Young Palestinian Men Play Volleyball in Khan Younes Displacement Camps
(AWP) - Amongst the tents of the displaced in the area of Al-Mawasi, Khan Younes city, in the southern Gaza Strip, young people have set up two metal poles and tied ropes between them to act as a volleyball net.
Sa’id Al-Hajjar, a young displaced man, thinks activities like this help can the youth escape the bitterness of the war through which they are living.
“We spend our time sleeping, staying up or playing ball games. At the end of the day, there are warplanes hovering overhead, and it would be dangerous to continue playing,” he said.
“We have set up two poles amongst the tents to play away the psychological pressure, the atmosphere of war, and the tough conditions we are facing,” he added.
Another young man, Mohamed Al-Hajjar, considers the ball games necessary fun activities, in light of the total absence of recreational facilities due to the war.
“We play to have some fun, and to escape the war and the circumstances we are going through. During the day, there is nothing for us to do except play ball games or just sit down,” he said.
“We picked this spot amongst the tents because there are no recreational places where we can play or have fun,” he noted.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), children are the most vulnerable group in the Gaza war, and have been subjected to extreme psychological trauma that could be impossible to cure.
UNICEF Spokesperson James Elder said that the Gaza Strip was the most dangerous place for children all over the world, adding that all Gaza youngsters suffer from mental health problems.
What causes psychological distress is that Gaza’s children, “are not safe in hospitals. They are not safe in shelters. And they are certainly not safe in the so-called ‘safe’ zones,” he added.