As the director of the Community Theater in Sderot, I felt the progress today. After a recess of over a month due to the “Cast Lead” Operation, we gathered here today, again: Myself, Debbie the psychologist, a filming crew, and the female students of the regional high school, who were forced to stay at home and not attend school due to the situation. This was a time during which all the plans had to be postponed, and we had to wait for the calmness to return – the calmness of 8 years ago. The students, who have already experienced various traumas until the last month – traumas which we were aiming to process through the therapeutic process of the project – were forced to deal with yet another level of difficulty during this military operation.
There is a relieving feeling of confidence now – confidence in the people of Israel, who have felt our pain for over 8 years and didn’t give up. The day in which the decision makers decided to send the IDF in Gaza, in order to destroy the terrorism and retrieve the calmness.
The meeting took place at the school’s bomb shelter, in a relaxed environment and on comfortable armchairs. The students were very interested and willing to express and display the difficult reality which they’ve been experiencing. They agreed to be filmed by the documenting crew. Debbie the psychologist explained the importance of the project, and the great importance of processing the difficulties and sharing. In this meeting, I listed the students’ personal phone numbers, in order to contact them after school and conduct a personal family meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to observe the student at her natural environment, and to closely observe the family’s coping with the security situation.
Livnat Shaubi
The chosen students are girls who have experienced difficult traumas, and their mental strength needs to be stabilized.
I feel that the process and the outcome will be helpful to both the students and us as residents, in developing mental strength and increasing the public awareness for the happenings in Sderot. The process and outcome will also aid the humane information, which we’re in need of during these days. After living through a difficult period of time, which forced us all to gather our strength and cope with it, I’m sure that these meetings will help us become stronger, despite the difficulties, and to succeed and progress, despite the difficult psychological effect of the situation.
I look forward to the next meetings. I feel that they are a great contribution to the students. I hope for their full cooperation, and I hope that the students will display their coping in the most sincere and truthful way.
