The ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip is taking its toll on a young local girl, with the persistent fear amid an onslaught of bombings causing her to lose her hair, symbolizing both the psychological and physical scars that have been brought by the nearly year-long Israel-Hamas war.
The horror facing Sama Tabeel and her family started when they struggled to survive an Israeli airstrike in Rafah where they were seeking shelter, with the girl's mother recalling the terrifying ordeal.
"We sought refuge in Rafah. One night, Israeli soldiers suddenly burst in. I quickly woke my sleeping children, wrapped them in sheets, and we fled fast. My daughter said she felt like she was going to die. We rushed her to a nearby Indonesian field hospital in Rafah, and about half an hour later, the upper floor was bombed. My daughter was absolutely terrified and we ran out of the building amid blasts and the collapsing rubble. The bombing was extremely fierce and it was a horrible night. Fortunately, we were safe," she said.
"The next morning, we left Rafah for Khan Younis. A couple of days later, while my daughter was combing her hair, as you can see, she started to lose her hair - almost all of it. Now she can't go outside or play with her friends due to this. She often cries to me, saying other kids make fun of her for being bald. My daughter has lost her childhood," said the distressed mother.
Tabeel's parents have taken pains to treat the poor girl but the current dire situation in Gaza poses a great challenge for them to find the right kind of medical treatment.
"Her father has tirelessly taken her to see many doctors, but with the crossings closed, essential medicine doesn't exist in Gaza. We sought alternative medicine, but it didn't work. What happened is that with all the stress and the fear, Sama has psychological trauma. How the body reacts to trauma differs between people. For her it led to hair loss. She needs inner peace, to feel safe and calm all the time, but we always wake up to the sounds of ambulance sirens and explosions nearby, no safety nor peace. How can she be treated under those circumstances? If the crossing was opened, she will go to seek treatment. Treatment isn't available here in Gaza, [but] in a place free from emergency sirens and explosions. We've lost our home, memories, my father and my sister. But, to lose my daughter's hair as well, all I want is to be heard and for my daughter to be treated," said the mother.
The traumatized Tabeel said she hopes to be able to get back to normal as soon as possible and forget the miserable past experiences.
"I lost my hair from being afraid, because the Israelis attacked us suddenly when we were in Rafah. I wish that before my birthday comes on the 5th of October, that all my hair will grow back, that I'll braid my hair like this, and put scrunchies in, just like this doll. I wish I could comb my hair again," she said while clutching her favorite doll.
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since last October has now risen to 41,455, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Monday.
Continuing conflict takes toll as young Gaza girl loses hair due to stress of war
Continuing conflict takes toll as young Gaza girl loses hair due to stress of war
