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Palestine Trauma Centre (UK) January – August 2017

In a press release on 6th August 2017, the director of Oxfam in the occupied Palestinian territories wrote:

“It has been four months now since the beginning of the electricity, fuel, health care and salaries crisis in

Gaza, and the people of the Gaza Strip are sinking into another real disaster. The impact of this crisis on

people’s access to basic services, such as water and sanitation, is worse than during the 2014 Gaza war.”

The despair and anger inside Gaza focus not only on these hardships, but also the betrayal by the Palestinian

leadership as they impose more sanctions on the population. For no stated reason, PTC(Gaza) was not allowed

to access its bank account from February until the beginning of August and staff during that time were working

at very low rates or for nothing. It looks as if this problem may have just been resolved, but everyone still

feels on the edge of destitution. However, the teams remain highly motivated and gain much satisfaction from

their activities helping and supporting others. They also value the ongoing contacts with PTC(UK) where

“help the helpers” support has had real meaning during this tough period.

PTC(Gaza) in Skype contact with support team at PTC(UK), Mohamed Altawil, Sarah Hawes,

Belinda Milani and Gesine Miller.

In addition to continuing work on the four projects, PTC(Gaza) has had some notable achievements this year

so far. In May, Projects Co-ordinator Rasha Qandil attended an International Conference on Trauma and

Mental Health which was held in Jerusalem. In August, Ghada Radwan who has been leading our Focusing

team in Gaza was awarded a Master’s degree for an evaluated counselling programme using Focusing in order

to improve life skills. This is an achievement not only for Ghada, but also for Mohamed Altawil, Jerry

Conway, Mary Jennings, Renee Veuglers, Simon Kilner and Lina Geha who set up the Gaza Focusing project.

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Rasha at the Jerusalem conference and Ghada receiving her degree.

Meanwhile, there has been a fascinating development in the Friday of Joy project. A children’s play group in

Syria came across the FoJ film online and, through Facebook, contacted Munther, the present co-ordinator at

PTC(Gaza). Munther and some of his team are now sharing ideas from the FoJ project with this Syrian group

and so their good practice is being introduced in a region badly needing such skills.

Pictures from the group in Syria using Friday of Joy methods. Note FoJ and PTC logos.

For three days in May, Dr Guido Veronese from Milan University spent time with the project teams building

on the training in Family Therapy done last October. Guido dealt with feedback on the practical activities and

the responses of traumatised families in the field. Exercises included the use of Family Tree and Relationship

diagrams to understand and enhance relations between family members, Life River, Life Tree and other

structural approaches. PTC(Gaza) also received CBT training from January to March 2017.

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During this time, PTC(Gaza) moved to a more convenient building in Gaza City and pictures in this report

show its modern design. Visitors to the centre included the Maan Development Association, ODI and the

Prosthetics Centre in Gaza City.

In February, Interpal (Gaza) had a meeting with PTC(Gaza) and reviewed the continuing co-operation between

the organisations and the excellent relations between Interpal in the UK and PTC(UK) which support the

Family Therapy project. Two journalists also attended the meeting. PTC’s work has attracted some media

attention and articles by Sally Fitzharris for the UK-based Church Times and Hannah Ware for The New Arab

can be found on our website.

In the UK, at Durham University Mohamed Altawil gave a presentation on PTC’s work and then, with David

Harrold, at Goldsmith’s College in London. David then visited groups in Merton and Lewisham and in July

joined representatives from Interpal and Medical Aid for Palestinians for a panel discussion at the Palestine

Expo event in central London.

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In February we were all delighted to welcome Jocelyn Hurndall to join our team of patrons. Jocelyn’s son,

Tom, had worked heroically for the Palestinians in Gaza and was tragically killed there in 2003.

PTC(UK) continues to be supported by some wonderful fundraisers. Brent Friends of Palestine as well as

groups in Norwich, Coventry, Worcester and St Albans have been loyal and generous. In North London, Jenny

Kassman, once again, sold flowers and divided her donations between us and another charity. Val Brown, a

Human Rights campaigner, made a beautiful shawl we auctioned at our fundraiser. In South London, Kim and

Nabila sold teddies for PTC. We heard, with deep regret, of the death of one of our most generous supporters,

Mohammad Abdul Qavi. He was spending his final years living with the Palestinians. He died in Bethlehem.

