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Puppets for trauma
A puppet show project in Gaza is using storytelling and creative workshops to help women and children process trauma from Israel’s war on Gaza, with its director Youssef al-Hindi saying it helps participants transform grief into art and ease psychological pressure.
“Toggle Play How puppets are helping women and children in Gaza cope with trauma A puppet show project in Gaza is using storytelling and creative workshops to help women and children process trauma from Israel’s war on Gaza”
UNESCO said it partnered with the Basma Society for Culture and Arts to strengthen the resilience of children through puppet theater, using puppet performances as a therapeutic and educational tool to support children affected by the conflict.
The UNESCO program ran over 15 sessions spread over a month and enabled 30 children and adolescents aged 11 to 15 to participate in every session.
UNESCO described how the play unfolds by showing daily life during the conflict, with children evoking both the past and the current reality, before facing a reality much harsher, marked by the conflict.
Hope in the final act
UNESCO reported that the children organized plays and celebrations to tell their stories, share their experiences, and present the results of their training to their parents.
In the program’s final act, UNESCO said the puppets return with a message of hope: "But life does not stop, even in times of war. There is always hope. Let us keep dancing, but this time, let us dance for life."
UNESCO quoted Leen, a young girl who benefited from the support and was among those who took part in the play, describing how she had lost her brother, her aunt, and her cousins and how she hesitated to interact with other children in the shelter.
Leen told UNESCO, "I never wanted to leave the tent, I kept refusing to see my friends and to be near anyone," before saying that when she took part in the activity, "I felt I was developing a completely new personality."
Parents join the sessions
UNESCO said parents were also involved to raise awareness of how to communicate effectively with their children in times of crisis, and that the initiative enabled 180 parents to better support their children mentally and emotionally.
“In Gaza, UNESCO partnered with the Basma Society for Culture and Arts to strengthen the resilience of children through puppet theater”
UNESCO described how, when she heard about the activity, one parent became "a completely different person, she was full of light and had only one desire left: to get out of the tent and play with the other girls."
UNESCO added that she would go home and tell her everything she had done, and that she loved to play and her self-confidence had grown.
UNESCO concluded that the Basma Society, supported by UNESCO, is more determined than ever to continue its mission to spread joy while providing psychological support through theater activities using puppets, and said UNESCO is mobilizing to intervene within its mandate in education, culture and freedom of the press.
