West Bank, Nabus



Shireen

I need 45 minutes to make it to Qabatiya,

in normal conditions.

But if there are checkpoints, then depending on the mood of the guards at the checkpoints,

if the gates are closed and I’m stuck between two gates,

that’s it, I’m trapped.

Sometimes, yes, I get scared.

And sometimes, honestly, I feel like I’ve gotten used to it.

And unfortunately, that’s not right.

We shouldn’t get used to something that isn’t normal.

Life in Palestine, even before, it’s always had suffering.

But honestly, before October 7, it was lighter.

There weren’t so many checkpoints, not so many gates.

But after October 7, everything closed down.

Life became a prison.

Everyone is imprisoned in their own area.



On-screen text: Throughout the West Bank, movement restrictions imposed by the Israeli military have dramatic daily consequences for Palestinians.



Shireen Nazzal, MSF psychological counselor

Every morning when we wake up,

we have to check the news to see if there’s a checkpoint,

if it’s open, if it’s closed.

That alone causes stress.

Before leaving home,

I have to make sure everything is fine from a security standpoint:

that there’s no checkpoint, that I’ll be able to reach work on time.

I have to follow all these little details while, in any other country,

people move with total freedom.

They just wake up and go wherever they want

without ever thinking about a checkpoint.



On-screen text:

Shorouq and Shireen have been working with Doctors Without Borders for 20 years. Every day, they travel across the northern West Bank to support people to help people who need psychological support.



Shorouq Al-Madmooj, MSF social worker

I’m going to Qalqilya, I have some sessions there.
And also, because the school year is approaching,
sometimes as MSF we help some families with limited resources.


to discuss some of the issues we’re stuck on,
especially related to women or children who are exposed to violence.
So that’s how my day is going to be.

We usually agree with the patients
that we’ll inform them the moment we cross the checkpoint.
We stay in touch via WhatsApp.

You feel they’re so anxious,

while they are coming for a session.

They are wondering if any trouble happened in Nablus.

And they keep sending me “are you there or not, should I leave or not yet ?”



Sometimes we feel frustrated,


because the people who are part of our target group,


the ones who really need our help,


are in urgent need, and we just can’t reach them.


So we call them and explain the situation.


And people usually understand.


In fact, sometimes they call us and say things like,


“The army is in the village, maybe you shouldn’t come today.”


I see people in even greater need of psychological support.
Today, you feel that the symptoms are more complex,
and the stories themselves are more complicated.
There’s an overlap between social violence and political violence.



Shireen
Yes, after October 7, everyone’s lives changed.
Even for us, as healthcare providers, our lives changed.
People became afraid to move from place to place.
There are gates, security checkpoints,
harassment happening everywhere,
settlers attacking people on the roads,
either early in the morning or late in the day.


For example, people living next to a settlement.

Now, when they want to leave their homes,
they can’t leave them empty,
someone must stay inside the house.
At night, some family members stay awake
while others sleep in shifts.
Depression levels have increased.
PTSD [Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder] comes with multiple symptoms.
Among them are flashbacks, fear, anxiety, and stress.
They associate things like going out
with the traumatic event they experienced.
For instance, if they witnessed an attack
or were attacked by soldiers
they remain constantly on alert and afraid.



Shorouq
Everything is tangled together,
personal struggles... it is tangled.
People’s lives have become so complicated.
It’s not easy.
You really have to unravel things carefully to even begin to help.

On-screen text : Some of Shorouq and Shireen’s patients are women whose children have been killed by the Israeli soldiers or settlers.

Shireen
People often say these are mothers of heroes
and expect them to be incredibly strong.
But what we do is give them space
to express the pain they are experiencing,
and to share their feelings during the sessions.
The emotions they express are very sincere.
The amount of grief they express...
It’s the same with the families of prisoners.
When we work with them,
you know that many of them haven’t seen their children,
they have had no visits.
They live in constant fear,
not knowing what’s happening to their children.

I am not generalizing when I describe what most children go through
when there are frequent raids,
they develop fear, nightmares, or involuntary urination.
These are children who were already potty trained and doing fine.
That involuntary urination is how their fear manifests.

There was one little girl,
when the army raided their home, she was eight years old.
They took her brother, tied him up, and started beating him in front of her.
She saw the blood, heard him screaming,
and neither she nor her family could do anything.
She urinated on herself while standing there,
in front of the army and her family.
That was tough on her.
During our sessions,
she said she didn’t even realize she had peed on herself.
She felt like she had done something very wrong.
We worked with her and her mother.
The bedwetting lessened.
When her parents explained that her brother had gone to prison, [finally knowing about his whereabouts] eased her anxiety a bit.
But she still relives the scene in her dreams.
The image keeps replaying in her mind.


Every day I ask my children, “How are you feeling?”
I ask them about their emotions.
I tell them it’s okay to be angry.
You don’t always have to be happy.
And when we pass by a checkpoint,
I tell them, “They might stop us, they might not.”
Before we go anywhere, I explain:
“If we’re stopped at the checkpoint,
we haven’t done anything wrong.
We’re not guilty of anything.
They stop and search us just like everyone else.
We’re just like any other people.”


Shorouq

You have to think about checkpoints.
You think about the bridge [border control].
We go through three bridges, why?
Why do I have to go through the Palestinian, Jordanian, and Israeli bridges?
Any one of them could reject you.
You don’t know.
Maybe you pass through one, but the next sends you back.
That’s why I like being in my kitchen.
I feel like staying home.
At least I feel like I’m in control here.
Because, honestly, the outside world feels scary.
Inside is much better.
At night, there’s the sound of bombs, explosions…
Most of the bombs and missiles happen at night.
I wish there could really be a quiet night,
a night where you just sleep whenever you want,
without being disturbed,
without having to monitor your daughter if she’s outside.
So fear and anxiety...
they accompany us throughout our lives.
I dream of many things.
Honestly, I dream of many hands to vote for justice and equality.

On-screen text :

Since the beginning of 2024, Israeli military operations have led to the forced displacement of nearly 32,000 people in the northern West Bank. Attacks by the army and settlers and the destruction of homes are intensifying as part of an ethnic cleansing operation that is fragmenting Palestinian territory and destroying any prospects for the future of its inhabitants.