“During the war, we lost everything that presents a window of hope. But with the resumption of the activities of the Community Development and Media Center (CDMC) in northern Gaza Strip, hope became a reality we can trust and believe in! Despite all the destruction around us and the scars of war engraved deeply in our souls within a state of loss and displacement, this project provided a safe space and a sense of inclusion. Due to these sessions, I was able to thrust positively towards life! Thanks to CDMC for their great work in these sessions, which were like a new gateway for us to say: “The dream hasn’t ended yet”.”
These are the words of human rights defender Nourhan Al-Tabatibi, who participated in CDMC’s psychological, group, and individual support sessions in northern Gaza Strip.
These sessions were part of CDMC’s project titled “Enhancing the Capacity of Human Rights Defenders in Addressing Human Rights Violations in the Gaza Strip”, held in partnership with the Heinrich Boell Foundation - Palestine and Jordan Office.
The project aims to confront human rights violations and women’s rights breaches during the war on the Gaza Strip, enhancing women’s access to psychosocial support services. It also seeks to document human rights violations, highlight gender-based violence (GBV), and provide psychological support services to female human rights defenders.
On her part, Mrs. Andaleeb Adwan, Director of CDMC, emphasized the center’s responsiveness to emergency situations arising in the Gaza Strip. This project provides a psychological support tool for women and youth victims of wars, as well as documenting violations against women, through implementing various psychological support activities and providing mental and counseling services to women and girls in Gaza Strip, both collectively and individually.
The project’s coordinator, Iman Zu’orob, stated that: “The project targets a group of female human rights defenders, journalists, academics, lawyers, “Ambassadors for Human Rights”, and young women who cooperated with the center in previous projects. The project also targets a number of displaced women inside shelters. The project started in May 2024 and will continue until November 2024.”
Zu’orob added that: “In the north of the (Gaza) Valley, especially in Gaza City and northern Gaza Strip, the Community Development and Media Center (CDMC) provided psychological support services by conducting 15 individual and group sessions divided over 3 groups, at a rate of 2 group sessions and 3 individual sessions per group. It also held 2 recreational days, the third of which will be implemented in northern Gaza Strip, particularly Jabalia Refugee Camp, with the participation of 30 women. Each group includes 10 female human rights defenders, academics, and media persons/journalists. This is done to alleviate the psychological pressures emanating from the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.”
On her part, the psychological counselor provided a group counseling session for female academics and journalists in Gaza City, where she emphasized the witnessed changes in their lives, through implementing psychological stress management techniques. Participants were also familiarized about psychological pressure and its causes, along with the ways of dealing with it before it turns into intractable diseases. These women were also trained on how to change negative thoughts by having their minds adopt positive, constructive ideas, along with the five ways of self-care: health and personal, social, spiritual, physical, and recreational, respectively.
The psychological counselors also addressed the concept of Psychological First Aid (PFA), which is a technique used with persons who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There was also a strong emphasis on the ways of self-care since this significantly affects the psychological state and surrounding environment.
The counselors also discussed emergency situations, crises and their stages, psychological trauma and its symptoms, and how to raise awareness of the effects of trauma and psychological pressure.
Recreational days are considered among the activities that play a pivotal role in promoting well-being, psychological flexibility, and psychological discharge and self-relaxation amidst the tremendous pressures faced by female academics, media persons, lawyers, and human rights defenders.
Additionally, the Community Development and Media Center (CDMC) distributed a “Dignity Kit” to each participant. Each kit contains some essentials and personal care and hygiene tools to comfort these women and meet some of their needs in light of the scarcity of these necessities in the local market, which if available, are usually sold for exaggerated prices.
The participants were highly pleased from the work of CDMC, stating that they did not receive such a service since the war’s eruption and that they desperately needed it, especially considering northern Gaza’s horrendous security situation. They also viewed these sessions as a positive step towards restoring their psychological balance and the ability to continue their vital roles. This work also enhanced their sense of psychological comfort after having discharged and expressed extremely traumatic experiences and incidents.
The participants were particularly comfortable during the individual sessions, where they could express themselves in a more in-depth manner due to privacy.
They also requested CDMC to provide more group psychological support and counseling sessions in a manner that effectively reduces the said pressures in their lives and function inside society. They also requested CDMC to continue providing them with psychological counseling.
In the coming days, the Community Development and Media Center (CDMC) will prepare digital contents containing 10 electronic messages, 3 info-videos, and 2 stand-up videos, along with documenting 30 cases of gender-based violence against women and girls. This will be done within the framework of a digital campaign set to be launched on social media in October.
It is worth noting that the Community Development and Media Center (CDMC) is a development and media organization that uses the media as a platform for promoting democratic discourses, advocating for human rights and citizenship, and enhancing social justice, freedom, and prosperity.
