CPTnet
4 June 2007
HEBRON: The games children play
by Esther Kern
After chasing his little brother around in the Hebron sunshine, five year
old Samir* plopped himself down on the marble ledge in front of his father,
Mahmoud,* who was chatting with CPTer Mary Wendeln and me.
In his arms, Samir held a piece of weathered wood about two-and-a-half feet
long, three inches wide and a half-inch thick. Close to one end was a
three-inch projection on which Samir kept a firm grip with his right hand,
much like a finger on a trigger, ready to fire a bullet.
Mahmoud nodded at his son while saying, "Do you see how he holds his 'gun'?
That is what he sees the Israeli soldiers doing." Laughing a bit, he added,
"The children also play 'Jews and Arabs'. They 'shoot' each other and when
they are 'shot', they are supposed to 'die'. Once when they were playing,
a 'Jewish' child refused to die. The Arab child told him "you're supposed
to die!", after which the Jewish child held up his hands and retorted, "No
I'm not! I'm the press!"
I asked, "And how do you feel about all of that?" "I don't like to have my
children playing guns ", he replied thoughtfully." But what can you do?
Children will imitate their environment."
*Names have been changed.
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