One year after a missile killed 12 children in the Israel-occupied Golan Heights | DW News

Key Concepts:

• Golan Heights, Israeli occupation
• Hezbollah, militant group
• Maj Shams, town in Golan Heights
• Loss, grief, trauma
• Peace, message of peace
• Psychological support, therapy
• Community support, resilience
• Fear of future conflict, Syria

The Aftermath of a Rocket Attack in the Golan Heights

One year after a rocket attack on a playground in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights resulted in the deaths of 12 children, DW's Rama Aljakani visited Maj Shams to document the community's coping mechanisms.

Personal Stories of Loss and Grief

• Munasab: The mother of Nazim, a 16-year-old victim, still deeply grieves his loss. She finds solace in his photos and voice messages. Significant dates like his birthday and Mother's Day are particularly difficult.
• Jivvara: A nine-year-old boy who loved football and dreamed of supporting his mother as a professional player. He was the captain and top scorer of his team.
• The reporter emphasizes that pictures of the children are ubiquitous throughout Maj Shams and other villages, highlighting the community's collective mourning.

Community's Response and Healing Efforts

• Salah (Team Coach): Recounts the shock and numbness experienced upon learning of the children's deaths. The initial image of body parts against a wall was particularly traumatic.
• Jona (Psychologist): Opened her clinic to treat people of all ages affected by the tragedy. The high demand for mental health support overwhelmed the local team, and Jona herself required therapy to cope. She describes the emotional difficulty of treating a grieving father, feeling like she was "choking" during the session.

Perspectives on Justice and Peace

• The children were buried in white blankets, symbolizing their status as victims of a war that wasn't theirs.
• Families expressed a desire for their children's memory to be a message of peace, rejecting calls for revenge. One father stated, "I don't want revenge or anything like that. I want my son to be a message of peace. Nothing more, nothing less." He extended this sentiment to the people of Lebanon, Gaza, and Israel, blaming "regimes that want to stay in power" for the conflict.

Community Coping and Support

• The reporter notes that the wounds are still unhealed, with people visiting the playground daily to leave flowers and remember the children.
• The tragedy is particularly poignant because the people of the Golan Heights have largely experienced peaceful resistance since the 1980s. The attack was unexpected and deeply affected a community unaccustomed to war.
• The community insists that the deaths of the 12 children should be a message of peace to the world.
• The Israeli government provided psychological support through schools, but the community's strong social bonds were crucial in providing mutual support.

Current Fears and Concerns

• While the war between Hezbollah and Israel has stopped, the community now fears potential threats from Syria.

Synthesis/Conclusion:

The rocket attack on the Golan Heights deeply traumatized the community of Maj Shams, leaving lasting scars of grief and loss. Despite the pain, the community has shown remarkable resilience, focusing on healing, supporting one another, and advocating for peace. The families of the victims, in particular, have expressed a strong desire for their children's deaths to serve as a message against further violence and conflict, emphasizing the need for peace over revenge. While psychological support has been offered, the community's own tight-knit structure has been instrumental in helping its members cope with the tragedy. The community's fears have shifted from Hezbollah to potential threats from Syria, highlighting the ongoing instability in the region.