From Gaza, with Love

Saturday, October 17, 2009

i could not travel -borders still closed

this is my talk for the Arab Women Association -in London , i couldnot deliver the speech in person , as the borders are still closed and i could not travel ,
i send you my love from Gaza , and sorry for not writing regularly , iam very busy here and soon i will announce , very good news for all of you who supported my efforts to get the MRI for Gaza patients!
from gaza with love
Mona


Dear all
Thank you for your presence today ,thank you for the great support you show for the Palestinian people and specially for Gaza .
While addressing you from a distance, and being unable to cross the borders, like many of us here in Gaza ,who try everyday and fail, I feel strongly of the injustice that has been imposed on the Palestinian people since Israel was founded 1948, where big ethnic cleansing process took place and Palestinian people were made refugees ,
it is not only Gaza and the siege , it is the occupation with its practices against all the Palestinian people in Gaza in the west bank and the Diaspora.
The injustice continues and the resistance and steadfastness will also continue
Life in the Gaza Strip continues. It must. But the continuing effects of the closure,
And the visible reminders of trauma (15%of Palestinian children suffers from the severe post traumatic stress disorder ) and devastation make normality – even by
The standards of the Gaza Strip – an illusion; the reminders of tragedy are ever
Present, and all too real. , over 9 months after Israel’s
Declaration of a unilateral ceasefire on 18 January, the Gaza Strip is locked in
Stasis: the situation in Gaza remains exactly as it was on the day the offensive
Ended. The visible scars of the offensive remain, rubble continues to litter the
Streets of Gaza, thousands are homeless; families are forced to live in houses
With scorched interiors, blood stained floors, and bullet riddled walls. In some
Instances, victims are forced to look at the discriminatory and offensive graffiti
Scratched into their walls by Israeli soldiers.

The siege has directly contributed
To a worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Today, nearly 10 months
after Israel’s declaration of a unilateral ceasefire, the Gaza Strip remains in limbo;
although the offensive has ended, the occupation continues.
The closure, which includes a blockade on goods and materials, makes
reconstruction and recovery impossible. Civilians cannot rebuild their homes;
families are forced to remain in camps, with relatives, or in rented accommodation,
for as long as the closure remains in place. The 600,000 tonnes of rubble littering
the Gaza Strip cannot be cleared. There is not even the concrete with which
to construct a tombstone. Palestinians cannot enter or leave the Gaza Strip.
Patients continue to die because they are denied access to medical treatment The economy continues to contract. Today, there are ever-increasing levels unemployment, poverty, destitution, and despair; unemployment now stands at
60%, while approximately 80% of the population now lives in poverty.


The emergency health services in the Gaza Strip are in a state of imminent
collapse due to shortages of electricity, medicine and other vital, life-saving
Equipment. Due to a lack of available services in Gaza, many patients are forced
to seek medical treatment abroad. However, the closure makes accessing external
Treatment a near impossible task.
,
to date, at least 391 patients have died as a direct or indirect result of the closure. In addition
much of Gaza’s population does not have adequate access to safe drinking water,
as the pumps which supply water are unable to run due to the electricity cuts. every day the power cut off at least 8 hours .
Even basic foodstuffs and goods are in short supply; mainly families are forced to
Rely on food aid supplies by the Unrwa and othe raid organizations.

I address you while feeling and living the daily pain , Grieve and deprivation of 1.5 million, people living under the siege and the occupation , women, men and children and specially women, who has to cope every day with a abnormal life in a big open prison called Gaza ,
And shows everyday a great deal of steadfastness and resilience, all sorts of Palestinian women , working class , teachers doctors nurses farmers etc.. those women work at home and outside with no sense of economical , social or personal security ,

in Gaza everybody has a tale of profound greive to tell but people also determined to overcome pain and rebuild their lives , it is an extraordinary way of determination to continue with their lives despite of all the odds

Your help your humanitarian support will enables us to continue and never lose hope of the future , your support let us feel that we are not alone we are not forgotten we are not abandoned , while the governments are silent and there is no real progress on the political level .

In the name of my colleagues at the board of Red crescent society for Gaza strip I thank you for organizing this event I thank you for your generous donation and support , I thank you for your continuous support for the red crescent society , your support that enables us to continue and improve our health and social services and programmers for thousands of beneficiaries every year ..

