Meaning-making process and political agency
Being able to make sense of the surrounding violence to which children are exposed has a significant role in the ways in which they might experience and cope with it. For example, a 9-year-old girl from Dheisheh camp depicted herself as overwhelmed by negative emotions concerning the situation in her camp due to the Israeli violence: “I don’t understand, we are already refugees, what do they want from us? Where do they want us to go? I don’t understand what they want. I just stay in my room, terrified.”
In contrast, in the narratives of other participants, children revealed a deep insight into the political situation that surrounds them. Indeed, most of the participants revealed an acute ability to ‘read’ and assess the meaning of the many symbols of the occupation within the spaces of their everyday life. Moreover, they demonstrated the ability to utilize these symbols as reminders of their collective history of struggle for freedom: “Coming here reminds us that it is our right to ask for our cities back since they have stolen them to the original owners” (Jabalia, 12, female).
Therefore, being able to make sense of the surrounding violence children experienced was significant in reducing negative emotions, such as insecurity and hopelessness, and it enables the mobilization of their resources. Children’s agency strongly emerged in their ability to use their spaces (the symbols and signs within them) to raise their political awareness and find their own way of both protecting themselves and acting upon their surroundings to enhance their well-being, which amounts to a refusal to accept the ongoing situation of the occupation.