Looking for Trouble

Guest blog by Gerri Haynes: The strong women of Gaza

As she did last year, Gerri has organized a Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility delegation of doctors and other health care providers to work in hospitals and clinics in Gaza in an effort to directly help the people there and to bring attention to the ongoing humanitarian crisis that the Israeli blockade has created. She will be sending back reports from inside the Israeli blockade.



Over and over again, we hear stories from women who are moving Gaza to strength and healing.

Today, several of our group met with the women of the Al Majd Women’s Center – a Palestinian NGO dedicated to “enhancing women’s role in society development and political participation through capacity building, awareness raising and formation of neighborhood committees.”

We heard the story of Nawal Al Gussen, the Center’s strong and capable director. Nawal is the mother of six and grandmother of eight. Four of her children were born prior to the ten-year imprisonment of her husband. Two children were born to them following his release from prison – these children are still in school.

Prior to imprisonment, her husband was a teacher at the UNWRA school. Since imprisonment, he is in conflict with the government and works at home – taking care of grandchildren, gardening and cooking. Nawal says they support each other – “he completes me and I complete him.”

One of their sons is now in an Israeli prison and her husband cares so much for the children of this son that the children refer to him as Baba (father).

Nawal wants women to be politically independent and strong and her work in the center reflects this desire.

We attended an advocacy training at the Center. One woman after another related the ongoing trauma of their children from their experiences in last year’s war from Israel. Fear remains in these children – fear from bombs destroying their homes, from the death of relatives, from the sound of airplanes.

The women discussed ways they have attempted to help their children cope – some now accompany their children even to the bathroom as the children fear being alone and feel exposed to the dangers of war.

David Hall talked with them about the strength they have in each other – in the group therapy that is present in their work with each other. The women expressed dismay that the world allows Israel’s blatant disregard for the Geneva Accords – and expressed their sadness that the Goldstone report has been disregarded by the international community. We promised to bring their stories back with us to the United States.

This afternoon, the majority of our delegation visited in the home of physician, Suma Baroud, sister of Bothell resident and author, Ramzy Baroud. We took copies of Ramzy’s new book, “My Father Was a Freedom Fighter” to Suma – who has not seen Ramzy for 16 years.

Suma and her husband and five children served a delicious traditional Palestinian lunch, followed by tea in their beautiful garden.

One of the daughters was part of a delegation of Palestinian children to visit the White House in January. Their delegation met Jimmy Carter and Ban Ki Moon in New York. We were delighted to have the opportunity to meet Suma and her family.

Laura Hart, adult urologist, worked in Gaza last fall with the WPSR delegation. She spent two weeks here then and realized that a pediatric urologist could be very helpful – and she was right! Rich Grady, Laura’s husband, is a pediatric urologist.

They have been warmly welcomed and are very busy doing surgical procedures in two Gaza City hospitals. They are spending mornings in Al Shifa Hospital and afternoons and into the late evening, operating in the Public Aid Hospital.

Rich is an international expert in the surgical treatment of bladder exstrophy and, by fortunate coincidence, will be here to care for a new infant with a need for surgical repair of the birth defect – bladder exstrophy. Laura reports that, as in every area of Gaza, new tools are needed but that Gaza’s surgeons are working valiantly and resourcefully with the equipment available and are eager to exchange ideas.