Girl from Gaza's wish for peace as she plays with her teddies to pretend the war is over
Jana Jibril Abu Taima and her friends explain how they play with their toys to distract from the war
By Kieran Carter, Assistant News Editor
As children around the world write letters filled with Christmas wishes to Santa, Jana Jibril Abu Taima, from Gaza, has just one wish - to enter the new year in safety.
Like most 11 year-olds Jana and her friends' days are filled with games and stories of make believe.
But over two months into a conflict which has claimed the lives of nearly 20,000 Palestinians, even their imaginations cannot escape this war.
"Listen, I tell you, can you not stop this war?" Jana mimes one of her dolls to the other.
"We have heard that you are very strong, we have heard that you can end any war?"
"I can’t do anything, " her superhero doll replies.
"We have to submit to the will of God. He is the only one who can help. We’re completely helpless," she says.
Even their toys have not escaped the war without wounds, she has a doll with one leg missing with a bandage applied and there is a tourniquet tied round Spiderman’s leg.
These are chilling reminders of the things these children have seen, now incorporated so easily into their play.
"Playing helps me forget about the shelling," Jana says.
"I want to forget the kids I saw who were crying for their parents who were killed."
"We hear people screaming. We hear women screaming for their kids. We hear men screaming for their wives. I don't understand why people don't have mercy on us. We’re just like any other kids."
Nearly half of Gaza’s population is under 18 and of the 20,000 killed, Gaza’s Ministry of Health estimates at least 8,000 have been children.
Even for those who survive, the consequences are profound.
Doctors in Gaza say this conflict has been so bad they’ve had to coin a new acronym when referring to many of their patients, ‘WCNSF’, Wounded Child, No Surviving Family.
With medical supplies scarce, staff at hospitals have described operating on the children of Gaza in unimaginable circumstances.
Amputations performed with just ibuprofen for pain relief. Wounds washed with mixtures of vinegar and dish-soap, anti-septic treatments long gone.
Dunia Abu Mohsen, a 12 year-old girl in Gaza, lost her parents and siblings in an airstrike earlier in this conflict.
That same strike resulted in her leg being amputated.
Recovering in Nasser Hospital, she spoke about wanting the war to end, her dreams of becoming a doctor and being able to play with other children again.
On the December, 17, Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported she had been killed in an apparent missile strike that hit the maternity ward where she was staying.
The children of Gaza are experiencing the horrors of war firsthand, at just 11-years-old, people like Jana have had to grow up faster than most.
Showing us around her new home, her concerns are very different from most children her age.
"The problem with this tent is that it leaks. We keep trying to close the holes but it still leaks. We often get wet," she said.
"We have one single sheet and we use it to cover the three of us."
Somehow, despite all she’s experienced, Jana still sees a better future. Her wishes for the new year hint at a glimmer of hope which few people share.
"We hope this war ends soon and that we go back home with all my cousins. I hope, one day, I’ll play again with my sister and our dolls," Jana said.
"I really wish one day I’ll be able to go back home and that I’ll celebrate my birthday again there. I hope we’ll all be happy again. I hope we find that our home is still standing."
With international diplomacy failing to reach consensus and the continued advance of Israel’s military, it is unclear if these wishes will ever be more than another game of pretend.
Listening to Jana and her friends play makes one thing clear though, for the children of Gaza the scars of this war will run far deeper than this conflict’s end.
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