Bissan lives with PTSD because 'Israel' stole her peace

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Bissan Al-Mansi, a 10-year-old girl from Gaza, continues to live with PTSD days after the latest Israeli aggression round against Gaza has ended.

Today, Bissan shakes in terror with every door slam as she mistakes the sound for a targeted bombing. She can't sleep at night because her reality haunts her, seeping into her dreams and turning them into nightmares, night after night.

While "Israel" has made it a habit to turn peaceful days into an opportunity to claim alleged military gains, it has conditioned children to expect death and misery in place of dreams. The sound of silence has become deafening.

“Where is my dad?”
This is what #Palestinian children wake up to; calling and searching desperately for their parents.
It was reported that this child, Miral Khaswan, arrived at the hospital and waited for her father to come out after he was injured following an Israeli… pic.twitter.com/s04SADRSk1

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 9, 2023

"Since the war, I have become afraid to go to the shop, go to school, walk with my friends, play by myself, stand at the door, or play a little upstairs. I fear more, and even if people stay with me, I fear the war against us will happen again. Because the war starts during the night," Bissan explained.

As the dreams of Bissan were stolen from her, the 10-year-old began visiting a psychiatrist on a regular basis. However, psychiatrists in Gaza have confirmed that Bissan is but one of many children. Most of which became mere numbers for human rights organizations.

These children, whose stories for many will be nothing more collateral damage, experience insomnia, anxiety, abandonment issues, bedwetting, and a deep fear of going outdoors.

Bissan is one of the many children in Gaza whose story must become engraved in the hearts and minds of every individual claiming to stand for the liberation of the oppressed. She lived in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza; a neighborhood that was targeted by Israeli fighter jets a number of times in the last aggression as well as previous ones.

When news outlets compare fear and anxiety in Gazan children to others, they forget to mention that many of these children who were once eager to go to school, be alive, play, and go out with their friends and family, never return to their normal lives. For example, Bissan after the latest aggression, was never able to return to school. She fears that at any moment everything could change and another war will erupt.

The bereaved daughter of #Palestinian Resistance leader Ali Ghali mourns and laments her father painfully, screaming at the top of her lungs after he was assassinated by "Israel" in #KhanYounis last night.#Palestine #GazaUnderAttack#PalestineResists #OperationAvengingtheFree… pic.twitter.com/jcfkjQYYSJ

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 11, 2023

Mazeyouna Al-Mansi, Bissan's aunt, says "Alas, fear remains planted in their hearts. They started to wake in the night shouting out and afraid. We put them back to sleep but nothing has worked. Sometimes I cry."

Read more: He aspired for martyrdom: Al-Hassani's brother to Al Mayadeen