Lana the “Elderly Child”: A Heartbreaking Symbol of War’s Toll on Childhood
Suffering from vitiligo and premature graying due to trauma, 8-year-old Lana Sharif embodies the psychological devastation endured by Gaza’s children.
Watan-In besieged Gaza, where war spares no one, emerges the story of Lana Sharif, once an 8-year-old girl, now heartbreakingly known as the “Elderly Child.” Her skin has lost its color, and her hair has turned gray—visible marks of profound psychological trauma.
Lana’s story captures the shattered reality of childhood in Gaza: a childhood buried beneath airstrikes, medical collapse, and limited psychological support.
Lana’s ordeal began in January 2024, when an airstrike hit the area her family had fled to after being displaced from Rafah. She suffered a severe panic attack that left her trembling for days, followed by the appearance of white patches on her face and body and gradual graying of her hair. Doctors diagnosed her with vitiligo caused by acute nervous trauma.
Lana, the “Elderly Child,” Denied Treatment as Trauma Silently Devours a Generation
Despite repeated medical consultations, Gaza’s harsh conditions—including medicine shortages and lack of equipment—worsened Lana’s condition. Her parents sought help from visiting international medical delegations, and foreign doctors confirmed she needed specialized treatment abroad, including laser therapy and psychological care.
🛑قصة مأساوية لطفلة غزية أنهكتها الحرب حتى بات يُطلق عليها طفلة #غزة المسنة.. ما حكايتها؟👇 pic.twitter.com/3p8aSMNb4z
— وطن. يغرد خارج السرب (@watanserb_news) May 18, 2025
However, Gaza’s health authorities declined to add Lana’s name to the medical referral list, stating that priority goes to cancer and heart patients and that her case was “not urgent.” She was referred to psychological therapy inside a camp, but this brought no real improvement. Lana now suffers from a constant fear of airstrikes and worries about being bullied due to her appearance. She painfully confides: “What scares me most is how people look at me.”
Lana’s case is far from unique. UNICEF estimates that more than 1.2 million children in Gaza urgently need psychological and mental health support. Human rights reports suggest that 9 out of 10 children in Gaza show symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder—even before the latest war.
Now known as the “Elderly Child,” Lana has become a tragic symbol of lost innocence—an urgent cry to the global conscience, showing how war doesn’t just kill bodies, but erases childhood itself.
