http://www.aljazeeratalk.net/en/node/6838
ci dessous l’article en Anglais
The Gazan Doctor
“Whoever killeth a humanbeing, not in liew of another human being nor because of mischief on earth, it is as if he hath killed all of mankind. And if he saveth a human life, he hath saved the life of all mankind. » (Qur’an V/35).
Poignant words that make up the Oath of the Muslim Physician, the same Oath attached rudimentarily with Blu-tack to my cupboard door for many a year.
It was also the same words reiterated by Dr Abuelaish in a recent speech in Menton, France on receipt of the L’Olivier d’Or award from Pax Medicalis. Dr Abuelaish who in recent years has become known simply as “the Gazan Doctor” caught the media eye in the beginning of 2009 under tragic circumstance; the loss of his three daughters and niece under Israeli shelling during the 2008-2009 siege of Gaza.
In a full auditorium with the audience listening intensely he simply says “16”. It is a number that resonates with particular and personal significance for him. “The 16th of September 2008 is the day my wife died of cancer; leaving behind six daughters and two sons” he recounts.
“16! The 16th of January 2009 the day I lost my three daughters”.
However, In the aftermath of such catastrophe he is resolute that “their blood was not spilt in vain” and now having emigrated to Canada has concentrated his efforts to his foundation “Daughters for life” and promoting his new book “I shall not hate: A Gazan doctor’s journey”. He was also nominated for the 2010 Nobel peace prize for his contribution to peace.
He utters: “We must realise that Israeli and Palestine are like conjoined twins, harm to one will affect the other”.
It is a sentiment felt also by many Israelis caught in the conflict within the region.
Eitam Kerem, a paediatrician in Jerusalem at the Hadassah Hebrew University, admits that the hospitals location, the north east corner of Jerusalem in a Palestinian village with a Hebrew university adjacent poses challenges but also the opportunity to create dialogue. Most importantly he draws on the point that it brings together Israelis and Palestinians…crucially…”without them wanting or indeed knowing it”, to see each other as human beings….
He explains that one of the major factors exacerbating the conflict is that of dehumanisation, the same process that “enables someone to blow themselves up whilst allowing a soldier to shoot someone in their own home”. This is achieved by communication, no easy feat in such a highly charged and tense region but one made possible and actualised within his medical team, which consists of both Palestinian and Israeli doctors.
Dr Kerem, specialising in Cystic Fibrosis displays the photo of 10 year old Nabil a Palestinian who was given the lungs from of a recently deceased boy from a Jewish family. Nabil now lives in Gaza. It is symbolic and provides a much needed glimmer of hope. It is undoubtedly encouraging not only for the possibility of peace in the Middle East but also on a personal level as examples of the potential value of our own local collective action. It is easy to erroneously, feel disempowered and believe that the architects of peace are the politicians, UN and Nobel Prize winners that exist in far flung lands and that making a contribution towards peace is beyond our reach. However this is very much a fallacy, because to a greater or lesser degree we all have the potential to be facilitators of peace. Whether it be under the guise of “peace through health” movements “peace through sport, comedy or art” collectively or individually; In extreme circumstances of overt violence internationally or religious intolerance and dismantled social integration and cohesion nationally.
There exists a myriad of ways to reverse the process of dehumanisation, such that we see “the other” as ourselves
