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As the Israel-Hamas conflict continues to devastate the residents of Gaza, a community group is launching an awareness campaign around the mental anguish from witnessing such death and destruction from afar.
Rotaract Bahrain will be holding its latest initiative, ‘Bahrain Cares: A War Every Person Is Fighting Silently’ this Friday from 10am to 8pm at Water Garden City.
“Many of our friends, family and loved ones are struggling to process the situation and all that is happening around them,” Rotaract Bahrain president Hassam Hameed told GulfWeekly.
“So we wanted to bring people together and raise awareness around mental health, both within the context of the geopolitical conflict and November being men’s health awareness month.”
After Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and took more than 240 others hostage on October 7, the Israel army has struck Gaza from the air killing more than 11,000 Palestinians, imposed a siege and launched a ground assault, stirring global alarm at humanitarian conditions in the enclave.
Every day, tragic news with traumatic imagery has been emerging and circulating on social media.
The Rotaract Bahrain initiative hopes to offer residents and citizens an opportunity to show solidarity for Palestine and a chance to discuss their own mental health struggles stemming from reading about and watching the conflict.
As part of the event, there will be mental health practitioners onsite offering support to those who feel like talking to someone about mental health concerns.
The organising team is centring its efforts around six pillars - peace, love, freedom, friendship, kindness and harmony.
“People want and need to express themselves at this time, so we also have a unique collaborative art project planned,” Rotaract Bahrain’s former president Tanima Tapan Chakravorty, who is organising the initative added.
“There will be a canvas where people can leave their hand print, in a colour based on the emotion they are feeling, to show support for the cause.
“It is important for all of us to spread positivity and embody peace, love, harmony, kindness and freedom in these difficult times.”
The day-long event is being organised by a group of Rotaract members including Abdullah Zafar, Aashna Anand Asarpota, Yasser Al Abbasi, Mai Mohammed, Hisham Al Moosa, Paa Kwesi, Qasim Stein and Nabeel Shams.
It is the latest initiative by Rotaract Bahrain, which has been organising blood donations, breast cancer awareness campaigns and the Each One Teach One project in collaboration with Dream Big.
For more details, follow @rotaractbahrain on Instagram.
