May 21, 2024 Healthcare in Rafah, Gaza

What an amazing discussion we had on Voices of Reason this week regarding the state of healthcare in Gaza.   Palestinian American Savannah resident Laila Abdallah took the lead, interviewing Paramedic Rania A, who had been in Gaza for the past six weeks, primarily in Rafah, providing healthcare to its residents.   She described conditions as deplorable--patients being cared for on the floor for lack of beds, challenging care provides to administer care, like intubation and movement into other rooms.   There are few supplies and personnel to administer care, but incredible need.   So many children are without parents and families, who have been killed in the fighting.  Schools have been bombed or repurposed for other uses, and in her "off" time, Rahna provided children with basic needs and played games to keep them occupied and comforted.   

At the end of the show, I talked about growing up in the USA in a culturally Jewish family, propagandized into believing Israel had been a land without people prior to 1948 and "never again" meant never again.   It wasn't until well into adulthood that I woke to the reality of Palestine, its colonization by zionist Jews, the nakba or catastrophe that drove 750,000 Palestinians out of their homes in 1948 with no right to return, the Israeli wars that increased its land and illegal settlements, the creation of the open air prison known as Gaza, and, since 10/7/23, committing what the International Court of Justice stated is plausible genocide.   I urge all of us to this wake up to this reality and take what steps we can to end the genocide and bring about a peaceful solution that grants Palestinians the right to their land.

Recognizing May as Mental Health month, next Tuesday, we will discuss the state of mental health and illness in the USA with special guests from the National Alliance on Mental Illness.