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 For Rula that night, one of the most universal of childhood fears had come to pass: monsters in the night. Not just one, but six of them right at the door, then in the house, boots and helmets and guns and walkie-talkie voices in front of which she could see her parents were powerless. In the Gaza Strip, where hundreds have been killed, thousands have been imprisoned and tens of thousands have been injured, such a nighttime raid never, ever makes the news. It is part of the life that has come to be thought of as ordinary here. The number of such raids is far beyond counting. A survey by the Gaza Community Mental Health Program showed that for nine out of 10 Gazans born since 1967, monsters in the night is the first and most frequent experience of occupation. It is nearly always a Gazan child's first meeting with a citizen of Israel. Some children, particularly those in the poorest camps, experience it dozens of times over the years. Fully half the children in the Strip have watched the soldiers attack and beat parents and older siblings in the home. Only a few less have been attacked inside the home themselves. Not Rula, though, not last night. |
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