Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:32:22
Sari Al-Khalili, Press TV, Ramallah
(Requires Windows Media or Real Player)Related News Item:
Israeli Authorities Refuse Entry of Participants in Conference to Take Place in Gaza
Source: The Alternative Information Center (AIC) Monday, 27 October 2008
The 5th international conference of the World Health Organization, in cooperation with the Gaza Community Mental Health Program, is taking place 27- 28 October in Ramallah. The academic conference, entitled “Siege and Mental Health, Walls vs. Bridges,” was meant to be held in the Gaza Strip.
The conference was organized to serve as a forum for professional discussion and scientific exchange concerning the impact of the Gaza siege on children, families and communities, and to examine peace making efforts. The conference is intended to stress how the wellbeing and daily conditions of the Palestinians leads to more violence, defiance, extremism and abandonment and results in catastrophic consequences to the psychological profile of the next Palestinian generation.
On 13 October, two weeks before the convention began, Israeli military authorities at the Erez checkpoint refused entry into the Gaza Strip of 120 physicians, mental health workers and academics from the U.S, Canada, Britain,Denmark, Spain and other countries. The military authorities also forbade the entry of Israeli physicians from the Tel Aviv based Physicians for Human Rights and Palestinian physicians and academics from the West Bank andEast Jerusalem, even though on other occasions they were given access. No reasons were given for refusal of the entry permits.
Despite the attempt by Israeli military authorities to impede professional communication and exchange between the international medical community and Gaza medical professionals, the conference will continue, merely under different conditions. To compensate for the fact that many of the main people behind this project can not participate due to Israeli authorities’ refusal to allow Palestinians from Gaza into Israel, a video link between Ramallah and Gaza was established.
This attempt by the Israeli military authorities to disrupt the conference from occurring spurs questions such as: What is it that Israel doesn’t want to been seen in Gaza? Why are they withholding entry of medical workers intoGaza to work with Palestinian civilians? Is the world community aware of what Israel is doing, and how can we publicize their actions?
At a press conference in East Jerusalem on 26 October, representatives from the conference discussed issues related to these moves by Israel. Dr. Ghada Karmi from the University of Exeter, UK, stated that Israel is able to do all this and the general attitude of the people in Israel is “that’s how it is.” She emphasized the importance of people start to questioning the actions of Israel and begin to protest and speak out that these kinds of actions are not acceptable. Karmi further noted that the international community can not afford to allow Israel to continue its behavior and that the internationals, on all levels, have an obligation to bring it to an immediate end. It’s important that all the internationals from their own countries, she contends, tell people about the situation in order to reach the goal; that the government of the different countries will stop Israel.
Later on, there was a demonstration at the Erez crossing, to protest the prohibition and to show solidarity with the 1.4 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip. Gathered at this demonstration were Israeli and Palestinian peace-activists and participants from the conference. All stood together and demanded the Israeli authorities to listen to their demands. “Talk to us!” was yelled while demonstrators showed their passports, stating that they were internationals and should be able to enter Gaza. “Lets the doctors in!” was another slogan used, emphasizing the importance of this conference for the people of Gaza Strip and the wellbeing of the Palestinians in general.
One of the participants of the conference, a female nurse from the Belfast Trust in Northern Ireland, claims that the conference has been organized for a whole year and that Israel has known about it the whole time. The permissions were collected several months ago and yet when it came time to actually use them, they were withdrawn. For her, this conference was to help provide the best service for the people in Gaza, to share information and good practices. She sees this conference as a helpful way to share experiences with people who work there, also for her own sake, with a background in another location of historical conflict, Northern Ireland.
She still believes that the conference can achieve something, but she stresses that it would have been much more effective had there been a possibility for the people to see each other face to face and to discuss in an open forum. According to her, because of the Israeli military’s restrictions, they will only achieve half of their goals.
Another peace-activist, an international volunteer in Haifa, stated he was at the demonstration in support of the Palestinians. For him, as a foreigner in Israel, it is important to see the reality of what is going on in this country. In Haifa, he contends, he only feels he only is able to perceive part of the reality. According to him, the Israeli refusal of entry is for no reason “except to kill the Palestinians—to let them suffer. He concluded, "not to even allow doctors in—it’s a crime.”
(Requires Windows Media or Real Player)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment