Gaza: On a street in the Nusrat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, teens perform breakdancing, which was labeled immoral by some locals and is now seen as a way to help youths handle years of war and trauma.
The moves – along with names like top rock and down rock – are part of a training program by Gaza coach Ahmed al-Ghariz, who says he uses dance to help children overcome fear and de-stress as therapy. do as.
Gheriz, 32, who has a certificate in post-trauma studies, spent seven years in Europe, where he and some friends breakdancing shows that he specifically advocated for the Palestinian cause of Gaza.
Initially, the people in the camp rejected the hip-hop dance form, until Gheris demonstrated how it could bring to the fore some of the day-to-day problems experienced by his children and helped them learn from their experiences. can help process it.
“Some kids come up to me and say they are tired, they look withered, which means they don’t get enough rest or sleep. I found that some people cut themselves, and others avoided social activities,” Gheriz told Reuters.
“Such games and such moves create psychological stability,” he said.
Dance is used around the world as a therapeutic practice with the aim of reducing anxiety, depression, anger and post-traumatic stress, along with traditional counseling and other rehabilitation efforts.
In 2022, UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, said that approximately 500,000 children in Gaza need psychiatric care. Children make up about half of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinian population.
“We are afraid, we stay at home, and we are afraid of noise, of drones and wars,” said 11-year-old Jana al-Shafe.
“With breakdance our mental health changed. We are entertained when we come here and play with our friends and change our mood.”
Breakdancing, commonly believed to have emerged among Black and Latino dancers in New York in the 1970s, became a worldwide phenomenon with the rise of hip-hop culture. The acrobatic dance form will be included as a sport for the first time at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
, Reuters
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