A 13-year-old boy is so traumatized that when he remembers being held hostage by Hamas terrorists, he seems to be talking about someone else.
Another little girl, bloodied and orphaned when her parents were gunned down in front of her on an Israeli kibbutz Oct. 7, was 4 years old when she was abducted – and expressed her joy at seeing her relatives when she was freed Monday.
For the young victims of this unjustified Hamas kidnapping plot – which saw them snatched from their families for almost two months – it may take years to come to terms with the trauma they have endured, experts say.
Others may carry the weight of what they hear and see for the rest of their lives, they say.
“It’s not going to be a full recovery,” said Dr. Ginio Daphna Dollberg, clinical and developmental psychologist at Tel Aviv-Yaffo Academic College.
“It will never be, [that] whatever happens to them will not affect them or be forgotten,” he said.
Agam Goldstein-Almog, 17 was released from the Gaza Strip. via REUTERS Tal Goldstein-Almog, 9, reunited with family. via REUTERS
Of the 69 hostages released so far in the ceasefire, which began Friday, 31 are children.
One of the freed children, Hila Rotem Shoshani, 13, appears to be trying to overcome her ordeal by breaking away from it – talking about the past 50 days spent in captivity in a way that distanced herself from the torment of the nightmares she endured, her uncle Yair Rotem said. .
Hila Rotem Shoshani, 13, was taken hostage in October. AP Hila meets family members after being released as part of a hostage-swap deal between Hamas and Israel amid a temporary ceasefire. via REUTERS
“He’s talking about the facts that happened,” Rotem told “Today” reporter Richard England on Monday. England replied “Like it happened to everyone else?”
Rotem said, “Yes, it is like a story.
“He was unhappy when he talked about it.”
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Another former captive is 9-year-old Ohad Munder, one of at least two child hostages who spent their birthdays in Hamas custody.
He happened to hear his family wishing him a happy birthday on an Israeli TV broadcast while in detention.
The other hostages wished him a happy birthday when they heard the broadcast.
Ohad Munder, 9, reacts as he meets his family members after he returns to Israel. via REUTERS Munder is one of at least two child hostages who spent their birthdays in Hamas custody. Schneider Children’s Medical Center
Ohad was abducted by Hamas terrorists from the Nir Oz kibbutz on October 7 along with his mother Keren, 55, and grandmother Ruti, 78. All three family members were released on Friday.
In footage released by Schneider Children’s Medical Center, where many of the child hostages are taken to begin their recovery, the bespectacled youngster runs down the hall into the arms of his waiting father, who sweeps him off the ground for a heartwarming hug.
“Every day, every hour, every minute spent in confinement leaves a lifelong mark on children’s souls and bodies and deepens their injuries into permanent and irreparable damage,” wrote more than a thousand experts in the field of child welfare. children openly in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres late last month.
Lillie Macias, an associate professor of psychology at the University of New Haven, told The Post that children come out of situations where they have little, if any, choice over what they do day-to-day.
“So I think in the near future following this kind of trauma, there needs to be a lot of emphasis on trying to restore that autonomy and also small choices in children’s lives,” he said.
Although Macias says he can’t speak for every child hostage, research suggests recovery is possible from such traumatic experiences.
“I think you’re going to see the entire game some kids who might really struggle,” Macias said. “I think a lot depends on the stability of their return home and whether they have a stable availability of caregivers.
“Some of them may have lost family members and have ongoing trauma and grief, but I think there is hope for the future.”
Mental health expert Orna Dotan told the Jewish Chronicle last week, “We are writing a textbook on how to deal with this amount of trauma, a level that has never happened or been seen here before.”
Some of the hostages were kept in safe houses or other locations where they had occasional access to media reports via television or radio, which allowed them to stay abreast of the latest developments in the war.
But for those lucky enough to spend their time in confinement above ground, gunfire all around them is an ever-present threat.
Another group of hostages said they were held in underground tunnels with little or no daylight and with very limited food supplies.
Abigail Edan, 4, was released after being held hostage during the October 7 attack on Israel. via REUTERS
Prisoners in the tunnels routinely report hearing gunshots overhead.
They said they mostly subsisted on rice during their last two weeks in Hamas custody.
Abigail Edan, 4, is among Hamas’s youngest abductees.
Old photos showing his bright eyes and beaming smile made him a global symbol while he was in captivity — an innocent face proving there is no depth to how low Hamas can stoop.
Abigail, who was 3 years old when terrorists killed her parents in front of her and her siblings before abducting her from the Kfar Aza kibbutz on October 7, also marked a birthday while in custody.
According to her aunt Liz Hirsch Naftali, Abigail was in her father’s arms when he was shot dead by Hamas. His father collapsed on top of him as he died.
Naftali told NBC that little Abigail then crawled out from under her father’s body and headed to a neighbor’s house — bathed in her father’s blood. The child was eventually taken hostage along with other people in the house.
Abigail was released Sunday night, welcomed with open arms by her aunt Liron and grandmother Shlomit at the Hatzerim air force base in Israel.
Joined by his grandfather Eitan and uncle Zuli, the family shared a joyful reunion at Schneider Children’s Medical Center.
Additional reporting by David Propper
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
