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UN PhotoGAZA / CHILDREN SPEECH PROBLEM
STORY: GAZA / CHILDREN SPEECH PROBLEM
TRT: 04:25
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 06 SEPTEMBER 2024, ZAWAIDA TOWN IN THE CENTRAL GAZA STRIP
1. Close up, a sign reads, “Al-Rashid Marine Shelter,” located west of Al-Zawaida town in the central Gaza Strip
2. Wide shot, Amina Al-Dahdouh gathers several children to treat speech problems in one of the displacement tents
3. Wide shot, Amina Al-Dahdouh attempts to help a child with speech problems spell out words
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Amina Al-Dahdouh:
“At present, if we were to assess the children in the camp here, we find that out of every ten children, six suffer from stuttering (speech problems). Currently, I am treating more than 50 children with speech issues, and there are others from different camps.”
5. Wide shot, Amina Al-Dahdouh holds up a mirror to teach children how to pronounce words correctly.
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Amina Al-Dahdouh:
“After the war, we will discover the issues more clearly. The war is ongoing, and we don’t know when it will end. Most mothers aren’t focusing on treating their children's speech problems right now because families are more concerned with the burdens of war, such as securing water and food. They are focused on survival rather than addressing their children’s speech issues.”
7. Various shots, scenes of Amina and her team working on children's speech therapy
8. Various shots, scenes of Amina Al-Dahdouh treating Fatima Matar, a child with speech difficulties
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Amal Awad, Mother of Fatima Awad:
“At the start of the war, my daughter Fatima began showing signs of incorrect speech. She could no longer pronounce letters or speak properly due to the war and fear. In the early stages of the war, she stopped talking altogether. When I tried to speak with her, I noticed she couldn’t pronounce letters correctly. I met Amina Al-Dahdouh, and she recognized the problem. We began working on it, and we all noticed significant improvement.”
10. Various shots, scenes of Amina and her team working on children’s speech therapy.
Amina Al-Dahdouh works in a modest tent west of Al-Zawaida in the central Gaza Strip, treating dozens of Palestinian children who suffer from speech problems due to nearly a year of ongoing war in Gaza.
Al-Dahdouh, who personally oversees the initiative inside the camp where she resides in central Gaza, said, "Out of every ten children in the camp, I found that six suffer from speech problems."
She said that most parents are unaware of the psychological issues their children are facing due to shifting priorities toward securing food, water, and basic survival under the harsh conditions of war.
UN organizations warn of the war's negative impacts on Gaza's children, who endure difficult living conditions and are deprived of education.
