The healthcare crisis in Gaza and the West Bank
15 October, 2024
On Thursday, Sept. 19, students, faculty and community members gathered at the Medical and Research Translation (MART) auditorium at Stony Brook Cancer Center to hear about the state of healthcare in Gaza, Palestine and the West Bank.
A panel at Stony Brook Cancer Center discussed healthcare in Gaza and the West Bank amid attacks on medical facilities. Speakers shared stories of devastation, including survivors and humanitarian efforts, emphasizing the urgent need for aid.
According to Health Cluster, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that primarily focuses on humanitarian emergencies, there have been 1,112 attacks on healthcare facilities and personnel in Gaza and the West Bank as of Sept. 18 since Oct. 7, 2023. This includes 504 attacks that have impacted health facilities, 459 attacks on health transport and 370 health workers detained in occupied Palestinian territory.
The event began with a dinner and gallery showcasing photos of the state of Gaza, with demolished buildings and children playing amongst rubble and tents. The photos were taken by Tom Lewendon, one of the speakers at the event and a freelance photographer. Attendees were then led to the auditorium where a panel of speakers discussed the situation and stories of healthcare workers and civilians in Gaza and the West Bank.
“The number of evacuated cases since October stands at 5,033, with the tens of thousands of children who are injured. This is a very upsetting number and should be upsetting for any healthcare provider, regardless of where you stand politically,” Dr. Syed M. Sayeed said.
Sayeed is a Stony Brook University alumnus and plastic surgeon who traveled to Gaza with MedGlobal, an NGO that focuses on emergency responses and programs around the world.
Health Cluster reports that the total number of medical evacuations requested in Gaza is 14,469, making evacuated cases about a third of those that have been sought out.
Steve Sosebee, the founder of HEAL Palestine, a nonprofit humanitarian organization focused on the development of Palestinian children, was one of the panelists. He shared his story and explained the efforts of HEAL Palestine.
“I’m committed and our organization is committed to repairing the lives of these children until they are independent and can forge a future for themselves,” Sosebee said.
After a brief intermission, Lewendon spoke about his time in Gaza and his photographs.
“Despite everything I’ve witnessed and [seen] and experienced over the years, what I experienced in Gaza is by far the most devastated situation I’ve ever encountered in all my life. The scale of suffering and destruction was overwhelming, definitely too much for me to put into words, and that’s why I take photos,” Lewendon said. “But even though what many, myself included, would call hell on earth, and it definitely was, I saw humanity at its best.”
Lewendon served in the British Army in a frontline infantry regiment and also in Northern Ireland in a peacekeeping role. He spent time in places like Germany and Ukraine, documenting the crisis that unfolded there before he went to Gaza.
He shared the photos he took in Gaza, telling stories of each photographed building and person in each picture. Many photos were taken in hospitals, where he documented injured or dying patients and their circumstances.
Sara Bseiso, the last speaker and an evacuee from Gaza, suffered severe burns all over her body from an Israeli bombing. She shared her experience surviving the attack. Two of her brothers, Muhammad and Ahmed, were killed.
“I had just stepped out of the kitchen to get Muhammad, when suddenly, everything went black. I was screaming, but no one could hear me. I couldn’t walk because my feet were burning,” Bseiso said.
Bseiso ended by explaining her experience evacuating from North to South Gaza with her sister before moving to the United States in order to get treatment.
Source: sbstatesman.com
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