Abstract
Palestinian children in Gaza are often depicted in mainstream media as traumatized victims of an ongoing Israeli blockade and occupation, with little attention paid to their capacity for creative and civic agency amidst violence and conflict. Gaza has sustained a devastating blockade since 2006 and children of this generation have experienced several disastrous wars, witnessing cycles of violence, destruction and dismal efforts for reconstruction. While these events have had devastating effects, what is often missed are the ways in which many children continuously find creative ways to not only cope with ongoing violence and conflict, but begin developing new capacities to sustain mental well-being, self-expression, narrative imagination, and agency despite such extreme adversity.
The chapter reveals a complex picture of childhood struggles, vulnerability and forms of resilience through narrative expression, creative play and peer-based co-production, in the context of conducting participatory media programs and filmmaking. What emerges is children’s remarkable capacity for creative making, self-expression, and civic agency, despite their struggles coping with adolescence, family/social obligations, and traumas induced by the disruptive displacement (loss of home) and violence experienced during recent wars in Gaza.
The chapter reveals a complex picture of childhood struggles, vulnerability and forms of resilience through narrative expression, creative play and peer-based co-production, in the context of conducting participatory media programs and filmmaking. What emerges is children’s remarkable capacity for creative making, self-expression, and civic agency, despite their struggles coping with adolescence, family/social obligations, and traumas induced by the disruptive displacement (loss of home) and violence experienced during recent wars in Gaza.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Lived Resistance against the War on Palestinian Children |
Editors | Heidi Morrison |
Publisher | University of Georgia Press |
Number of pages | 20 |
Publication status | Accepted/In press - 2024 |
MoE publication type | A3 Book section, Chapters in research books |
Publication series
Name | Children, Youth, and War Series |
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Publisher | University of Georgia Press |
Keywords
- Participatory
- children
- resilience
- creative agency
- war
- violence
- adolescence
- narrative
- trauma
- media play