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For Immediate Release
January, 14 2009, 04:55pm EDT
Contact:
Cairo: Dr. Mona El-Farra, 011-20-113-475343, Barbara Lubin, 011-20-195-217099
Jawaal: Josie Shields- Stromsness, josie@mecaforpeace.org
U.S: Dan Muller, 917 217 6809©/dan@droplits.org
US Aid Organization Visits Injured Gazans
Evidence Increases of Israel’s Use of New and Dangerous Indiscriminate Weaponry
WASHINGTON
Staff
members of Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA) were at the Palestine
Hospital in Cairo today visiting civilians injured in the Israeli
attacks on Gaza. More than 200 injured children, men and
women from Gaza have been transferred to hospitals in Egypt for
immediately needed medical care; however thousands of injured civilians
are still trapped in Gaza.
Dr.
Mona El-Farra, MECA's Director of Gaza Projects, spent much of the day
speaking with doctors and treating patients at the Palestine Hospital.
"Many patients have arrived at the hospital with severe burns from
white phosphorous. But the doctors and hospital director also believe
Israel is using new weapons. For the first time they are seeing
patients who have very small injuries or entry wounds but when they do
x-rays there is severe damage inside. Many of my colleagues in Gaza
have also observed new types of injuries that are difficult to treat." She
added, "Unfortunately, medical workers in Gaza are too busy trying to
save lives and they don't have the time or possibility to investigate."
Israel continues to prevent media coverage and journalists from
entering Gaza.
Barbara
Lubin, Founder and Director of MECA, met with four patients. "Israel's
criminal attacks on Gaza have a real, human cost. Today I spoke with a
boy from Khan Younis who had both his legs amputated, along with
countless other injuries to his body. More than 1000
people in Gaza have been killed, including hundreds of children. When
asked how to respond to the killing, Lubin stated, "The international
community must act to stop Israel's assault on Gaza. The people of Gaza
need medicine, food, and clean water. But most of all they need their
freedom. Now is the time for boycott, divestment, and sanctions against
Israel."
It
has been widely confirmed that Israel is using white phosphorus, or
'the new napalm,' a chemical weapon that burns both buildings and
people. Under international law, white phosphorus is banned for use
near civilians, and MECA joins Human Rights Watch and others in renewed
demands that Israel refrain from using white phosphorus and similar
deadly compounds in the heavily-populated Gaza area.
Dr.
El-Farra and Lubin are currently in Cairo procuring powdered milk,
blankets, fortified cereal, wheelchairs, medicine, and an ambulance for
Gaza. MECA continues to both provide desperately needed humanitarian
aid for Gazans while also working to educate and mobilize people in the
United States to stop aid to Israel.
About Barbara Lubin and the Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA)
Founded
in 1988 by Barbara Lubin and Howard Levine, the Middle East Children's
Alliance is a Berkeley-based non-profit humanitarian aid organization
that has delivered more than $10 million in food, medicine and medical
supplies to children in the West Bank and Gaza, Iraq and Lebanon. MECA
also provides financial assistance to community groups working with
children in the Palestine/Israel. Barbara Lubin is a long-time
anti-war, children's rights, and disability rights advocate. She was
president of the Berkeley School Board form 1984-85. She is a mother
of four and a grandmother of seven.
About Dr. Mona El-Farra
Dr. El-Farra is
a Palestinian physician and human rights and women's rights activist.
She was born in Khan Younis, Gaza and has dedicated her live to
improving the situation for women, children and families in Gaza. As
MECA's Director of Gaza Projects, Dr. El-Farra oversees the
distribution of food and medical aid and support for educational and
recreational programs for children. She is also on the board of the
Palestinian Red Crescent Society of the Gaza Strip and a member of the
Union of Health Work Committees. Dr. El-Farra has a son and two
daughters.
To help MECA send more medical aid to Gaza for thousands of sick and injured people living under siege, visit www.mecaforpeace.org
The Middle East Children's Alliance is a nonprofit organization working for the rights and the well-being of children in the Middle East. MECA supports dozens of community projects for Palestinian children and refugees from Syria. Since 1988 we have delivered $27 million in food and medical aid to Palestine, Iraq, and Lebanon. MECA welcomes the support of all people who care about children and their future.
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