|
|
September 17, 2004
Helping Israeli children
When terrorists strike, abuse of children increases.
KYLE BERGER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
It was long believed that child abuse was an issue that did not
exist in Israel. After all, Jewish families have always upheld moral
standards and values that did not support the potential for such
violent activities.
However, when Dr. Hanita Zimrin was working on her dissertation
as a doctorate student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in
the 1970s, which focused on child abuse, she came across some information
that contradicted that idea.
Realizing she was part of a very small minority of people at the
time who had her type of education, in 1979 Zimrin founded ELI,
Ha'agudah L'haganat Hayeled (the Israel Association for Child Protection).
In the past year, ELI has treated more than 3,500 Israeli children,
parents and families in the hope of dealing with an issue that tends
to grow from generation to generation if it is not addressed.
"ELI takes care of every single issue concerning child abuse,"
Zimrin told the Bulletin while visiting Vancouver earlier this month.
"We have made a decision that we will cover the subject wall
to wall because [child abuse] is a psychological pattern that needs
to be treated."
While ELI was used to seeing an increase in reported cases each
year, the numbers have exploded by more than 300 per cent since
the intifada broke out in 2000.
Zimrin explained that terror attacks tend to push people to a point
of frustration that sometimes results in taking actions they might
have otherwise avoided their entire lives.
"Most of [the increase in child abuse] is due to the fact that
terror attacks come with an emotional reaction like fear, anger,
anxiety and depression," she said. "We end up with more
child abuse in families that we knew were abusers. But we also have
new families who, due to the extra pressure, cross the line. This
is due to the security problems in Israel, as well as the economic
problems."
Zimrin said that most cases of child abuse are the type that need
to be dealt with immediately. In response, the organization has
developed several costly programs to ensure that they can react
quickly and efficiently to each report. This includes a new portable
office/van service that allows ELI's staff to get to people who
are not able to get to them.
"Whenever there is a terrorist attack in Israel there are cancellations
of sessions because people are afraid and it takes several days
before it gets back to normal," she said. "We cannot afford
to wait even one day and we also want them to know that they are
so important to us that we will come to them."
Zimrin explained that the ELI hotline receives calls concerning
a wide variety of different forms of child abuse. From physical
or verbal attacks from a parent, to sibling rivalries, ELI has seen
it all. They even get calls from abusers who are begging for help.
"Many times we have a parent call in and say, 'Every night
when I look at the children sleeping I promise to God that tomorrow
I will be good.' " She said. "But tomorrow comes and it
doesn't change."
ELI deals with cases of parents sexually abusing their children,
siblings sexually abusing siblings, adults who were abused as children
or children who have had to watch or listen as their brother or
sister were abused. Regardless of the type of abuse, Zimrin said
that ELI's goal is to deal with the issue from all angles, often
working with the entire family, including grandparents.
"It is not just the children that deserve to be treated,"
she said. "The entire family needs to be treated in order to
really terminate the problem. It means that we see the perpetrator
and the spouse of the perpetrator who may have been involved in
a passive way.
"And then we have what we call the forgotten victims, the other
children in the home," she continued. "Sometimes they
have not been touched, but if you hear your sister being raped in
the other room, it is definitely a kind of abuse that we have to
relate to."
Zimrin stopped in Vancouver while visiting several North American
communities hoping to raise awareness and, more importantly, funding
for her organization.
"Child abuse in Israel is an Israeli problem and 70 per cent
of our funding comes from Israel," she said. "However,
due to the economic needs and the security situation, the money
coming from Israel has been much lower."
She noted that an annual fund-raiser that used to bring in between
200,000 and 400,000 ILS ($58,000 - $116,000 Cdn) a year is now only
bringing in 6,000 to 30,000 ILS ($1,700 - $8,700 Cdn).
"I am asking the people of Canada to help with the issue of
child protection," she said.
More information about ELI can be found online at www.eliusa.org.
Kyle Berger is a freelance journalist and graphic designer
living in Richmond.
^TOP
|
|
