was developed by an incredible Art Therapist, Shachar Bar. She created the song after working in Sderot and witnessing the after effects of the trauma that the rockets were causing to her students. The children were regressing developmentally and she wanted to find a way to validate their feelings and reactions while giving movements to the songs that could help alleviate the stress and anxiety. In the song, she adapted coping methods that can be relevant to a group of kindergarten aged children, such as taking deep breaths "We breathe deep and release" and giving them something productive to do… SING! From a Child Life Perspective, this woman is a godsend for these children. She gave the children the tools to have mastery over the situation, empower themselves and move forward once the attack is finished and it becomes safe again.
Last Tuesday my program visited the city of Sderot. Full disclosure on this post. I am not picking sides. As many of you must know. I HATE politics and just want World Peace (no I'm not a pageant queen just saying that because I have an audience). I am purely relaying information that I have seen firsthand or learned from locals who live this life everyday.
Sderot is a small city in Israel that is located, at it’s closest, 8 km from Gaza. When you drive into the city you see a quaint city that looks pretty similar to most other cities in Israel. There are new buildings and old buildings. Heavily used industrial areas as well as modern renovated homes and apartment buildings. However this city has something that most other communities in Israel do not. 15 seconds. ONLY 15 seconds.
1 Mississippi. They are so close to Gaza that when a rocket or missile is fired into Israel, they only have 15 seconds to find their way into a bomb shelter for protection.
2 Mississippi. Tzeve Adom, Tzeve Adom (Red Alert, Red Alert) the woman's voice says calmly.
3 Mississippi. Instead of having open outdoor spaces in the kindergartens, they have cement tents over them so that the children can play in the space safely. However, when the siren goes off, they know that they must seek cover in a completely enclosed shelter. The children are trained from birth to go quickly and quietly to the shelter. And, they sing. They sing the song that you just listened to. The song was developed by an incredible Art Therapist, Shachar Bar. She created the song after working in Sderot and witnessing the after effects of the trauma that the rockets were causing to her students. The children were regressing developmentally and she wanted to find a way to validate their feelings and reactions while giving movements to the songs that could help alleviate the stress and anxiety. In the song, she adapted coping methods that can be relevant to a group of kindergarten aged children, such as taking deep breaths "We breathe deep and release" and giving them something productive to do… SING! From a Child Life Perspective, this woman is a godsend for these children. She gave the children the tools to have mastery over the situation, empower themselves and move forward once the attack is finished and it becomes safe again.
4 Mississippi. When children in Sderot ask why there are missiles and rockets, there has to be an answer for them. The answer is so complicated with generations of history involved. But the easiest answer is, there are bad people that want to hurt us and that is why they send rockets. By telling the children the truth, Sderot is creating a whole new generation that thinks the other side is made of bad people. But at the moment, there is no good alternative other than to keep the children safe and prepared.
5 Mississippi. Children in Gaza are even more at risk than children here in Israel. Hamas shoots from schools and homes and hospitals because they know Israel will have issues firing back. The Hamas terrorists are using the children of their community as ammunition. And Israel has a policy that for every rocket or missile fired into Israel, there must be one fired back at the opposition. Israel will not fire at innocent people like they will from Gaza. Israel will only fire at government targets.
6 Mississippi.
7 Mississippi. On the contrary, there have been times in recent history that Hamas was sending missiles into Sderot everyday at 2. Why 2? Because that is when the children get out of school.
8 Mississippi. Qassam rockets are made of metal, sugar, manure and whatever else that can be used as shrapnel (nails, glass, metal, etc.).
5 Mississippi. Children in Gaza are even more at risk than children here in Israel. Hamas shoots from schools and homes and hospitals because they know Israel will have issues firing back. The Hamas terrorists are using the children of their community as ammunition. And Israel has a policy that for every rocket or missile fired into Israel, there must be one fired back at the opposition. Israel will not fire at innocent people like they will from Gaza. Israel will only fire at government targets.
6 Mississippi.
7 Mississippi. On the contrary, there have been times in recent history that Hamas was sending missiles into Sderot everyday at 2. Why 2? Because that is when the children get out of school.
8 Mississippi. Qassam rockets are made of metal, sugar, manure and whatever else that can be used as shrapnel (nails, glass, metal, etc.).
9 Mississippi. Israeli's all seem to have a little bit of dark humor surrounding political situations. They say that they don't give cement or metal to Palestine because…sometimes they get those materials back in less than favorable ways.
