How is the current conflict affecting you?

[TheGruffalochild]

This thread is intended to be a safe space to talk about how you are impacted by the current conflict. May be wishful thinking- but it isn’t supposed to be a place to take sides, place blame, or use inflammatory language. Nor is my intention to fill a thread with links to historical information and YouTube videos arguing either side.
Im just starting this thread because I’m feeling my mental health deteriorate from seeing and reading about so many scenes of violence on the news/social media. Of course all victims on both sides have suffered something unimaginable and I can’t even imagine how their pain compares to my discomfort. But I’d like to exchange on how every day people are affected and have a space for mumsnetters to support one another.
I know some have posted they’re waking in the night thinking about the events. I’m experiencing something similar - there is some broken scaffolding outside my home that rattles when it’s windy. The other night I initially woke with visions of someone firing at my house then realized it was just clanking bits of metal.

Please don’t take this the wrong way. I know how privileged I am to be safe in my home with all my loved ones around me. I know I could turn off the news - it will happen with or without me watching live updates. I’m so irrelevant in all of this. Yet at the same time I feel obliged not to look away from such massive and meaningless loss of life.

I do think there is an atmosphere where it is difficult to pass on public condolence to Israel or Palestine without people assuming you are aligning politically rather than just being human

I do feel the Israelis deserve the worlds condolences and making those condolences shouldn't be criticised

I also support legitimate support of the Palestinian innocent civilians.

Interesting point about the first casualty of war being truth. Which I agree will you on.

I think sometimes the properganda can also be just the fact everyone has phones with cameras. This means we get 'evidence' of the conflicts not necessarily the one everybody is talking about instantly. So nobody has really scrutinised the images or videos before the public see them. You know to check if real image or if editing a certain way. Plus first hand accounts can be great evidence. However immediately in or after an event peoples emotions can play a part in how they portray what is happening. Equally to long after an event you risk the first hand account being influenced by others. I think what I am saying is that

I think what I am saying is the truth can be a casualty of war in this day and age for many different reasons. Previously it was missing deliberately.

Definitely it is difficult to talk about either without people assuming your views.

This is actually dangerous. If public feel they can't comment on a conflict they will zone out of caring eventually or they may develop mental stress because they cannot share their feelings without overly two siding everything.

Give people the benefit of the doubt unless they are blatantly iffy or a repeat offender. People jump to conclusions and accusations far to easily these days.

There is a very good Tim Minchin video on YouTube my son sent me a while again. He talks about lack of tolerance in conversation. It is brilliantly clever and funny at the same time(He wrote the music for Matilda film and is a comedian if anyone doesn't know him).

It feels so grave, the horror of the atrocities in Israel and now the thought of Gaza's dehydrating to death. I just think of all the children. It's awful to see the true face of human cruelty.

"we've lost our humanity"
Umm this is the embodiment of our humanity. We used to hang draw and quarter people in some parts of the world they still chop people's bits off. We've always been gone to war.

At least 300 killed in a strike on main hospital in Gaza

There's no excuse

Mans inhumanity to man makes countless mourn

@Trulywonderful you have put my exact feelings into words. It’s not just the atrocities taking place, but having to censor any thought or feeling without being accused.
Why didn’t you do xyz when this happened? Oh so you think that’s justification for this do you? Have you read this link - maybe that will change your mind.
Meanwhile the footage keeps on updating. More families of hostages begging for their release. More injured children in overwhelmed hospitals. The threat of the war spreading and its death with it.
I took someone’s advice from here (sorry the thread filled and I can’t scroll back to find the poster) and I made sure there were enough hours in the day with no news. It helped ease my mind a bit. I had a discussion with a colleague about how we are feeling, carefully avoiding the topic of whose side we are on and being respectful to each other.
Those poor, poor children though. Our own race - the human race - and this is what we do to each other.

Ok, but isn’t that the rocket fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists in Gaza that struck the Al-Ahliarabi Baptist hospital?

If so you should probably make that bit clear - a misfired rocket from Hamas intended to kill Israelis.

You’re right their is no excuse.

With apologies to the OP, I know that’s not what this thread is about.

I haven’t fully engaged with the recent threads, plus they are being deleted but just to say if anyone is struggling if this thread could be the opposite of inflammatory that would be good.

