Students from the Middle East

One of our students came in from the West Bank. There are other Middle Eastern students but I'm not entirely sure of their specific origins. Though I generally take most things with a healthy dose of skepticism, it's still interesting to hear their stories.

The West Bank student was supposedly shot in the face by Israelis and has the bullet wound (facial scar and dental damage) to prove it. If you talk one-on-one with this student they express a lot of repressed hostility. Other students keep to themselves and are dream students (very disciplined and diligent). I can imagine that the schooling in that region of the world is not of the highest quality, but who's really measuring?

The BBC published an article about how young men in Gaza experience extreme levels of despair and ultimately are faced with these life-changing decisions. When you live a life of radical circumstances, you have to make radical life-changing decisions. I thought the psychiatrist has a lot of relevant things to say about the living conditions there.

People ignore the social catastrophe that individuals in impoverished regions are faced with (North Korea, Gaza Strip, etc...). They have no resources with which to flourish and they are subject to the temptations that militant groups offer (which are essentially organized gangs or conscripted from a young age). I have been dismissed/ostracized/put down by many for my views revolving around social intervention because people automatically turn to the political views of the region (i.e. "They're terrorists." and so on). They don't listen to the message that there's more to dealing with the violence than talking about how we should treat terrorists.

If you look at the Gaza Strip, the median age of the population was 17.4 years old (20.5 years for the West Bank). That means that MORE THAN HALF the population (approximately 56%) living in Gaza are younger than 18 years old. You can't expect to change this population by bombing them (ASK ANY PSYCHIATRIST). You change them by putting them to work. Give them a reason to be proud of themselves and their community. Sadly, the only things allowed into Gaza are basic medical supplies and food. So where's the livelihood? Where's the sense of productive lifestyle? You can't expect this population to know a priori how to properly act in society at this age and maturity level -- if you do then you just demonstrated that you would make an awful educator/parent/role model/authority on anything socially motivated. What life legacy do you expect this population to pursue other than martyrdom with not only the limited resources they have but also their limited perception of the world?

It's interesting that when approached with these questions, people who have any decision-making power at all are generally speechless or unaware of social context or social intervention. I have yet to encounter a pro-Israeli who demonstrates a balanced opinion on this matter where they take into account not only the socio-economic problems, but the cognitive development problems (which are primary contributors to this conflict).

It frustrates me as an educator that supposedly educated people take a side that promotes or supports bloodshed. To me, that is a sign that we have utterly failed as a developed society.