Why should this be considered "normal" by any standards?
Despite the ever-present rocket threat, there has a been a kind of normalization of the abnormal in war-weary Sderot. In school, the boys have learned "The Code Red Song," a kind of nursery rhyme designed to get kids to recognize what to do when the rocket signal sounds – and how to shake off the stress later.
Living in Sderot also means living with the windows open, winter or summer, rain or shine – in order to hear warnings. Sometimes the rockets avoid detection, and fall with no warning at all.
Palestinians have fired more than 80 rockets since the Gaza war ended. Fortified playgrounds, a Children of Sderot Facebook group and the like have value in the respite and solidarity they provide residents.
But as NATAL studies of Sderot trauma show, when it comes to a child's well-being, there's simply no substitute for normalcy.
