On a medical delegation to Gaza Tom Foster was struck by Israel’s appalling indifference to Palestinian life. “What possible security do you realize by denying a breast cancer patient the standard of care for her disease?” he asks.
On the occasion of World Mental Health Day, Tamam Abusalama reflects on Palestinians’ personal and collective trauma: “Nearly 20 years after the eruption of the Second Intifada, I still freak out each time I hear ambulance sirens and thunder, or see a soldier or a helicopter. My heart beats so fast that it takes me back to Gaza, trapped with my people and my family during war.”
Gaza Community Mental Health Programme head Yasser Abu Jamei describes how Gaza is responding to the outbreak of COVID-19: “The latest developments were surprising to the overcrowded community who are still in shock.”
On June 25, 2020, the Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council cohosted with founding members of the Palestine-Global Mental Health Network a webinar titled “Resisting Occupation and Pandemic: Mental Health in Palestine Now.”
Too much idle time, too many memories of too many wars and scholarships lost due to the blockade have triggered a collective depression in Gaza.