Kim, Nabila and teddies. Qavi and one of his homemade banners.

Interpal have again been the key funders for Family Therapy. This year, The British Shalom/Salaam Trust

donated £5,000 for the Friday of Joy Initiative. Four Pillars of Hope donated £5,000. Irish Quakers Faith in

Action remain the basic support for the Focusing project. Muslim Aid has directly funded PTC(Gaza) in the

separate project which uses psycho-social methods. During Ramadan this year, a fund-raising Iftar was held

for us in Hatfield. It was most successful. Well over 100 people came and we gave talks, showed films and

enjoyed entertainment as well as wonderful food. We are most grateful to Razwana St Albanse and her family

for organising this superb event, also to John Bain, Dr Moin Shubib, Dr Safwan Refai and Nisreen Altawil. So far, donations from it have amounted to £11,950. We expect a few thousand more in the next months.

Iftar and fundraising for PTC. Hatfield, July 2017.

The projects in Gaza continue in spite of blockade, shattered infrastructure and the growing despair that arises

from a sense that nothing will happen except for another invasion and bout of destruction. A quarreling family

of six who have to live in one room visited the centre for help earlier this year, but could only release their

anger by wrecking part of the play room. All the work at PTC concentrates on learning life skills that will

redirect the negative energies, but it will not cure what is basically a social and political problem. The political

leaders must care more for the ordinary people than for their own power or some abstract mission.

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September – December 2017

The joint crises with bank accounts at PTC(Gaza) and PTC(UK) tested the resilience of staff and supporters.

We all came through this strengthened in solidarity and commitment. One further blow was to hear from our

friends at MAP that they were not able to facilitate entry into Gaza for us this year. Once again, this was due

to issues totally unrelated to PTC itself. We continue with regular skype sessions to Gaza. In November, we

collaborated with the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network to join in a week of link-ups with Gaza organised

in London by Jonathan Chadwick of Az Theatre. Around 60 UK therapists responded to our invitation to

attend an evening where Mental Health professionals from Gaza had a skype link for discussion. The event

was called Here, There, Everywhere. Dr Omar Elbhaisi from PTC(Gaza) was part of the Palestinian team. Dr

Mohamed Altawil helped facilitate discussion at the UK end. Jonathan is to be thanked for creating this

opportunity to break the siege. We must try more ideas like this in the future. A link to some of the speakers

from Gaza can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb21cJJ7NOw&feature=youtu.be

Dr Guido Veronese was able to visit PTC(Gaza) again this December to check on aspects of his previous

training. He has published research on “Teaching in Conflict Settings. Dimensions of Subjective Wellbeing

in Arabic Teachers Living in Israel and Palestine.” It reveals, among other things, how deeply Gazan teachers

care about the professional standards of their work.

Dr Mohamed Altawil and others have had an article accepted for publication in the Journal of Child and

Adolescent Trauma. It examines the success rates of projects at PTC(Gaza) and is called “The Effectiveness

of Therapeutic and Psychosocial Intervention Programmes at PTC(Gaza), 2017.”

PTC(UK) has been approached by BBC Arabic to film a documentary on the trauma centre and its work. This

may happen in February 2018. Also, a large Human Rights organisation called “Search for Common Ground”

has contacted PTC(UK) with a view to discussing some form of partnership.

Loyal fundraisers continue to reassure us with their ongoing support. Brent organised another concert for us.

Kim and Nabila led a team knitting teddies, which, once again, sold well. Ed Fredenburgh and Shosh Morris

are negotiating for large donations and Sandra and Jafar Ramini (raising £2,000) held successful fundraising

events. Trinity Church, St Albans and Worcester Friends of Palestine have again been generous and friends

in Norwich (especially Heather Ford) maintain support. Thank you to all our regular online individual donors.

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RESEARCH ON TRAUMA IN GAZA BY DR. MOHAMED ALTAWIL.