Our daily struggle against the occupation , and despite of the siege in Gaza and the wall in the west bank ,this daily resistance and struggle , cannot be separated from international struggle against injustice and towards a better world for its citizens free from all sorts of injustices and exploitations , built on equal rights for all,

Together we can make it Thank you

14 Comments:

  • Mona, get in touch with me and let's see how we can help get your work and these issues out in front of the American people more.
    I host a national women's issues radio show in the US.
    Contact me at sbarnettATwamcDOTorg

    By Blogger Susan, at 10/17/2009 5:04 PM  

  • Dear Mona,

    Thank you for sharing these words with us. My heart goes out to the brave people of Gaza, and especially the women. I believe it in my heart that the future holds better days for us all, because justice is on our side.
    Salam

    By Blogger khulud khamis, at 10/19/2009 2:01 PM  

  • Thank you Mona for this. This breaks my heart to read and I can only send my sincerest gratitude to you and all my friends in Gaza who are continuing to live under unimaginable conditions while the international world watches. If it means anything, we here in the US have not forgotten and will continue to advocate, struggle and stand up for your rights until one day inshAllah you will have what you deserve, human rights and equal rights.

    m3 tahiyati,

    Reem Salahi

    By Blogger Reem Salahi, at 10/22/2009 2:00 AM  

  • stay safe. Your heart is large. Sarah

    By Blogger Nikki (Sarah), at 10/31/2009 9:06 PM  

  • My goodness, either you cannot get in or you cannot get out. What difficult borders! (I know; I had friends caught in that July bombing.) I am not sure that the world is entirely deaf. I think the world does not always know how best to react. In any event, thank God the Internet borders are nearly always open. (I say nearly always because when I was in Turkmenistan even the Internet borders were closed.)

    May God continue to watch over you and your home and your loved ones. Sending love to Gaza from California...

    By Blogger Elizabeth Mahlou, at 11/02/2009 8:33 AM  

  • Thank you Mona

    By Blogger HishamMuhra, at 11/17/2009 4:46 PM  

  • All of this articles are wonderful and well explained. But what about how to get a lost lover back. visit http://get-a-lover-back.blogspot.com to know how to get your EX back and save your relationship.

    http://get-a-lover-back.blogspot.com

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11/23/2009 10:20 PM  

  • Hi Mona,

    My name is Greg Sheppard. I've got some questions about Gaza I was hoping you might be able to help me with.

    I work for a Czech NGO and we will be beginning a psychosocial support-capacity building program soon. We're traveling to Gaza early January for an assessment/logistics trip, and I was looking for information on specific Gaza communities for our pilot project. Is there an email I can contact you at? You can contact me at gregdistic@live.com or through blogspot if there is a way...I'm not TOO experienced with all of the features on here though.

    Best regards,

    Greg

    By Blogger GregSheppard, at 12/13/2009 4:54 PM  

  • Hi, I'm David Segarra, working for the venezuelan TV. We are coming to make a documentary in Gaza. We are coming with the Freedom March. We would like to meet you. After the march parts on january 2 we will stay until 9 and we are interested in the 'Let them Play and Heal,' project... We are focused on palestinian resilience and vital resistance. info@guaratarofilms.com

    By Blogger Ciclo Documental, at 12/15/2009 9:01 PM  

  • Hi!
    I recently found this blog through a friend.

    We recently started a group for to collect handmade hats for Gazan children. So far, we have made and collected over 100 hats from all over the globe, and they are being hand-delivered for us by a friend who is attending the March on Gaza at the end of this month.
    We are already collecting and making (knit, crochet, sewn) hats for our next delivery. Our effort is on-going and we hope to make and collect 2010 hats in 2010.
    We would love to have our blog featured on yours, or added to the blogroll. We need to use every means necessary to get the word out and get people involved in our cause.

    Please do visit our blog:
    hatsforgaza@blogspot.com

    Thank you!

    By Blogger Beeba, at 12/24/2009 1:55 AM  

  • Nice travel blog that i enjoyed reading here.

    Article Directory Script

    By Blogger Joel christ, at 1/20/2010 9:33 AM  

  • I love Palestinian.
    It's a nice blog.

    If you have a time please visit http://www.ebooktub.com/

    By Blogger Unknown, at 1/28/2010 6:45 AM  

  • Please come and help us to write the Pan-Africanist Manifesto at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=app_2373072738&gid=8715589644. We must Unite Africa from the Tigris-Euphrates to the Cape of Good Hope. This will solve the problems in Gaza.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/31/2010 2:21 AM  

  • All I hope there will be a new Gaza which is free from war, hatred, and violence. Let's hand in hand to create PEACE there.

    By Blogger Jakarta Berdoa, at 2/18/2010 4:42 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home