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.