FIMA Year Book 2010-2011 - Federation of Islamic Medical ...

VIVA PALESTINA 5
The education system was affected in several
ways by the restrictions imposed by the blockade.
The lack of construction materials had halted all
new construction. Repairs to the educational
infrastructure also had to be postponed. Around 88
per cent of UNRWA schools and 82 per cent of
Government schools operated on a shift system to
cope with the demand. The lack of educational
material and equipment hampered the ability to
maintain teaching standards.
The ban on the movement of people through the
crossings affected not only university students
planning to study or already undertaking studies
abroad, but also the possibilities for academics and
scholars to travel abroad on academic exchanges.
The siege on the Gaza enclave had aggravated
poverty which particularly affected women, who
must find food and other essentials for their
families. These responsibilities sometimes
compelled them to conceal their own sufferings,
so their concerns remained unaddressed. A
UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) study,
conducted immediately after the December-
January military operations, reported a 40%
increase in miscarriages admitted to maternity
wards, a 50 per cent increase in neonatal deaths, a
rise in obstetric complications and anecdotal
evidence of deaths or health complications
because pregnant women were unable to reach
hospitals to deliver their babies 9 .
Thirty percent of children screened at UNRWA
schools had mental health problems, while some
10 per cent of children had lost relatives or friends
or lost their homes and possessions. WHO
estimated that some 30,000 children would need
continued psychological support and warned of
the potential for many to grow up with aggressive
attitudes and hatred 10 .
Many who were injured during the Israeli military
operations sustained permanent disabilities owing
to the severity of their injuries and/or the lack of
adequate and timely medical attention and
rehabilitation. About 30 per cent of patients were
expected to have long-term disabilities 11 .
In summary, the UN Goldstone report of 2009
found that the Israeli attacks on Gaza in 2008–
2009 were “to a large degree aimed at destroying
or incapacitating civilian property and the means
of subsistence of the civilian population” and
found the IDF guilty of “repeated failure to
distinguish between combatants and civilians”. It
also found that Israel “imposed a blockade
amounting to collective punishment and carried
out a systematic policy of progressive isolation
and deprivation of the Gaza Strip”.
The Goldstone Report adds that “the destruction
of food supply installations, water sanitation
systems, concrete factories and residential houses
was the result of a deliberate and systematic policy
which has made the daily process of living, and
dignified living, more difficult for the civilian
population 11 .
Beginnings of the Viva Palestina network:
Viva Palestina (Long live Palestine) is a Britishbased
registered charity. Viva Palestina came into
being in January 2009 by a group including British
Member of Parliament George Galloway in
response to the Dec 2008 Israeli invasion of Gaza.
Its objectives are the provision from the UK of
food, medicine, essential goods and services
needed by the civilian population of the occupied
Palestinian Territories and highlighting the causes
and results of wars with a view to achieving
peace 12 .
About the same time in Kuala Lumpur, a group of
Malaysians who had been involved in the
Palestinian cause got together and decided that a
national united platform for Palestine is urgently
needed. On 5 January 2009, a coalition of 50 Non
Governmental organizations (NGOs), cutting
across race and religion, was born. It was then
FIMA YearBook 2010-2011 122