Success Story 4: Carmel

Carmel came with his parents to Palestinian Happy Child Center for diagnose, and he was diagnosed as Autism, delay in speech and language, delay in perception and comprehension.

In the beginning his parents refused to accept the child’s condition because Carmel was the only child for them.

His parents started taking him to different institutions and presented him to the specialists and they stopped coming to the PHCC.

The specialists at PHCC kept calling Carmel’s parents in order to ask about him and convinced his father to bring Carmel to the PHCC.

Also Dr. Jumana Odeh talked to Carmel’s father and discussed with him his child’s condition in order to convince him about the importance of bringing Carmel to the center , and after long discussions with his parents , finally his father brought him to the phcc for rehabilitation .

A Tailor – made program built to suit his individual needs according to his case, since he started to attend sessions of occupational therapy, behavioral therapy and speech therapy Carmel showed a remarkable progressive on his case, development in perception and comprehension and because of that he started going to a kindergarten with normal children, with regular visits from PHCC specialists in order to follow up on his case. The father now was totally convinced with Carmel’s case.

Now after four years at PHCC, Carmel started saying some words, reading the letters and showing interaction with the surrounding.

Success Story 3: A Look of Hope

It was five years ago , when I knew I was pregnant, I was very exicted because I hadn’t faced any problem with my pregnancy, when I finished my fifth month, I started bleeding and I was very afraid of losing the baby because I had previously suffered from abortion five times.

I rushed to a specialist and he told me that “the placenta is before the baby and that I have to get rest very well”, so I got rest until I begin eighth month when I started bleeding again and I stayed at the hospital for ten days and I gave birth with a Caesarean section, the baby stayed in the incubator for ten days, his weight was 2.5 kg and 49 cm length.

The baby was normal during his first and a half year, after that I noticed that he is not communicating with me and the vocabulary he knows no longer exist, so we took him to a nerves doctor, he told us that the baby has Autism, that wasn’t a problem for me, the real problemwas that the doctor told us that the child will not improve much.

I and my husband have read a lot about Autism and decided to take Ibrahim to a specialist in Jordan, he told us to do a diet with some vitamins, and then we took him to a specialist to give him functional therapy sessions, after six months we took him to another center in which he showed some improvement, he started distinguishing some things around him.

After that we took him to Friends Autism Center and there I asked the specialist to give him sessions alone because I was worried that he will not do like the kids in the center, then he went to the kindergarten two days a week and he showed some improvement but not a lot, I took him to another center and he is still going there.

Ibrahim showed a lot of improvement, he started communicating with us, distinguishing things, colors, animals, some letters, he knows his relatives, says some words, plays with his brothers, and in two days he learned how to use the bathroom alone with a little help, after all this improvement his father isn’t believing that he has Autism, he has enormous capacity of learning.

I thank god for what Ibrahim is today and I thank the Happy Child center for all what they helped Ibrahim with. And I ask every mother never to lose hope because every problem has a solution.

Success Story 2

Adam is 5 years old, from Jerusalem. He was seen by a paediatrician, psychologist, family doctor and referred for hearing test. Then at the age of 25 months was referred by an audiologist to the PHCC for further investigation and proper diagnosis. He presented with complaints, hyperactivity, bizarre activity, not obeying orders, not responding to his name, shows temper tantrums & loud screaming, especially at night.

Parents were embarrassed by his behaviour and were desperate to find out what is his problem?!

At the PHCC Adam was diagnosed of having Autism Spectrum Disorder “ASD,” a tailor made program was designed especially for Adam. His parents were educated on the condition and were informed about the intervention schedule which PHCC uses in such cases. His parents were very understanding and cooperative, but for them to come to Ramallah for the treatment four times weekly was a real problem, since the mom has never left home alone! First time when the family approached the PHCC, they all came, Adam, his older brother, his dad and his mom. For the mom it was her first time in Ramallah, she never went out of her house alone, always with her husband, parents or another member of the family!

