It is estimated that 22% of people living in war zones suffer from various forms of mental health and psychosocial disorders as a result of the trauma of war and violence. However, many of the world's conflict zones are located in countries where medical resources for mental health and psychosocial treatment are limited or non-existent.
This text summarises the report “No Peace of Mind”, produced by the NGO network AIDA together with Doctors of the World France in Palestine, which examines the impact of the coercive environment on the mental and psychosocial health of Palestinian communities living in Area C of the West Bank.
Quantifying the tangible effects on the Palestinian population of decades of Israeli occupation is a relatively straightforward task. Since 2009, more than 12,380 people have been forcibly expelled, while demolitions of structures such as schools, houses, kitchens and stables have increased by an average of 20% per year since 2017. More difficult to quantify, however, is the effect on mental and psychosocial health of the level of coercion facilitated by the policies and practices of successive Israeli governments, the Civil Administration and the military, and of settler violence against the Palestinian population. For the Palestinian population living in vulnerable communities in Areas B and C, where there are virtually no building permits issued by Israeli authorities, and whose proximity to ever-growing colonist settlements constitutes both a physical and existential threat, this ongoing pressure is part of a chronic and systematic process aimed at creating an uninhabitable environment for Palestinian communities and forcing them to move to other areas.
The impact on mental and psychosocial health of exposure to this context is often a hidden factor in the displacement of communities. Indeed, it is a factor that is often overlooked in the documentation of human rights violations, crimes under international law and accountability.
Data collected from interviews conducted for the report with members of the ten communities studied showed that, for all ages and sexes, the main categories of effects assessed are:
The vast majority of respondents said they felt constant anguish and a general sense that their lives, and the lives of their loved ones, could end at any moment. Also common was the perception that their ability to make ends meet, earn a living and protect their herds, their fields and their property and belongings, such as houses, water tanks and cars, was threatened. The main concerns of many of the people living in Area C (herders and farmers) are forced displacement and the struggle against impoverishment. Almost a quarter of respondents (23%) said they had no hope for the future or did not even consider thinking about the future.
This prolonged sense of insecurity, fear and instability is coupled with a long-standing sense of injustice and systematic discrimination that can translate into physical pain. In terms of their ability to work on a daily basis, respondents indicated that any activity that others would consider normal, such as work, becomes virtually impossible because of the coercive environment around them. When asked how they reacted to the moments of shock and violent conflict they experience as a result of aggressions by the Israeli army and settlers, about 80% of the respondents answered that they felt extreme stress and fear, and some of them explicitly stated that they feared for their lives.
In assessing their sense of security and ability to make decisions about their lives, nearly 60% of the Palestinian respondents said they felt there was nothing they could do to protect their families when they experienced settler attacks and demolitions.
The key aspirations of the people surveyed are to feel safe at home, and to have stability and access to education.
Most of the children interviewed felt a very acute fear that affects their daily lives, such as being unable to play outside or get to school without feeling anxious, reliving traumatic events or feeling unsafe at all times. Others reported anger and nightmares.
Although these problems are not new, documenting and monitoring them is crucial if we are to measure the severity of Israel's human rights violations against the Palestinian population, and to confirm that they leave scars - physical, mental and psychological - on every Palestinian generation living under systemic discrimination and oppression due to decades of occupation. It is therefore necessary that we advocate for humanitarian intervention that promotes the long-term development of essential institutions, such as healthcare, and investment in basic infrastructure, training and professional development of health personnel to address the mental and psychosocial health and welfare challenges of the Palestinian population.