Sderot- trauma, children, and Natal

It was my first day at Natal last week. After a short tour and brief introduction to all the services provided, we were given a segment shot by Channel 10 news following Natal's mobile unit for a day in Sderot, a city in the South defined by conflict. Though short, this was a difficult video to watch. In the one day the camera crew followed Natal's unit, 40 rockets were fired at this broken city.


I cannot begin to imagine living in a state of constant fear, always of the edge, wondering when the next red alarm will sound. The population of Sderot has grown so used to the continuous attacks that after rockets have fallen, they play a game to find where craters have formed. The psychologists who volunteer to go to Sderot are well known there. Townspeople recognize them and often seek them out after attacks. We see a mother, so terrified after an attack, she can't even respond to her own children. After being evacuated to a hospital, the therapist stays behind to comfort the young children. Another rocket and another mother being taken away, again the children left behind wondering what has happened to their parent.


Watching this segment, I couldn't help thinking about the impact that the attacks have on the children, both long term and short term. This is not what a normal childhood should look like. These kids should enjoy being outside, playing with friends, not worrying about the next time a rocket attack will occur and whether it's safe to play down the street. Natal provides such important services to these families, with not only the mobile units that travel to Sderot and other towns being rocked by constant attacks, but also with a hotline dedicated to children, and visits to schools to begin to introduce therapeutic exercises to both the students and teachers.


Without these crucial services that Natal provides, the effects of trauma will continue to be hidden, with its victims suffering in silence. I think it's incredible that Natal has so many volunteers that travel to Sderot and the South with their mobile units, putting themselves directly in the front lines to be able to serve these populations that desperately need someone to talk to, someone to begin to help them deal with the trauma. Natal's professional therapists and volunteers are giving residents of Sderot as well as others who've experienced trauma a light at the end of the tunnel; someone who will be there, listen, understand, and provide tools to move on.