As mental health workers, we call for an end to the West's collusion with Israel
We, the following organisations dedicated to supporting mental health through justice for Palestine, issued this statement on the anniversary of 7 October 2023.
One year ago, on the very day of the Hamas attacks, Israel began its genocidal onslaught on the citizens of Gaza and on the territory’s entire infrastructure.
Few of us then, even as we witnessed bloodthirsty calls for annihilation from Israel’s politicians, could have predicted that 12 months later, Gaza would still be under remorseless bombardment, with its citizens facing a constant threat of permanent displacement and dispersal.
The consequences of this lethal year for the long-term physical and mental health of the citizens of Gaza, and the impacts on the functioning of its communities, are incalculable.
As mental health practitioners, we share our profound outrage, sorrow and collective shame at the enormity of what has been, and continues to be, inflicted on the people of Gaza. We take stock at this juncture of the impact of a year of continuous bombardment, killing, catastrophic injury, displacement, starvation and disease.
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While every citizen of Gaza has suffered immeasurably, we draw particular attention to the effects on children, Gaza’s citizens of the future.
Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner general of Unrwa, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, has termed this a “war on children … and their future”. Denying children a future in their own land, while stunting their growth both physically and psychologically, has always been part of the logic of settler-colonialism.
Loss of childhood
Children in Gaza, if they survive, have been dealt a legacy of terrible injury, including disabilities that will require years of rehabilitation, in the absence of any resources to enable this.
They have been evicted from their homes, but also from childhood itself - either by the loss of parents and extended family, or by having to take on adult tasks beyond their capabilities.
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One year is the entire life of a baby, half the life of a toddler, and a quarter of the life of a four-year-old. A child of 10, surviving this past year, has the legacy of at least two previous lethal bombardments of their homes, families and communities.
Children in Gaza, for whom education has been a major source of resilience and pride, now have no school buildings to return to, and no prospect of any such provisions. Unrwa, the main provider of schooling, has been under severe attack by Israel, which also denies the entry of adequate supplies of food into Gaza.
Uniquely among world conflicts, the citizens of Gaza have no means of escape from Israel's relentless bombardment, snipers and killer drones
Uniquely among world conflicts, the citizens of Gaza have no means of escape from Israel’s relentless bombardment, snipers and killer drones.
The wanton slaughter of civilians, destruction of vital infrastructure, devastation of the built and natural environment, and killing of healthcare and aid workers, have led to unparalleled outrage and protest across civil society worldwide.
Shock at Israel’s genocidal onslaught has intensified with every passing month. And yet, despite rulings by the International Court of Justice and a request by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and defence minister, the slaughter continues.
It does so because of the active collusion and complicity of the major western powers that, over decades, have granted Israel absolute impunity to pursue its aggressive policies of settler-colonial expansion, land theft, ethnic cleansing, incarceration and violent suppression of human rights.
Western collusion
As mental health practitioners, we know that when no external boundaries are set and no restraints are imposed on abusive and violent behaviour, the perpetrator is empowered to pursue their own interests only, objectifying and dehumanising others.
As we have seen in Gaza, in the rest of occupied Palestine, in the torture chambers of Sde Teiman, and now in the massacre of Lebanese civilians, cruelty and sadism flourish in conditions of impunity.
In protesting the year-long genocide in Gaza, we have called for our governments to end this impunity by demanding that Israel be held accountable under international law; by ending the supply of weapons enabling this genocide; and by sanctioning its leaders.
So far, the new Labour government has made a few very modest steps in this direction, but all of us in our various roles within civil society must keep up the pressure.
Over the past year, there has been increased consciousness of the realities of Israel’s colonial, racist and apartheid practices, and the complicity of world powers. Many in the “helping professions” - healthcare workers, psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers - have mobilised to call for an end to collusion with Israel; to resist normalisation with its institutions; and to refuse to be intimidated by strategies of silencing.
One year on, we are profoundly affected by the suffering inflicted on Palestine. But rather than giving into exhaustion and despair, we are more engaged than ever in the collective action required of us to abide by our professional ethics and oppose this genocide.
Gaza’s children, who are active citizens as well as victims, are asking no less of us.
UK-Palestine Mental Health Network
Social Workers for a Free Palestine
Family Therapists for Palestine
Group Analysts for Palestine
Psychoanalytic Voices for Palestine
Liberate Mental Health
Psychotherapists and Counsellors for Social Responsibility
(Carol Jones on behalf of) Socialist Health Alliance, London
Healing Justice London
Communities for Holistic, Accessible and Rights-based Mental Health
The Red Clinic
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
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