Displaced Palestinian Youth in Gaza Seek Temporary Relief on Rafah Football Pitch
(Arab World Press) - Rafah - DURATION: 04:49
SHOWS: LOCATION (RAFAH, PALESTINE) – DATE (MARCH 23, 2024)
1. VARIOUS SHOTS OF A FOOTBALL MATCH BETWEEN PALESTINIAN YOUTH IN THE STADIUM
2. VARIOUS SHOTS OF A MOSQUE MINARET ON THE STADIUM’S HORIZON
3. (SOUNDBITE), ALAA SALAMA, A RAFAH RESIDENT, SAYING:
“This is the Canada Stadium in Rafah. Of course, we are trying to entertain ourselves… but everyone is stressed, and you see the difficult situation we are living in. Destruction, uncertainty, poverty, war... we are trying to escape the destruction that we are living in. We are just practicing our sports, nothing more.”
4. VARIOUS SHOTS OF MATCHES
5. (SOUNDBITE), ABDUL RAHMAN AZZAM, A MATCH PARTICIPANT, SAYING:
“We come here every day to play football… one hour before the Maghrib prayers… we try to overcome boredom and release the negative energy from the scenes we have witnessed caused by the excessive bombing.”
6. VARIOUS SHOTS OF THE MATCHES
7. (SOUNDBITE), RAED GHANNAM, A MENTAL HEALTH SPECIALIST, SAYING:
“This is an activity for a group of young people to practice daily. Everyone knows what the war has done to people, how it killed their dreams and their time, and how it caused successive psychological traumas and total or partial repression for those exposed to traumatic events. We are a youth group trying to get out of this atmosphere by releasing negative energies through various sporting activities. This is an almost daily hour before breaking the fast in which young people gather to play ball and see each other. They try as much as possible to escape the reality in which we live, including the killing, destruction, and displacement.”
8. VARIOUS SHOTS OF DISPLACEMENT TENTS SURROUNDING THE FOOTBALL PITCH
STORY: Palestinian youth in Rafah, both residents and the displaced, seize a rare opportunity to escape the traumas of war by playing football each day before breaking their Ramadan fast, as the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip enters its sixth month.
The Canada Stadium, now surrounded by tents for the displaced, is hosting youth looking for a semblance of their former lives, playing football every day during the holy month of Ramadan, as they did before the Israeli war on the Strip broke out on October 7, which has so far killed over 32,000 people and wounded nearly 75,000.
The young participants, most of whom were forced to flee to Rafah from the northern Gaza Valley and Khan Yunis, play their football games in a competitive yet friendly atmosphere.
According to Rafah resident Alaa Salama, the games serve as a means to escape the harsh realities of war endured by the inhabitants of the besieged Strip.
Salama said, “This is the Canada Stadium in Rafah. Of course, we are trying to entertain ourselves… but everyone is stressed, and you see the difficult situation we are living in. Destruction, uncertainty, poverty, war... we are trying to escape the destruction that we are living in. We are just practicing our sports, nothing more.”
Participants spend an hour or so playing their favourite game before joining their families to break their Ramadan fast with whatever food they have.
Raed Ghannam, a mental health specialist, says, “This is an activity for a group of young people to practice daily. Everyone knows what the war has done to people, how it killed their dreams and their time, and how it caused successive psychological traumas and total or partial repression for those exposed to traumatic events. We are a youth group trying to get out of this atmosphere by releasing negative energies through various sporting activities.”
He added, “This is an almost daily hour before breaking the fast in which young people gather to play ball and see each other. They try as much as possible to escape the reality in which we live, including the killing, destruction, and displacement.”