“I Want to Stop Being So Scared Every Moment”

February 28, 2006

The Maman family is not unusual. A recent examination of 120 families in Sderot with small children found that in more than half, the parents and/or the children, are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is not shocking news, considering that Sderot is only 800 meters (0.5 miles) from Gaza and the target of over 600 rockets since 2000. Many of these families will shortly begin psychotherapy as part of a project employing methods that were developed in New York to treat traumatized 9/11 victims.

Tahel Maman jumps at any little noise—from the hum of a drill to a door slam.  So does her 7-year-old brother. When the early-warning system Red Dawn sounds against an incoming Kassam, the children freeze on the spot. If it happens at night, their mother takes them into her bed. She hasn’t slept well either in more than four years, constantly fearful of another rocket.

By Ruth Sinai, Haaretz

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