Blogging for the same purpose with a new look

While searching for inspiration for this week’s blog, I ran across this painting by an unknown artist available as a free download for wallpaper http://mobile.brothersoft.com/36023.html.  Yes, of course the picture made me think of Ali in Born a Refugee, but it made me think of my own reasons for starting this blog—my belief that the pen (or the keyboard) is mightier than the sword (or stones).  Not everyone chooses to fight with stones, not everyone can fight with stones, and Mahmoud, Ali’s brother, will tell you that not everyone should fight with stones.  Maybe he’d even say no one should fight with stones.

After thinking about this, I gave the blog has a new look and a new name, one that is more descriptive of the content.  Originally, I thought the blog would draw from two different groups of readers.  One group were readers who had enjoyed my novels and would like to learn more about Palestine; the other group I hoped to attract were people already interested in Palestine who might want to read the novels.  In short, the blog was to focus on my two passions:  books and Palestine.

Along the way, the message of Palestine broadened.  Whenever possible, I combined the two, as when I blogged about Naji al-Ali’s Handala in A Child in Palestine, or the wonderful poetry of Lisa Suhair Majaj in Geographies of Light.  I again blended the two topics when I heard about possible censorship of legally sold ebooks.  Censorship of books is something that raises the ire of most writers, just as censorship of the art of Palestinian children raised the ire of art lovers and Palestinians alike.  http://www.pckprclothing.com/blog/banned-palestinian-childrens-art-mocha-oakland-ca-let-children-play-and-heal

The discovery of an Amazon widget meant I could concentrate the blog on different aspects of Palestine and let the widget take care of the books—and I’m going to broaden the horizons of the blog.

Next week I’m going to stand things front to back and start with "Z" -- and tell you about zatar—real thyme that tastes wonderful and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. 

I am also inviting others to participate as guest bloggers.  Anyone who has something to say concerning Palestine is welcome to contact me.

Some things never change—but they should

Many Palestinians have lived in refugee camps their entire lives.  In 1948 many families fled their homes to escape the violence that preceded and followed the establishment of the state of Israel expecting to be back home in a few weeks.

In December 1949, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency was established to aid Palestinian refugees, and it began operations in May 1950.  http://www.unrwa.org

      The U N, like the refugees, envisioned the Agency as a temporary organization—over 60 years ago. 

One of the first problems that surfaced was that of adequate water and sanitation facilities.  The victims of their lack of success were mainly the very young.  It becomes increasingly difficult to control diseases such as gastro-enteritis under these conditions, with disastrous consequences.  (I wove these conditions into the story in my novel, Born a Refugee, to explain the age difference between the oldest brother and his younger brothers.)

In 1967 Israel took control of yet more Palestinian land, creating another wave of refugees and putting many of the existing camps under military occupation.  The new refugees, many of them fleeing for a second time, were faced with many of the same hardships.  Again, the very young are the most likely victims.

This photo, taken in the summer of 1971 in a Norwegian clinic in Baqa’a Camp in East Jordan, was distributed to news sources along with the story behind it.  The story emphasized that the woman was a good mother, “yet despite her good care her daughter, Maysoun, suffered from dehydration resulting from gastro-enteritis.”  A note added, “see photo HJ/BAQA’A/54A showing Maysoun one year after she received her treatment in the rehydration/nutrition centre.”  Although I was unable to find the referenced photo, I felt reassured that this child had survived.

But 1948 was a long time ago, and even 1971 was a long time ago, but success continues to elude them. 

In 2011 URNWA launched an Emergency Appeal called WASH (Water, Sanitation, And Hygiene).  Environmental health conditions in West Bank refugee camps - challenged by inadequate quantity and inappropriate quality of water and sanitation services, place a great threat on the health status of camp dwellers, leading to improper personal and community hygiene practices and placing the population under severe risk of waterborne diseases or epidemics outbreaks. Watery diarrhea as well as acute bloody diarrhea and viral hepatitis remain the major causes of morbidity among reportable infectious diseases in the refugee population of the West Bank.  Out of a total of 19 refugee camps in the West Bank, conditions are particularly problematic in the 9 camps affected by frequent military operations damaging or ruining water infrastructures.  http://www.unrwa.org/userfiles/2011051512133.pdf

The conditions in Gaza are even more desperate than on the West Bank.  The video below is in Arabic, but the pictures speak as clearly as the words.  The children, filmed in school, tell of dirty, salty water running sporadically from their taps. 
The Middle East Children's Alliance relates that the effects of the numerous attacks on Gaza has devastated Gaza's water infrastructure, destroying an estimated 800 of Gaza's 2,000 wells, and causing extensive damage to Gaza's water and wastewater treatment facilities.

Since January 2009, the Gaza health ministry and the World Health Organization have issued drinking, seafood and swimming advisories.  The long siege of Gaza has meant an increasingly long waiting list of spare parts, pipes, and building materials. This directly affects Gaza’s ability to maintain its sanitation and water treatment facilities. Meanwhile limited fuel and electricity often shut the systems down altogether.