When they were given appointments to continue with Adam, the father agreed to come for few appointments but because he works two jobs, he could not make it, so the PHCC team suggested that the mother come with the two kids for Adam to get the treatment. So she started to come all the way from Al Eizarieh “Jerusalem” to Ramallah, but with the two kids and her father-in-law, in a taxi. The taxi would wait until they finish with the treatment. Although the PHCC offers all kind of interventions for all needy children free, especially children with autism, yet, it was expensive for the family, the transportation and time consuming for the in–law. Adam’s mom was convinced by the PHCC team to come alone with the kids. After few times she started coming alone in a taxi. Then she was accompanied with one member of the PHCC to the main bus station, who showed her to use the bus, in order to save money! After two years of intervention she came with Adam to tell her story. She was so happy to become independent and to be able to travel between cities and cross check points on her own with two children! She could save some money and she was empowered.

PHCC’s team impression that this mother was empowered and became totally different person, she was so shy and not exposed, which helped her take good care of her child through his tough journey!

Adam was non- verbal till the age of 3 and used to scream and shout after midnight and whenever he was put to bed! That was so embarrassing especially with the neighbours!

Now Adam goes to a regular KG and is doing well.

He still needs behavioural therapy but his academic performance is very good. And his parents are so happy with his improvement and achievements.

Success Story 1

Ahmad’s parents first learned about the PHCC from a mother of a child with special needs who was served at the centre. Ahmad came to us when he was only three years and six months old. A special tailored-made plan was prepared immediately to meet Ahmad’s needs. After a detailed evaluation and diagnosis, Ahmad was diagnosed as a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder. In order to insure the development of Ahmad, an intensive rehabilitation plan that included Occupational therapy, behavioral and cognitive therapy, speech therapy, physical therapy and special education conducted by a well-trained team was carried. Ahmad is now 10 years old. His six and a half year intervention plan consisted of 4 visits per week to the PHCC, 2 school visits per month and 1 home visit per month, in addition to continuous psychosocial intervention sessions and training for the family and support for the mother, and unlimited phone calls for consultation as well as training and sensitization sessions for school teachers and headmaster. The total number of intervention hours is 1,482.

Ahmad comes from a village that is only 15 kilometers away from Ramallah. During his time at the PHCC, Ahmad made 624 trips from his home to the centre and back. It took him almost 3 hours to cross the checkpoints and get to the centre. This accumulates to 1,872 hours on the road!

Ahmad received 1,482 hours of therapy and wasted 1,872 hours on the road and checkpoints in 6,5 years!!

Ahmad is currently integrated into a regular school; he’s now in the 5^th grade, doing well, a happy child and has friends.

Arrogance & Stupidity of Power

To All Palestinian youngsters:
Don’t ever allow a” psychopath” security guy make your life miserable!

I wasn’t in the mood yet, after an overwhelming, painful trip and the harassment which was practiced against me at Ben Gurion Airport.

As I was honored at the first “Palestinian Day dedicated to Honor People with Disability and Professionals who serve them”. Which was held under the patronage of HE Dr. Salam Fayyad, in Ramallah. During the ceremony children with special needs were performing happily, dancing, singing and dreaming of a better future, to prove to the whole world that this Nation was born to live, love, succeed, celebrate and dream of a better future.

My story started at Ben Gurion Airport when I was travelling with my daughter on November 12^th 2010, British Airways, Tel Aviv- London Heathrow, flight number 0162.  As Jerusalemite Palestinians we can travel via the Airport while other West Bank Palestinians are not allowed. As usual the security measures are so annoying long and painful to any human being and not necessarily only for Palestinians! Yet I have no objection to the process itself, as I want to travel safely. The security check is usually carried out by young Israeli officers whom, from my experience differ one from the other, some do their job with as much as possible harassment and others, the opposite.

Therefore I’m always ready with alternative plans, with my favorite music and a good book to make my waiting time easier and less stressful. I always expect the worse; living under military occupation for so long and still feeling happy that your life has a meaning and not getting psychological distressed it’s in itself a success!

My daughter who’s a successful young professional was searched by another young female officer with high level of harassment! There was no need for me to hear her complaint from the other side of the searching area since hers and the officer’s body language was enough to show that there was a competition between two young women, the oppressed and the oppressor! My daughter was so angry about the way she was treated and complained to me verbally from far, which made the officer mad and brought her to ask her superior, a young male, to come to her aid to show this Palestinian young lady “his muscles!”.He said; “try me, if you don’t behave I’ll show you, you will not be able to travel” and kept challenging her and misbehaving, till my daughter was on the edge! Ironically who is misbehaving? The oppressed or the oppressor?

I was so angry watching my precious daughter being harassed; I expressed my feelings to the security officer who was searching me politely and reasonably. I finished earlier than my daughter although I had more luggage than she had! After searching all my belongings thoroughly and going through “body check”, which they call metallic check(?) I went to see why it took my daughter so long to go through the security check; the supervisor misbehaved with me and threatened me that he would recheck me if I continue to question and that he would not allow us to travel!! Although my intention was to ask “why are you torturing my daughter who’s your age although you are supposed to find a common language to coexist”, apparently I was completely mistaken to open up such a subject with a paranoid, miserable and complicated person, who only understood the language of power and war and not at all my peaceful civilized language and attitude!

I spoke to him in his mother tongue language therefore he became even more arrogant and proud of showing the “injustice” of the system as he expressed clearly, and he continued to delay our checking  process in order to bring us to miss the flight. I tried to comfort my daughter by telling her that the minute we are in the plane, she will be just fine and forget all about this painful experience. He followed us to the airlines counter and said that he is the happiest person on earth, out of no context! So I assured him that he is totally mistaken and that he is the most miserable and the most arrogant person that I’ve ever met in my entire life and that I feel sorry for his mother to have a son like him. He got mad as I confronted him with the reality, which escalated his harassment by taking away our passport and denying us boarding!

The scene was as such in the airport; the British Airways representative (Ms. Tal Pizanti) told me that because I spoke out and expressed my opinion I’m paying the price and that she can do nothing with the security and he’s going to call the police, so we agreed to wait for the police, who never showed up. We didn’t have our passports nor could we have our boarding passes! While waiting I started listing to my favorite music and reading from my I Pad and my daughter started playing with her I phone, and he was observing, till the police would come and we were sure that we missed the flight and started planning for alternatives. We waited for forty minutes then I called my Israeli lawyer and explained to her what was happening, meanwhile the officer who checked me filled out a complain about what had happened, the body language of most of young officers, who surrounded us wondering about what happened,  were in support of us, even some of them expressed their sympathy verbally. I kept talking to the “conscience” of those youngsters as a mother and as a believer in the human side of each individual and a human right activist, as a Palestinian who truly believes in coexistence on the basis of equality, diversity, respect and freedom, a Palestinian who will never give up on her principles to express her opinion and fight for a better future of the new generation.

Finally the Airline representative decided to issue our boarding passes and called for a special transportation for us to reach the gate.

Watching her trying her best to help and reading the faces of many Israeli young officers, who also tried genuinely to help us reach the gate a few minutes before takeoff, made me cry. I cried because I felt that there are Israelis who are different and with a live conscience.

I’m in the process of following him legally because on top of his misbehaviors he tried to “steal and hide” my permanent visa, which is considered as a “criminal act”! At the same time I’ve already sent a thank you letter to the Airline to acknowledge the help of their representative and got their reply.

I want to follow him legally, even if I fail in bringing justice, because of three reasons: I want  my daughters never to give up on their rights, I want these Israeli youngsters to think and for my psychological well being to feel my life still has a meaning and I shouldn’t allow him to continue behaving like this.

Yes, it might be a drop in the ocean, yet we should never give up our rights and we should never allow any one steal our dreams.

Jumana Odeh MD, MPH
Jerusalem – December, 2010

2008 Nobel Prize for Children

Medicine, to me, means “life” and “survival” of the other. Being a doctor, to me, bring the words: humane, caring, giving, protecting, feeling the pain of the other to mind. When your mission in life is the work you choose, your profession is your hobby,
When you believe in the work that you do with passion, you don’t expect a reward or acknowledgment or anything in return!