10 Mississippi. "Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war that we know about peace, more about killing that we know about living." -Omar N. Bradley
11 Mississippi.
12 Mississippi. Israel now has a defense mechanism called the Iron Dome. The Iron Dome uses technology to determine the trajectory of any short range rocket or missile and intercepts it so that it will not hit a populated area in Israel. The system has been criticized however, because the operational costs are marginally more costly than the missiles that are being sent in the first place. For example, the Qassam rockets that are fired by the Palestinians are handmade and can cost as little as $50; where the interceptor rockets fired by the iron dome cost between $20,000 and $50,000 each.
13 Mississippi. While in Sderot we visited an indoor playground that was donated by Jewish National Fund. It was designed on the basis of 15 seconds. Everywhere inside this incredible structure is within 15 seconds of a bomb shelter. The structure is made of 360 tons of metal. The outside walls are enforced to prevent shockwaves from affecting the people inside. All to have a place for the children to play.
14 Mississippi. The manager of the indoor playground can teach us all a lot about life. He is from Sderot and has lived there his whole life. He said that children are free from the confines of war and he wishes to bring the children of Gaza to come to his playground and play with the children of Sderot.
10 Mississippi. "Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war that we know about peace, more about killing that we know about living." -Omar N. Bradley
11 Mississippi.
12 Mississippi. Israel now has a defense mechanism called the Iron Dome. The Iron Dome uses technology to determine the trajectory of any short range rocket or missile and intercepts it so that it will not hit a populated area in Israel. The system has been criticized however, because the operational costs are marginally more costly than the missiles that are being sent in the first place. For example, the Qassam rockets that are fired by the Palestinians are handmade and can cost as little as $50; where the interceptor rockets fired by the iron dome cost between $20,000 and $50,000 each.
13 Mississippi. While in Sderot we visited an indoor playground that was donated by Jewish National Fund. It was designed on the basis of 15 seconds. Everywhere inside this incredible structure is within 15 seconds of a bomb shelter. The structure is made of 360 tons of metal. The outside walls are enforced to prevent shockwaves from affecting the people inside. All to have a place for the children to play.
14 Mississippi. The manager of the indoor playground can teach us all a lot about life. He is from Sderot and has lived there his whole life. He said that children are free from the confines of war and he wishes to bring the children of Gaza to come to his playground and play with the children of Sderot.
15 Mississippi. These children are born with PTSD. And you may ask why people still live in this city. Why is this city still inhabited if it is a constant target? Because it is home. Because people were born and raised there. Because why should they have to leave just because some people on the "other side" don’t like them and want to kick them out?
15 Seconds. That is all they have. It sounds a little twisted but this trip was truly magical for me. I don’t like to travel to see only the good. I want to see the culture of a place, how the locals live. And this is how they live. In constant fear of the 15 seconds. They plan their days based on the reality of 15 seconds. How do you unbuckle two car seat packed children in 15 seconds. YOU DON'T. How do you wash your hair without worrying? How do you take an elevator, or go grocery shopping? I wanted to see this. It is a reality that people live in everyday and I am visiting and fascinated. How much planning can go into a day? And how can you worry all day every day without having panic attacks when the sirens do go off? I think the fact that people go about their days still live here as productive humans in this world shows an incredible sign of resilience in people. I work with resilient children every day, but this is an entire city's population living resiliently because they literally have no other choice. Can you imagine not having an option but to recover just in time for another threat to your life?
Because I can't.
15 Seconds. That is all they have. It sounds a little twisted but this trip was truly magical for me. I don’t like to travel to see only the good. I want to see the culture of a place, how the locals live. And this is how they live. In constant fear of the 15 seconds. They plan their days based on the reality of 15 seconds. How do you unbuckle two car seat packed children in 15 seconds. YOU DON'T. How do you wash your hair without worrying? How do you take an elevator, or go grocery shopping? I wanted to see this. It is a reality that people live in everyday and I am visiting and fascinated. How much planning can go into a day? And how can you worry all day every day without having panic attacks when the sirens do go off? I think the fact that people go about their days still live here as productive humans in this world shows an incredible sign of resilience in people. I work with resilient children every day, but this is an entire city's population living resiliently because they literally have no other choice. Can you imagine not having an option but to recover just in time for another threat to your life?
Because I can't.