Looking for Trouble

March 23 in Gaza, the work begins, by Gerri Haynes

(Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility has traveled to Gaza since 1993. Since 2009, following the Cast Lead invasion by Israel, WPSR has sponsored nine medical delegations to serve the people of Gaza.)

Passion for soccer is wonderfully fierce in Gaza. Games between major teams bring out crowds of people to cheer together for their favorite. Last evening, the game between Barcelona and Real Madrid brought an overflow crowd to the gallery of Marna House Hotel, immediately below our window. There was no sleep while the game occasioned cries of happiness and dismay – we loved hearing the enthusiasm!

Today, our group dispersed to their various places of service. Chuck Cowan, pediatrician and specialist in autism, has a full calendar of classes and consultations. Grant O’Keefe, trauma surgeon is

working with local colleagues – consulting, teaching, operating. Bill Dienst and Bob Haynes are teaching Advanced Cardiac Life Support.

More to follow on our jobs, but one highlight of the day was time with the staff and children of the Al Amal Cochlear Implant Center. Near the Mediterranean Sea, a new rehabilitation hospital is under construction – funded by Qatar.

The construction of this hospital was begun in 2012, but the disastrous attacks on Gaza by Israel last summer brought construction to a halt. Now there is hope that the beautiful building will be completed and provide the Cochlear Implant a new fourth floor

home.

Miakoda Wolin-Collins, nurse, and Seema Jilani, pediatrician, and I were treated to a delayed Mother’s Day celebration (Gaza celebrated Mother’s Day yesterday on the first day of spring) in the existing Center. Children served by the Center danced and sang their gratitude to their mothers.

A wall hanging behind the children celebrated Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility and the support of donors to the work of the Center.

The population of children requiring hearing assistance in Gaza is significant and the dedication of the staff, working without pay, is inspiring.

Another inspiration in Gaza is the expanding work of Reem abu Jaber, Director of NAWA Center for Arts and Culture in central Gaza. (Please see NAWA on Facebook). I met with Reem this afternoon and learned of the rapid growth in the number of

children being served by NAWA.

NAWA is dedicated to “The Power of Culture Confronting a Culture of Power.” Their vision is to “create a nurturing cultural hub for Palestinian families.” Psychosocial support, fine arts programs, family empowerment and professional development are featured in the work of Reem and her staff.

In the coming year, the library of NAWA will expand to the restored Al-Khader monastery in Deir el Balah. The rehabilitation of this site will provide a unique and beautiful home for study.

During the day, we were delighted to meet friends from previous visits to Gaza. The hospitality and grace of Gaza’s people endures in the presence of siege and ongoing collective punishment.

This evening, many members of our group met with Steve Sosebee, Director of the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, and a delegation of PCRF staff and physicians serving in Gaza. PCRF works in Gaza, the West Bank of Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan caring for children in need of medical services.

This organization has obtained free medical care for children in international sites and brings physicians from all over the world to care for children in the Middle East. Thousands of children have been served. To learn more about the work of PCRF, please see: www.pcrf.net

The staff of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme facilitates our work and our learning – the dedication of GCMHP to Gaza continues to reflect the spirit of its founder, Dr. Eyad El Sarraj.

Thank you to GCMHP!