This 2017 study uses the same groups of children and adults that formed the original study in 2006. The

evidence shows a marked increase in trauma symptoms due to wars since then and also shows the strength of

Family Therapy methods in sustaining resilience by engaging the families and community in joint action to

relieve symptoms and cope with traumatic events. However, the process is slow and the need overwhelming.

The Projects (September-December 2017)

FAMILY THERAPY:

1. Summary

Family Therapy, funded by INTERPAL (London) from 1st July to the 31th December 2017, consists of implementing

psychosocial activities for groups and individuals affected by the 2014 war.

33 families with 264 people (150 females and 114 males) benefited from the activities from July to December 2017. In

addition, social, psycho-educational and psychological support activities took place in cooperation with some partner

institutions (NGOs) and in some kindergartens where structured games were organized. The number of beneficiaries

from these group activities is 3,000, their ages ranging between 5 and 18 years. PTC(Gaza) has a consultation unit

which is regularly used. 45 beneficiaries (15 males and 30 females) were referred to other associations like Gaza

Community Mental Health Program and Atfaluna for the deaf.

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Psycho-education meetings were held in some institutions in Gaza City, northern and middle Gaza to support mothers,

teachers and old people. The purpose of these meetings was to explore responses to psychological trauma and discuss

how to deal with children whose behaviour had been affected by war. The number of beneficiaries from these

particular psychological support activities is about 55, their ages ranging between 19 and 55 years.

The total number of beneficiaries from the INTERPAL grant from July to December 2017 from both group and

individual activities is 3,364 people.

Client feedback from Family Therapy sessions for 33 families.

Samia (25 yrs), "I feel there is a real difference. I can now deal better with my husband and children and I can move

on in my relationship with my mother in law."

Mohammed (30 yrs), "I feel I am better since I started to come to PTC and really would like to continue these

therapeutic sessions as long as I need."

Client feedback from group activities (3000 Children).

Yehya (Nusairat-10 yrs), "I was very happy throughout this activity. I really enjoyed myself."

Abu Hamdy (Khanyounis-47 yrs), "Honestly, me and my children enjoyed this activity together. Can you believe I

participated with them in a water game? It was a great day".

Manager of Snow White Association: Thoraya (Gaza-50 yrs )," This is the first cooperation between PTC and Snow

White Association. It was a wonderful occasion and you have a very professional team. I hope there will be more in

the near future.”

Client feedback from psycho-education meetings (55 People)

Em Alaa (Gaza- 45 yrs), "I really enjoyed my time. I did not expect that before I came. I feel like a young girl after the

activity and I can say that I can deal with pressures in life now ".

Miss Ahlam (Kafer Qasem School- 37 yrs), "I and the mothers can now deal in a good way with our children

according to your advice, thank you."

Esraa (Jerusalem Uviversity-20 yrs), "I felt I benefited a lot as a university student and I think I need more of this

with my colleagues".

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2. Training

The training and discussions via Skype between the UK and PTC(Gaza) are increasing. Gesine Miller, Belinda

Milani and Sarah Hawes are offering regular professional consultations assisted by Mohamed. PTC(UK)

trustee Jill Weston has also attended Skype sessions to get to know the Gaza team.

Mr. Mohammed Abu Yousef implemented the third level of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with the

PTC(Gaza) team in December 2017. It consisted of 12 training hours to increase and develop the practical

skills of the psychologists and social workers.

The Family Therapy team trained three female students from Al-Azhar University in Gaza in the PTC centre

for 36 training hours from September to December 2017. The training included the basics of working with

cases, how to implement educational and recreational sessions and how to write a case study and make the

necessary diagnosis. This training is part of the Centre's contribution in cooperation with civil society and the

professional development of the cadres of institutions in Gaza.

In addition, there are regular consultations with Andrew Enever who specialises in somatoform disorders and he

helps with many cases being treated by PTC(Gaza).

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FOCUSING:

During this period, 253 participants benefited from the project activities: 174 females and 79 males.

The total number of adult beneficiaries of group Focusing sessions conducted at partnering associations was 15

participants (15 Females). 12 sessions were delivered in a three month period. The number of adult beneficiaries in the

individual sessions was 6 female participants through field (home) visits.

The number of adult beneficiaries of Educational Focusing sessions (two sessions) conducted at partnering associations

was 160 participants (120 Females, 40 Males).

The number of adult beneficiaries of Family Focusing sessions conducted at home visits was 5 participants (3 Females,

2 Males).

The number of adult beneficiaries of Entertainment/Focusing sessions conducted at home visits was 60 participants

(30 Females, 30 Males).

7 persons were transferred to receive more specialized interventions at Palestine Trauma Centre’s therapeutic unit.

The team used various techniques with the participants, for instance; listening to ourselves, the quality of listening to

others, distance at present time and partitioning, verbal reflections, psychological resilience activity, relaxation and

tapping activity, safe place exercise, name expression exercise, thoughts and feelings differentiation, drawing of

feelings, expressing feelings by symbols and images, images embodiment, teddy bear exercise to express children's

feelings, and a number of other open activities.

Regular individual and group weekly sessions were conducted by the professional supervisor Dr. Mohamed Altawil

with the project coordinator and the Focusing team.

The Focusing program is evaluated by using a pre-assessment before the session's commencement, which involves

questions asked by the facilitator in an interview with the participant at the first session. A post-assessment after the

sessions identifies the effects of the program.

The participants during this period notably improved in their daily performance and their ability to understand

themselves and others. This provided a good indicator regarding accomplishing the general goal of the project. The team

targeted females especially because mothers are the central supporting element in the family.

The verbal assessment through beneficiaries' comments showed the beneficial effect of the Focusing sessions on them.

Ghada Radwan. Focusing Project coordinator.

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FRIDAY OF JOY INITIATIVE:

This brief report for the Friday of Joy Initiative, funded by Palestine Trauma Centre-UK, includes the period from

01/07/2017 to 31/12/2017.

The total number of beneficiaries during this period is 10,890 beneficiary (8,800 children, 2,090 parents). The team

delivered (20) entertaining activities throughout this period for the beneficiaries (4,200 male, 4,600 female, and 2,090

parents). The project is implemented in various areas of the Gaza Strip especially the marginalized areas.

1. Observation and referral procedure:

During this period, the Friday of Joy Initiative’s team observed and transferred 5 male children from FOJ to Family

Therapy project in PTC.

Local community feedback (Children and Parents)

Abu Hatem Abu Laila, a parent from Zaiton area said:

I was delighted with these activities, especially seeing my children so happy and participating with the singing and

dancing.

Braa Syam (13yrs), a child from Hamad chty-Khanyounis said:

The play was very beautiful, I loved it and I participated with my dad. Thank you for this party. Jo-so-loz was great!

2. Professional supervision in Britain

The project coordinator Mr. Monther Yaghi continuously communicates with the professional supervisors Dr.

Mohamed Altawil and Mr. David Harrold through Skype for professional follow-up of the work and the team.

Field supervision:

The field supervisor Mr. Ahmad Thabet meets with the team to review the work processes and discuss the hardships

and challenges that may face the team.

Activities’ techniques and diversification

During this period, activities and tools were diversified such as plays and recreational activities. The most important

new activity is a version of Kung Fu. Story-telling techniques are also being explored.

Educating parents:

Parents are made aware of how to break the barrier between them and their children by participating in the activities.

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3. The Friday of Joy Initiative project manual:

Through the continuous follow-up and supervisory sessions with the professional supervisor, a manual for the Friday

of Joy activities was prepared, which includes details of the activities and the purpose behind them.

4. Recommendations:

Developing tools of the initiative to increase the drama activities.

Adding a paramedic with an ambulance to bring medical help to communities and add to safety during

performances.

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With the constant fear of attack, despair over the political leadership and a dwindling of basic resources, the

people of Gaza are being subjected to a cruel ordeal. They are hostages for political games played by elites

who are detached from the consequences. This is a crime against humanity. On the ground, small groups have

to find a way of sustaining one another and it is up to us outside Gaza to help them to do this.