Say Stop Today
Life on the
Frontline. Who cares for the carers?
A puzzling
question.
The al-Shifa
Hospital in Gaza City, Gaza
On
December 27, 2008, Israel launched Operation Cast Lead, a massive, 22-day,
military assault on the Gaza Strip. The ferocity of the attack was
unprecedented in the more than six-decade-old conflict between Israelis and
Palestinians, killing some 1,400 Palestinians, most of them civilians.
The Palestinian
Centre for Human Rights reported that the offensive left 1,419 Palestinians
dead, including 1,167 civilians. The Centre also reported more than 5,000
Palestinians wounded, as did the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs.
The
attacks in November 2012 also reached immediate almost unmanageable proportions
and challenged the services, both physical and psychological, of the staff and
resources of the hospital.
These
major offences reached tragic magnitude. But due to this on-going occupation
frontline staff are witness and active in the face of horrific and fatal
injuries.
Dr
al-Sahabani’s words illustrate the traumatic scenes that filled the emergency
room of the al-Shifa hospital when he spoke with the Electronic Intifada about
the tragic bombing of the al-Dalu family in their home which killed ten members
of the family and two neighbours
“Most of them arrived with
their brain matter outside of their skulls”
How do
people at the frontline of the most traumatic scenes imaginable deal with the
trauma that they have to endure and wonder if they will have to deal with
again?
These
were the questions, amongst others, that were at the fore of our minds when we
visited the al-Shifa Hospital.
During
Operation Cast Lead the Mosque opposite the entrance was destroyed. It is due
to the tenacity of the people that, despite the lack of supplies due to
on-going limits on imports allowed into Gaza, they have now rebuilt it. As we
passed by the Mosque one of the staff that worked at the hospital during
Operation Cast Lead told us that three doctors and two nurses, that were
colleagues of his, were killed as they awaited a taxi to head for home after
their days work.
We
were warmly greeted as we arrived at the hospital and despite the staff being
busy people were happy to speak with us and show us the conditions that they
need to work under in providing a vital service to the Gazan people who live in
the most densely populated area in the world.
We
spoke with Dr Hassan who has worked at the frontline in the Emergency Department
during Operation Cast Lead and Pillar of Cloud. He is a quietly spoken man with
a wealth of expertise and he detailed the scene and the injuries that they were
presented with as did one of the nursing department who described the practical
challenges due to the horrific demands on a limited service. He described what
they had to endure and how they remain constantly prepared for this for the
future as they feel that they live in a constant state of uncertainty.
Dr
Hassan described that at times similar to those detailed above that they feel
as if they are “fighting a fire”. He stated, “…we just keep going without
eating or even drinking”. We asked him what supports there are in place in
order for them to be able to express and process what they have witnessed. Till
this point Dr Hassan had spoken very fluently and fluidly about what their
roles and work entails. Our question caused him to look puzzled and he asked
that we repeat it twice, each time he interpreted it as us asking what supports
they provide for the injured. When he finally understood what we were asking he
became silent and remarked that he had never been asked this and that it was in
fact “a very strange question and I would like to think about it because I
don’t know what to say”.
As he
reflected more about this Dr Hassan said that he thinks that the emotional and
psychological difficulties that people experience most here are depression and
anger. When we asked him how these manifest themselves in the staff at the
frontline. He replied that “people go around blank or the just shout and
scream”. He said that for those who shout and scream “we tell them to go
outside and have a drink of water top calm down and then they come back inside
to work”. “There’s no time for anything else at the time of these attacks we
just have to work till we can’t work any longer and get a little sleep and
return”. When asked if, when things settle down, that they talk about it and he
said no. He said that the way that he and most of the staff manage is to
“forget about it, leave the work at the hospital, watch TV and go to the sea.
The sea is the best”.
Viewing
the different departments where blood supplies are low, services including
biochemistry, pathology and scanning are run, to the best of what is available,
in a manner which the staff themselves wish were more efficient. Neither health
professionals, administrative staff, paramedic staff nor civilians needing to
attend the medical departments are, during times of conflict, or at any time
living in Gaza, having their needs met. That said the morale, strength, and
tireless work done by the health workers in Al-Shifa and all of Gaza to save
the injured from death and to provide support where needed to all but
themselves is beyond belief.
Spending
time in the hospital was a humbling and disquieting experience.
Eileen
Carr on the Welcome to Gaza Convoy 2013
Photographs
courtesy of Annamaria Bruni
Eileen Carr 089 4960971
She needs money and helpers.
She needs money and helpers.
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