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Muslim And Arab Americans Send Medical Relief To Palestinians
by Dina Rashed
WASHINGTON (IslamOnline) – Due to Israeli occupation and the escalation of clashes between Palestinian civilians and Israeli forces, Palestinians in the Occupied Territories suffer from lack of proper medical care.
As a result, several Arab and Muslim institutions in the U.S. have rushed sending medical relief funds to the troubled area.
Because of the diversity of the Muslim and Arab communities in the United States, an exact count of the total medical relief sent to Palestine is not possible. However, some of the main efforts are:
The Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA) allocated nearly $100,000 for medical equipment and supplies to the Palestinians during the past month, as part of a total $600,000 it allocated throughout the entire year.
The National Arab American Medical Association (NAAMA) was able to mobilize its members, and member physicians managed to send $250,000 during the current crisis.
NAAMA, however, has not sent any physicians, said Ali Kutom, a member of the Palestine Liaison Committee the association formed to deploy relief funds to the troubled area.
“It seemed to us they have enough physicians over there, but we have at least ten volunteer physician[s] who are willing to go if there is a need for them,” he said in an interview.
If they were to go to Palestine, Kutom commented, “We want our physicians to serve and not to observe.”
The association preferred to send their donations in cash to cut down on any unnecessary expenses for shipping from the U.S.
“It was easier to purchase the medical supplies from the surrounding sources in the Middle East,” he added.
The donations were dispersed to several medical institutions in the Occupied Territories, including the Palestinian Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent.
One of the main destinations for the relief effort was al-Makassed Hospital in Jerusalem, the largest medical facility in the area, which accepts referrals from all smaller hospitals and clinics in the surrounding region. Part of the fund would be directed towards building a burn center in the hospital.
The hospital, which has specialized departments, is entirely funded from Zakat (the Islamic tithe) charitable giving, and has also received donations from Global Relief Foundation (GRF) as well.
Prior to donating the funds, the GRF sent a fact-finding mission in October led by Khaled Diab, the Medical Relief Director of the organization. His nine-day tour included visits to al-Makassed, Dar al-Salam Hospital in Gaza, al-Wafa in Gaza, AaR-azi in Jenin, and other medical facilities.
GRF was able to make arrangements for three volunteer physicians to practice in al-Makassed, two of them volunteered for one week while the other donated his two weeks.
They were able to perform their physician duties and hold educational seminars for other medical practitioners in the hospital.
In addition to giving 16 tons of milk to Palestinian children located in Jordanian camps, the organization was able to facilitate the distribution of $125,000 of medical supplies in a container shipped from the U.S. that was provided by the Health Services Committee of IMANA. The shipment included orthopedic instruments, medicine, surgical instruments, bandages and other medical supplies.
One ongoing project is to fully furnish the al-Aqsa emergency clinic, set inside al-Haram al-Sharif to serve emergency medical needs of those attending prayers, especially after the clashes erupted and Israeli forces sealed the area preventing transport of injured from the holy site, and preventing the admission of the ambulances into the area.
In cooperation with the Scientific Medical Association of Jerusalem, GRF hopes to equip and provide medical supplies to the clinic, said Diab.
GFR has also been working in collaboration with Doctors For Global Relief (DFGR) to secure a number of volunteering physicians and medical expertise in the region.
DFGR was first established as a service provided by IMANA, but later became a separate organization due to the increase in the need for professional medical relief inside and outside the Muslim world.
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