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The 22-day long December/January Israeli offensive against Gaza is reported to have killed over 1300 Palestinian civilians and injured 5,300. Many thousands more remain homeless and displaced, and there has been severe damage to public infrastructures including access to water and electricity, as well as basic supplies such as food and fuel for heating. The health care system is near total collapse, and sadly many more will be added to the list of dead and injured as a result of this breakdown of civil society. This invasion is merely an escalation of an already untenable situation. Gaza is "like a cage, an enormous prison or a completely sealed off ghetto" where there is virtually no escape by land, sea or air. It is the most densely populated strip of land on earth, where fully two thirds of its 1.5 million inhabitants are registered UN refugees. Eighty percent of people live below the UN poverty line, and 80% are unemployed (1).
Many international and humanitarian groups have called for investigations into alleged violations by the Israeli military during its offensive. The claims include the use of white phosphorus and high-explosive artillery in heavily populated residential areas, of firing on ambulances, medical personnel, and civilians holding white flags, and the indiscriminate destruction of property. Recent testimonials by Israeli soldiers admit to deliberate and brutal killing of unarmed civilians, including children (2). These accounts are under investigation by the Israeli army, but have yet to be investigated by a neutral party. To be certain, international groups have also called for investigations into Hamas: for firing rockets indiscriminately into civilian areas of Israel, as well as for Hamas' violent treatment of Palestinian political opponents and critics within Gaza (3). All of these claims need serious and immediate attention in order to prevent more human rights abuses and to protect innocent civilians.
The importance of documenting and publicizing the public health and social consequences of war cannot be underestimated, and there are many lessons to be learned from the past. Consider first an example from the Iraq War. Prior to a neutral investigation conducted by members of Johns Hopkins University and the Al Mustansiriya University Baghdad School of Medicine in Iraq, official counts of Iraqi mortality and violent-related deaths were grossly underestimated. Publication of their report in The Lancet caused much controversy, but prompted many in the medical community to finally speak out against the war. Similarly, regarding the Seven-Nation War in the Democratic Republic of Congo, official published reports in early 2000 put the number of dead at 100,000. Only after the publication of an International Rescue Committee survey on the front page of the New York Times, which estimated the deaths to be 1.7 million (with a second report in 2001 estimating the death toll at 2.5 million), did the international community generate the political will to broker an accord to end the Seven-Nation War, as well as to dramatically increase humanitarian aid to the situation. Prior to this, perpetual inaction by the international community to prevent these injustices allowed 10% of the population in war-torn areas to die.(4)
These and other examples show the absolutely imperative need for accurate reporting and investigation in situations of war and conflict. At the time of this writing, Israeli officials have barred human rights groups from entering the Gaza strip. A balanced and factual assessment by a neutral party must be allowed to investigate the violence perpetrated on both sides of the conflict, in order to quickly and justly bring peace and stability to the situation. In addition, hope for improving the health and quality of life for Palestinians depends on changing the structural and political conditions that Palestinians endure. This will take the courage and will of the entire international community and its leaders, and should be guided by a clear understanding of the real-life situation for everyday Palestinians.
This brief assessment is not meant to understate the complex political and historical situation that has been ongoing for decades in the Middle East. The point here is that Gaza is a situation that in many ways is similar to other humanitarian crises, and for this reason it is our obligation to seek the truth of the matter, to learn from this crisis, and do our best to bring justice and peace to the situation and all future situations that concern the liberation of people dehumanized by war and violence. To borrow from the teachings of Ignacio Martin-Baro, if this work contains truth, "it has permission to be more than just a simple reflection of data...it can become an account of what needs to be done... and to make a real contribution to human liberation". (5)
"If the Hippocratic Oath means anything, all doctors whatever their situation, specialty, or seniority should live up to this name by calling on their national governments and the international community... to ensure that civilians injured or affected by conflict receive the attention they need, wherever these people may be in the world. Such action is not being a so-called humanitarian, it is what being a member of the medical profession should be about." - The Lancet
Ways to get involved and further information:
(courtesy of Denise Zwahlen of Doctors for Global Health)
American Jews for a Just Peace (http://www.ajjp.org): Organize delegations to Israel and Palestine every fall. They work with PHR Israel and a grassroots health organization in Palestine
Gaza Community Mental Health Center (www.gazamentalhealth.org): Founder Dr. Eyad el-Sarraj. Their focus is children and women who are the victims of violence and the victims of torture.
www.combatantsforpeace.org: Israeli and Palestinian individuals who were either soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces or part of the armed resistance in the name of Palestinian liberation. They are working to stop all forms of violence
US Campaign to End the Occupation (http://www.endtheoccupation.org).
References:
1. The Lancet vol 373, Jan 17 2009 pg 201
2. The Times of London, March 20, 2009
3. Human Rights Watch (www.hrw.org)
4. Levy and Sidel (2008) War and Public Health. Oxford University Press
5. Ignacio Martin Baro (1994) Writings for a Liberation Psychology. Harvard University Press |
