Occupied Minds is a series of stories about Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) patients affected by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, people receiving assistance from MSF mental health teams in Hebron, East Jerusalem and Gaza. The stories are collected by the MSF teams. Occupied Minds seeks to reflect the reality of daily life under occupation for MSF patients.
The occupation of the West Bank in 1967 had a dramatic effect on the life of the Bedouins. The grazing areas shrunk considerably and were closed off to them, one by one with the paving of roads and the establishment of military bases and settlements, limiting their movements considerably.
This month, Occupied Minds looks at the mental health support offered to the Bedouin children of the Negev desert through the story of Mustafa. The boy is only 11 and he has already been detained for interrogation. He lives in a makeshift shed with 21 other people from his extended family.
Read Mustafa's story here
Read other Occupied Minds stories