There are some very heightened posts on rest of site, some of which are causing thread deletions anyway

I keep trying to reflect on and be grateful for all the privilege I have in my life, but cannot seem to grasp how I was born fortunate enough to never have to wait in anguish whilst my child’s lifeless body is dug from the remains of a bombed apartment block. Meanwhile, another mother who once had hopes, dreams and wishes for her child is living that nightmare right now. I am not Jewish nor Palestinian and have no strong links with either race, country nor religion, but my heart aches for those mothers. I have cried for days and can’t seem to get them out of my mind.

Naturally, I have thoughts and opinions on this conflict, but I’m trying to be measured in how I discuss this topic with others as I am a professional and very concerned about causing offence to anyone. I wish I had somewhere safe to discuss it.

In think ultimately you need a grieving page to reflect the mental health impact of violence in general. It may be therapeutic to discuss these things with other who feel the same.

One issue that is bizarre is that I work for the NHS and there is no discussion about this in the work place and the trust have put no communication out in relation to a major global event. With a diverse work force I feel that if someone comments on the events then there is a real chance a staff member may take offence and the results will be a lot worse than that of an argument on the internet between anonymous users.

Does anyone discuss this in real life to work colleagues?

What do you mean i should make it clear? I said there was a strike on a hospitalin Gaza, that is clear. How much clearer can i make it??

That was my original post.

Or @EastofEden89 , do you mean i should speculate who fired the missile, like you have done?

@ssd look again at the original aim of the thread please. The rest of us would like to have this space. Please let us have it.

Iv been getting passive hate from people in the community, some incidents happened but I don't want to emphasise on them as I like to stay positive and appreciate the good in people but I am despairing at humanity right now.
I wear a hijab and I'm worried about the increase in islamaphobia.
I dont let my son walk home from school anymore as he is SEN and I worry if anything was to happen or he would get confronted by an angry person he woudnt know how to handle it especially after the muslim American boy that died due to religious hate crime.
Also I feel for the Jewish community in rise of antisemitism we have more in common through religion than differences.

Torn at the same time because I fully support stopping the genocide and occupation of the palestinian people. This does not make me anti semitic because I don't see the israel goverment following the teachings of the book I just see them as an unreligious movement playing on the hearts of normal Jews through propaganda.
Every night me and my children pray for the innocent people in all of this and pray for the liberation of the palestinians and peace on the lands that God has provided us with.
I'm sorry if I have offended anyone but this is my truth and experience.

Please guys don't de-rail this thread like this

@Efacsen no intention to derail, just responding to a comment directed at me

@zara223 im so sorry you don’t feel like your son is safe. It must be especially difficult to explain this to a child with sen.
I had a foster brother with Pakistani heritage living with us around the time of 9/11. He would go to school and kids would ask him if his parents were making Bonns at home. He had grown up in the British care system and raised by white people. He had no idea what they were talking about and couldn’t understand why people were asking him about this stuff.
Kids definitely pick up on the prejudice but often don’t translate it in a logical way - not that there is a logic to such prejudice. So kids get bullied in the playground who have no connection to the crisis and no idea what’s going on. Another poster mentioned her family has a Jewish sounding name but they are not Jewish, and her son is also getting abuse directed at him.
Children are dying and instead of the children in „safe“ countries being surrounded with love and peace, many are being filled with hate toward each other. I hope your son stays safe.

Bombs*

It’s just.. so exhausting to essentially be living in a threat environment. I feel like we rolled from a pandemic into a world war, and we’ve had the cost of living crisis sucking the life out of a lot of people in the UK in between. I cannot stop reading about it (much like in the early days of covid where I became obsessed with the daily numbers) but I do not want to know more, I want to hide from it. I have no connection to Israel or Palestine, and I’m not of any religions, but as a human my heart hurts for those humans. I sit outside and wait for my daughters ballet class to finish and I cannot comprehend the suffering that children just like her are going through. I have tried to educate myself on the history, to learn more but it doesn’t help, it doesn’t make it any less sad. And still I don’t think I can really say * am struggling because my life goes on, it’s not my religion or my homeland.

I think you've said enough, don't you?