Childhood Behind Bars: The high-school student pulled from his bed by soldiers
NAVID’S STORY
Artwork credit: Shatha Safi
Navid was fast asleep when the Israeli soldiers came for him. It was late at night and the 17-year-old high school student was in his bedroom when the soldiers burst into his home, beat him, and didn’t allow his family to say goodbye when they arrested him and took him out into the night.
Before the arrest, Navid had been a motivated and ambitious student. As the eldest son and grandson, he was hoping to do well in his final exams and pursue his studies at university. But now, everything was different.
Navid had been arrested and detained before, in a detention centre in Israel. This time, he was taken to a military camp near his village. At the military camp, he was physically assaulted, resulting in a serious eye injury. This has left him in a constant state of fear of being re-arrested.
He said: “The arrest affected every part of my life. I constantly felt like I would be arrested again or even killed, especially because an officer had threatened to do both. He used to call my phone regularly, saying he wouldn’t let me live in peace.”
The impact of the arrest
After he was released, Navid started to suffer from anxiety attacks when military raids happened near his home. He lost a lot of weight, struggled with insomnia and experienced an overwhelming sense of guilt, blaming himself for his family’s distress.
His relationship with his family members became tense. The traumatic, late-night arrest had left his mother and younger siblings with a deep sense of fear and anxiety. For his mother especially, it had revived painful memories of the past, from when his father had been arrested and subsequently spent 15 years in detention.
“Overwhelmed by anger and sadness”
Although no formal charges were brought against him, and he was never taken to court, Navid lost all motivation academically. He also continues to experience issues with his eye due to the physical assault.
Navid initially felt unable to speak about his experience or express how he felt. Overwhelmed by anger and sadness, he isolated himself, withdrawing socially and choosing only to leave his house at night. However, as a result of individual counselling sessions provided by Embrace’s partner, he began to gradually improve. The counselling helped him to regain emotional control, reconnect with his family and friends, and develop coping mechanisms. Today, he is able to reflect on his experience without distress and has adopted healthier habits, including exercise, to help manage his stress.
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