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Schoolchildren must be offered counselling to ensure they are not traumatised by exposure to the Israel-Gaza war, leading experts have said.
Heads of schools and mental health experts have spoken of the long-term effects of being exposed to violent photos and videos.
In response to the continuing conflict, schools in the UAE are organising assemblies, counselling sessions and direct check-ins with pupils to make sure young people have access to the support they need.
The worry is that in their young brains, they might tend to normalise this
Nargish Khambatta,
Principal at Gems Modern Academy
“Counsellors did direct check-ins with all students to determine the level of support needed,” said Monique Flickinger, superintendent at the American Community School of Abu Dhabi.
“Specific students have attended multiple sessions with their counsellors.”
The school started the week with a short assembly reviewing the importance of community.
“We all reconnected and voiced how caring for each other makes a healthier and stronger community,” said Ms Flickinger.
“It was important that we reiterate our core values of compassion and integrity in everything that we do and that our counsellors would be available for each and every one of them.
“It could be as simple as a quick check-in or more as needed. We definitely had a group of students that wanted a little extra help.”
Difficulty in processing emotions
Nargish Khambatta, principal at Gems Modern Academy, said the school had held a circle time in which children were taught how to process their emotions.
“My problem is the desensitisation as they are seeing so much around them,” said Ms Khambatta.
“The worry is that in their young brains, they might tend to normalise this, which is a bigger worry for us.
“These are citizens of tomorrow – they're going to go out and be the decision makers, and they're the ones who are going to create the impact.
“If they're hearing different and polarising comments, they should be able to make a sense of it. Wherever they're hearing polarising comments, we tell them to pause and put on their rational hats and think. We teach them to use the lens of humanity.”
The school has a counselling team that is on call 24/7, while teachers are the first point of contact for those who want extra help.
Yaseen Aslam, medical director at the Psychiatry and Therapy Centre in Dubai, explained that images of conflict and war can trigger a range of powerful emotions in adults, and the effect is even greater in children.
“These emotions and reactions to war and conflict can be influenced by the child's age, as older children can be anxious, sad, depressed and disturbed by the images [while] younger children, if they're exposed to these kinds of images … they can feel a bit more clingy or they're not their usual selves,” Dr Aslam said.
“It's important to allow children to express their emotions and to also reassure them and validate their emotions, that's the important thing that parents have to give their children space and the time to process emotions in a non-judgmental manner.
“One of the problems is that if we don't support children, and allow them to validate their feelings and support them emotionally in the right way during these kinds of conflicts, they may go on to repress certain traumatic and distressing images and feelings, which can cause problems later on, in terms of post-traumatic stress reactions.
“The post-traumatic stress reactions can also create anxiety, phobias and depressive illnesses later on, which can affect the emotional and psychological development of the child. It's important to validate their feelings and allow them to process these feelings in a psychologically correct manner.”
He said it was an opportunity for schools to create opportunities in the classroom and to allow children to process their feelings, while offering access to any counselling services that they may have in the school.
This was especially vital for children from families who are more directly connected to the conflict.
“Some of the images we come across are very, very graphic, quite disturbing and these things can have an overwhelming effect on a child and can create a lot of trauma,” Dr Aslam said.
He called on parents to limit exposure in an age-appropriate manner, keeping in mind the developmental stage of the child.
Dr Aslam added that parents could help children by including them in acts of charity or volunteering, while also talking about what charity is and how to support those who are less fortunate.
The latest from the Israel-Gaza war – in pictures
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To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
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- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
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Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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