ActionAid is planning a major expansion of its work in the Gaza strip, using part of the =A35 million raised [in the UK] by the Disasters Emergency Committee's Gaza crisis appeal. Reaching out to over 55,000 people in total, ActionAid's activities are likely to focus on restoring livelihoods, tackling the psychological aftermath of the conflict and protecting the rights of women, children and other vulnerable groups.
Dr PV Unnikrishnan, ActionAid's emergencies adviser for Asia, said: "90 per cent of the people I have seen need food aid. But they are not looking for charity, they want to work." ActionAid is supporting Asala, a local organisation which prior to the recent fighting had helped more than 1000 women to set up small businesses. Many of those women have now lost their home, their income or both.
75-year-old Subbayah Abuful supports herself and her grandchildren by selling clothes. Her house in Bait Lahia village was badly damaged and her new stock of clothes was burnt during the bombing. Subbayah's business had been a key source of income for her family ever since she lost her son in an earlier military offensive.
"I need money to restart my business. I have grandchildren to feed," she said.
One third of the casualties in Gaza are children. 1872 children were wounded in the bombing and 431 were killed. Their deaths have had a severe impact on surviving children. UNICEF says that 840,000 children are under extreme stress.
"Every child has either a friend or a family member who has been killed, sometimes before the child's own eyes," Unnikrishnan said. "We see children in a very disturbed state. They are not able to finish a sentence. They cannot concentrate on their studies. They are plagued by nightmares and scream in the night."
ActionAid will be training local workers in psychosocial care and support. Unnikrishnan explained: "Group discussions can help people to bring their feelings out into the open. Psychologically, one of the most important things is to recover the pattern of everyday life, with adults going to work and children going to school."
ActionAid's Australian affiliate Austcare, which has worked for many years in the occupied Palestinian territories, will contribute its expertise in protecting the rights of women, children and other vulnerable groups. This work is likely to take a two-pronged approach, with citizens receiving information on their rights and entitlements, and community-based organisations being trained to monitor rights violations.
Unnikrishnan said: "The aim is to put people at the centre, and to protect them from harm, whether intentional or unintentional."
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Dr PV Unnikrishnan, ActionAid's Emergencies Advisor for Asia and the Americas, is in Gaza and available for interviews face to face or by telephone. He has worked in many disaster and conflict situations across three continents, and is an expert on the mental health aspects of humanitarian work.
For more information or to arrange interviews, contact Tony Durham, mobile +44 (0)7872 378251, landline (weekdays only) +44 (0)20 7561 7636.
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