As a result of all these assaults, the water in Gaza is polluted with untreated sewage, agricultural chemicals, and it is brackish from seawater. Gaza’s water contains high levels of nitrates, chloride and fluoride, and other pollutants that cause significant health problems.  http://www.mecaforpeace.org/projects/maia-project

YOU CAN HELP:  Click to donate to UNRWA or Click to donate to MECA

Gaza: after 45 years of occupation

Imagine living your entire life in an area of 146 square miles—a place that would barely accommodate a marathon run from one end to the other, and an average person could walk across in an hour.  Now imagine sharing that space with 1.5 million people whose average income is a little over a dollar a day.  By comparison, the city of Los Angeles city limits cover over 469 square miles. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_square_miles_does_Los_Angeles_cover

Now that you are in your imaginary over-crowded poverty-stricken ghetto, add the constant violence.  The Israeli assault, Operation Cast Lead (Dec 2008-Jan 2009) showed a spectacle of exploding bombs dropped from F-15s and Apache helicopters, catching the attention of the international media for a brief time.  Smaller attacks continue, unremarked by media attention.
Death by military violence is not the only danger in Gaza.  Infrastructure supplying electricity, water, sewer services never recovered from the destruction of the attack, partly due to the continued blockade that restricts fuel and electricity and combines an embargo on agricultural exports and imports of building materials, medicines, medical devices and equipment. http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/98B5A22F069CF2958525772600740AB5

The World Health Orga­ni­za­tion reports that there is a health and envi­ron­men­tal disaster in the Gaza Strip due to the destruc­tion of infra­struc­ture and sewage systems: the pathogen content of drinking-water samples is 16% (the universal water safety norm rec­om­mended by inter­na­tional standards is 1%). … It has been estimated that the health status of nearly 40% of those suffering from chronic diseases has dete­ri­o­rated as a result of the reduction in health-care services.

One international effort to supply precious cargo of penicillin and baby formula fail after repeated efforts to get the supplies into Gaza were thwarted.  http://www.newsletter.co.uk/community/letters/gaza-siege-is-heartbreaking-and-corrupt-1-3929843

The blockade is a major factor in the pervasive poverty.  Without the ability to leave Gaza, men who once supported their families by working in other areas can no longer find jobs.  Small factories can no longer bring in raw materials.  Badly needed construction cannot be done because the building materials cannot be brought into the area.  Even school books and materials are severely restricted. 

"Every third child in Gaza stunted by hunger": interview with renowned doctor Mads Gilbert an article in The Electronic Intifada dated 7 June 2012 describes just one of the results of living under the conditions that exist in Gaza.http://electronicintifada.net/content/every-third-child-gaza-stunted-hunger-interview-renowned-doctor-mads-gilbert/11363

HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Gaza Mental Health Foundation based in Boston, MA sends all donations to the Gaza Community Mental Health Project.  http://www.gazamentalhealth.org/

American Friends of UNRWA based in Washington, DC http://www.friendsunrwa.org/ sponsors programs, such as a summer camps for the children of Gaza, and breast cancer screening in the refugee camps of Lebanon.  They have a lovely greeting card for sale—all proceeds go to UNRWA. 

UNRWA United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees has many resources for more information, photos, historical information, and statistics.  You can also donate directly to UNRWA http://www.unrwa.org/

 THIS WEEK WE USE MUSIC TO REMEMBER GAZA UNDER SEIGE

My favorite YouTube video about Gaza is "We Will Not Go Down" by Michael Heart.  Some of the images are quite graphic and the video has been age restricted, but you can find it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlfhoU66s4Y&feature=colike

Liberty and Injustice

June 8 marks the 45^th anniversary of the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty resulting in the death of 34 American servicemen and the wounding of an additional 174—a 70% casualty rate.  

The attack was shocking, but even more shocking—U.S. military rescue aircraft were recalled through direct intervention by the Johnson administration.

Admiral Thomas Moorer, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and once commander of the 7^th Fleet, wrote in Stars and Stripes on January 16, 2004, that he was “compelled to speak out about one of U.S. history’s most shocking cover-ups.  The full text can be found at  http://www.ifamericansknew.org/download/moorer.pdf. A summary of the article and links to more resources about the details and cover up of the shameful incident may be found at http://www.ifamericansknew.org/us_ints/ul-moorer.html.

The survivors of the attack continue to seek justice for their fallen comrades, and to expose this heinous act.  They have united to form the USS Liberty Veterans Association.  On their website, http://www.usslibertyveterans.org, they quote radio operators who heard the conversations between the pilots and their commanding officers in which they distinctly mentioned that the ship they had been ordered to attack was a U.S. ship more than once, and were ordered to proceed. 

As the survivors began to lower life rafts with the most seriously injured, Israeli torpedo boats arrived and began a surface attack.  Again, U.S. military rescue planes that responded to their distress calls were ordered to return to base.

The report USS Liberty Veterans Association submitted in 2005 to the Department of Defense can be read at http://www.usslibertyveterans.org/files/War%20Crimes%20Report.pdf .

There are multiple YouTube videos about the attack, but the most complete and objective account is an hour long documentary from the BBC, called Dead in the Water (see below).  The video includes interviews of survivors as well as actual clips from the USS Liberty. 

Forty-five years later, and there has still been no proper investigation, and no justice for the victims and their families.

These men neeed and deserve your support. 

You can sign a petition calling for an investigation at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ussliberty/ Although the site takes you immediately to a page requesting a donation (for the site, not the USS Liberty Veterans) your signature will be recorded without making a donation. They are seeking a modest 100 signatures, and have already collected 44 when I posted this. Surely we can reach that small goal before the anniversary date of June 8. Please join me to reach this very attainable goal.