Israel charts unmapped ways to treat trauma of freed child hostages
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[December 20, 2023]
By Ari Rabinovitch and Rami Amichay
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Just days after Hamas kidnapped more than 35 young
children and teenagers during its Oct. 7 rampage, youth psychologists
and welfare experts in Israel began worriedly preparing for their
return.
The war in Gaza was in its early stages and the fate of the hostages was
not clear, but Israel wanted to be sure that treatment protocols were in
place when they came home.
It was, however, uncharted territory. Few times in recent history had so
many children either directly witnessed such violence or been taken
captive. Similar cases, such as the mass kidnapping of schoolgirls in
Nigeria by Boko Haram militants in 2014, had led to no written research
on courses of treatment.
"We had some newspapers, items and clips and so on, but we couldn't find
any real materials about them," said Asher Ben-Arieh, a specialist in
child trauma at Jerusalem's Hebrew University and Haruv Institute.
Ben-Arieh was tapped by Israel's Welfare Ministry to help identify the
possible emotional traumas endured and come up with written protocols to
cope with them.
"It basically introduced new forms of trauma for children and their
families that we never witnessed before," he said. "How do you explain
to a child that he is safe now, when he has seen his safest place, his
bedroom, burned and his parents murdered in his house?"
Seven weeks passed before the first Israeli hostages were freed during a
truce in late November. By then, Ben-Arieh and teams comprising a few
dozen experts had drafted nine protocols for previously undreamed-of
scenarios.
One was for kidnapped children. A second for children whose parents were
killed. Another focuses on community-wide trauma. They include
"practical recommendations, what to do, in what stage," Ben-Arieh said.
"We went and trained the Shin Bet (intelligence agency) and the army
soldiers who were the first ones to meet the kidnapped children in Egypt
even before they came to Israel."
Their recommendations are still being fine-tuned as more is learned.
They may be simple, like asking the child first before giving a hug, or
- more surprisingly - like letting children use social media as a way to
regain control over their lives.
So far 33 hostages aged two to 17 have returned to Israel.
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A combination picture shows people who were taken hostage by the
Palestinian Islamist group Hamas during the October 7 attack on
Israel, and freed as part of a hostages-prisoners swap deal
[Schneider Children's Medical Center Spokesperson]/[Israel Defense
Forces]/[Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel]/[Prime
Minister's Office]//Handout via REUTERS. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa.
Pictures obtained by Reuters between November 25, 2023 and December
1, 2023./File Photo
Details have slowly emerged about their time in captivity and the
emotional scars. Relatives have shared how some children upon
returning woke up crying overnight or clung to them throughout the
day. Some spoke only in whispers.
Ben-Arieh said one child who had been held in darkness wanted to
keep sunglasses on for a few days. And when a girl preferred
sleeping under her bed instead of on it, her social worker was
instructed not to interfere to avoid intensifying the trauma.
Schneider Children's Medical Center in central Israel received 26
freed hostages - 19 children, six mothers and a grandmother.
"We do have, unfortunately, in Israel knowledge about treating
trauma, about helping kids overcoming symptoms of PTSD
(post-traumatic stress disorder)," said clinical psychologist Avigal
Snir, who heads the hospital's PTSD unit.
"When treating kids coming back from captivity from Gaza we found
ourselves dealing with a new situation. There is no documented
research or clinical writing."
The principles developed in Israel were helpful.
"We spent a lot of time reading, thinking about different aspects
and also tailoring a specific protocol for our center to be
available for us in this specific initial stage of welcoming the
kids," Snir said.
"The next stage, when kids are leaving the hospital and starting
their journey in the community, seeing therapists, will be
different. They will need different things and I think those
protocols will be very helpful."
The preparatory work has already helped the families.
"This was one of the therapeutic factors. Kids and families realized
that we were waiting for them, and they were able to maybe start and
rebuild trust and feel safe again, after what they've been through,"
she said.
(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch and Rami Amichay; Additional reporting
by Dedi Hayoun; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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