Playing to a child's innocence

Bringing joy to children in Gaza is a good example of why the UN designated the first International Day of Play this year.

|
Reuters
Children listen to a Palestinian medical student, Rahaf Nasser, playing music in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza Strip.

A touching news video went viral on June 11. It shows a young Palestinian woman playing songs on a guitar for a group of smiling children in the ruins of a building in Gaza. The children clap with joy and jump about in a brief moment of freedom from fear.

The woman, medical student Rahaf Nasser, told Reuters that – after losing her childhood toys in a war triggered by the Hamas attack on Israel – she wanted to prove that “our children love to live, love to be alive, to play with each other.” An estimated half of the people in Gaza are children. 

June 11 also happened to be the first International Day of Play. The annual observance was designated in March by the United Nations General Assembly as a way to celebrate and promote a child’s natural instinct for play.

Ensuring that children have opportunities to play in conflict zones – which last year numbered 59 worldwide – has become a global campaign for UNICEF. In Ukraine and in seven countries hosting Ukrainian refugees, for example, the U.N. agency puts a priority on nonformal learning, such as creating places to play, for the youngest children.

“Play is how children learn to navigate the world,” the agency stated. “It helps them to build narratives, knowledge and social skills and contributes to their overall development.”

It also helps preserve their innocence as long as possible, especially in world trouble spots. And it helps restore people’s hope in innocence after a conflict. When parents see a child having fun, it gives them confidence that their child will recover.

UNICEF has become creative in how it promotes play in war zones and disaster areas. It has redesigned cardboard boxes for food aid to include removable inserts that can be repurposed as pop-out toys, such as animal blocks and two disks to make a rolling ball.

The declaration of an International Day of Play may seem odd to many. Yet in war, playtime for kids is often the first casualty. Despite the destruction and high death toll in Gaza, several groups are now offering playful activities, such as informal soccer matches. A performance troupe, Free Gaza Circus, is sending clowns into refugee areas to do acrobatics and make jokes.

A child’s joy during play may not end a war. But the expression of innocence can help defeat a war’s aftereffects.

You've read 3 of 3 free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
QR Code to Playing to a child's innocence
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2024/0612/Playing-to-a-child-s-innocence
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe
CSM logo

Why is Christian Science in our name?

Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that.

The Church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we’ve aimed “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind,” as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.

Here, you’ll find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences – a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.

Explore values journalism About us