1.8 Million Palestinian Citizens in Gaza face medical death

Jail sentences. Encounter deaths. And now, lack of medical facilities in Gaza curses the livelihood of Palestinians.

The vitriol of political diplomacy sinks in when one reads how thousands of Palestinian patients, suffering from the worst of diseases and medical abnormalities are unable to travel to Egypt, Jordan or Israel due to visa detentions. Back at home, the medical facilities in Gaza and West Bank are even more egregiously dismal.

The Palestinian Minister of Health in Gaza, Dr Bassem Naim, revealed how Gaza, in spite of being developed, depends on smuggling fuel for generating electricity, basically from Egypt. ‘When would electricity be available?’. Well, the answer defines or controls everything from operations, commutation, education and even water supply.

A leaked news from the secret meeting in Jordan involving Palestinian, Israeli and Egyptian intelligence states how they were devising ways of strangling Hamas . Stopping the fuel and energy supply to Gaza is one of the fundamental steps towards it.

Dr Bassem Naim stated how Egyptians also suffer. In North Sinai, for around 3-4 km, people wait for 24 hours for fuel, by being lined up in queues. For the past six months, Egyptians have become strict against this illegal smuggling. They have started controlling every tank from the entrance of Suez Canal, worsening the situation in Gaza.

Though, comparatively, Gaza suffers more than West Bank from humanitarian crisis. With 1.8 million people stuffed in 365 km, Gaza definitely is a prison. With Israeli drones operating all the time, besieged air and sea channels, human life in Palestine depends on dodging military, confining one’s space and appeasing the occupation. Everyday, there are 3-4 cases of burn, 45% of them being third degree burns. Most of these patients do not get proper state funding and hence, face premature deaths.

After the 13th September 1993 Oslo Accords, the Gaza citizens have been allowed to enter only three sea miles in the adjoining Red Sea. If they cross the limit, they are shot.

Even banks inside Gaza suffer from financial boycotts along with political isolation. Dr Bassem Naim exposed how he cant open a bank account for humanitarian funding for the hospitals in Gaza.

The borders are tightly closed. Gaza faces six gates with Israel and one gate with Egypt. Currently, only two of them are open officially. To travel through air,  Palestinians needs Israeli licenses, sometimes, months in advance. Only those who pass the security tests ends up having the permit. Mostly, Palestinians face a strict ‘no’.

Dr Bassem Naim states how the running cost of hospitals in Gaza amounts to $50 million but the state is not left with a single penny. He had to close dental clinics as there was no money to buy gloves. The Friday deaths in emergency cases during the prayer times have become a common phenomenon.

In 2008, Israel tried to suffocate Gaza strip with the help of Palestinian Authority. All the civil servants were asked to take forced sabbaticals. Otherwise, they would be fired.

Even 3 million kg of explosives were used by Israeli government against the citizens of Gaza, amounting to at least 2kg per citizen. Specimens of forbidden materials like uranium and cobalt have been found in the bomb attacks.

Thousands of Palestinians are still in jails. Israel has recently also adopted new models for arresting children.

Ultimately, twenty years of reconciliation have failed if deaths of innocent victims is the result of it. Dr Naim suggested that perhaps unifying institutions between Gaza and West Bank might help, ultimately leading to unification of government sector.

 

 

 

Would Obama administration protect Chen, the blind Chinese human rights dissident?

Ever wondered why Chinese authorities- the Communist Party of China (CPC) and even the PLA, never give press conferences? 2012, being the election year, is creating hullabaloo from everywhere from France to India; China remains quiet. The international community’s intelligence fails more when it comes to discerning about China than even Iran or North Korea. But the silence before the storm did end. And the man that did so, was  blind dissident Chen Guangcheng. 

The self taught lawyer was placed under house arrest for 4 years. He had gained fame and massive empathy after fighting against the inhuman trends used by Chinese government to retain ‘One couple, One child policy’. Be it sterilising, abortions or even vasectomy, the Chinese government left no stone unturned. In the province of Shandong, 500 km south of Beijing, the entire concept of social contract theory, liberty and right to life failed. While the atrocities of China in Tibet and Taiwan have been in limelight, these brutal cases of population control hardly received media attention.

Chen Guangcheng and his wife, both in their 40s, have been in house arrest for Chen’s human rights activism. But last week of April, he somehow managed to escape by bluffing the Chinese guards that he was ill and hence, they had decreased the vigilance. With the help of his other activist colleagues, Chen travelled 500 kms north to the US Embassy in Beijing. Now, there are two loopholes in this narration. First, if Chen was in house arrest, how did he manage to communicate about his run off to his colleagues? Secondly, why was US embassy chosen?

Anyways, as the story goes on, Chen goes to the US embassy, talks with the embassy officials there and reveals about his four year long arrest. He also talks to Hillary Clinton who promises him that he and his wife would be getting protection from America. But justice is not that simple. Chinese dragon glared at Uncle Sam. US has no right to intervene in the political matters of China. Criticism started and the rivalries got difficult to contain. Sadly, the wrath of it all, was faced by Chen’s wife who was nearly beaten to death in her house after her husband escaped.

Chen on the other hand, was ‘suggested’ to leave the premises of US embassy as his story got international attention. US officials took picture of him, revealing how happy he was to go to the hospital. One of the embassy staff even mentioned that Chen was so pleased with American response that he exclaimed he could even kiss Hillary Clinton. The photographs were preserved, less like a souvenir but more like evidences for defense. Chen was consoled that he would be having officials at the hospital with him. There was nothing to worry. But that’s exactly when the story changed.

When Chen arrived at the hospital, he was all alone. He had no idea that his escape has caused so much of impact. He had no idea what his wife was going through. Now, there comes another loophole in the story. When Chen was in the embassy, how come, he did not communicate with his wife? He also had fellow colleagues in Shandong who would certainly know what was going on. Anyways, the US embassy stated that Chen did not seek refuge for protection but for medical emergency. Also, they stated that he wanted to head to the hospital and it was not the suggestion of US officials. What exactly happened, very few people know about.

This entire case of human rights has emerged during the election campaign time for Obama. So, would he provide safety to Chen or ignore him? The issue took graver position as Hillary Clinton would be in Beijing next week to talk about trade relations. China might simply back off in anger if Chen’s issue is given more attention. After all, US- China ties have been going through worst confrontational period due to the Syria and Iran issue. Another addition to it can further fire up the volatile issue.

Only time would tell if Chen, the human rights dissident gets justice or is his story simply forgotten?