The relation with the children and the work is itself rewarding.
The feeling which overwhelms you each time you see those special children coming back to you with improvement & achievement, you feel that, in itself is enough!
When you build up a team & work together with harmony to compliment each other, this in itself is rewarding.
When you choose to work mainly with children with special needs, to give “the bad answers” to parents so they can stop their search for an answer to their suffering and the suffering of their child, you help them accept, love, and give to their disabled child in a society that stigmatizes disability, you have become victorious in overcoming stereotyping and non-acceptance of a reality.
When you work under very difficult circumstances, under military occupation, you feel that you are challenged to do more for your people, your society and your country – a people and a country that has suffered for so long.

This is what gives life a real meaning, you have it done – you have done what you decided to accomplish.
International recognition and a valuable award from a leading organization with passionate founders and leaders, helps you to not to feel alone in this world, but to feel part of a like-minded community!
This like-minded community gives you a feeling of belonging to membership in a group that speaks the same language and shares the same feelings, the same pain, the same success, the same frustration and same hopes.
This encourages one to continue hoping and encourages one to continue along the same path.

These were my true feelings when I was invited to join such a wonderful family, the family of World of Children.
We hope the “World of Children’s Camp” will give a loud and clear message: It is the right of all children, especially children with special needs, to live a happy life with dignity.

By: Jumana Odeh MD, MPH
Ramallah – Palestine
March 2009

Amal & The War on Gaza

Amal means Hope in Arabic. Amal is the name of a girl, the daughter of a friend, she also was my patient when I worked in Gaza.
I’m in a state of shock, helplessness, and hopelessness.
I have to call all my friends, colleagues and patients in Gaza, but what should I tell them?

Are they safe? Did they survive? How?

I call a friend and his daughter is on the phone, crying, shouting:
Are you aware of what’s going on here in Gaza? Do you have electricity to be able to watch the news about us? Did you ever see such a misery?!
Dozens of children have been killed and I am less than 2 hours away! As a doctor I have to watch the catastrophe of my people unfold on TV, like everyone else around the world — watching TV, crying non stop, trying to find answers for Amal!!

I call my friend who is a clinical psychologist. He describes what is going on with his own family: “You won’t believe it, we are so scared. I am so sad that I can’t even hide my fear.

Palestine, Ramallah, Al-Ersal Str. Sunrise Bld. 5th floor, No. 503
Tel / Fax 00972-2-2964482 P. O. Box 54963 Jerusalem,
Email: phcc99@palnet.com, www.phcc-pal.org

How can I help my children? As a clinician and a father I lost my credibility in front of my own children, I feel so helpless”.

“We all sleep stuck to each other in order to form one body. If we die we’ll die together! It’s so painful to feel the horror, as you loose interest to live! As if there’s no difference between life and death!” I’m crying.

I try to call another friend who’s a pediatrician working in a hospital: “What’s going on there?” His voice comes through the phone sad & quiet: “Difficult to explain. I’ve never imagined one would live to witness such a savage way of killing children”

They are planting bullets in the hearts of little Gaza children — hatred, revenge, an attitude of “never forgiveness” in the hearts of millions of Arab children world wide! What would Israeli leaders tell the new generation about their aggression against Palestinian children? What would they tell their own children? How are they going to find excuses? Is there any excuse to kill children? What is their excuse?

“Did you see the little girl on TV sticking to the rescuer’s arms, not allowing him to leave her because she doesn’t feel safe? Will she feel safe one day? I will never forget another little boy brought to the emergency room. I will never forget his deep, loud cry: ”Mama”. I remember his tears, his eyes wondering, as if to say: “What did I do? Why?” I wish that Israeli leaders could hear this cry! How would they feel?

Do Israeli leaders know how it feels when a mother runs to hospitals searching for a husband or a son or a daughter? Is he/she, injured, alive, going to survive? Is she going to forget or forgive? How can she forget? How can she forgive?

Do political leaders know how it feels for a doctor to find and treat an injured baby with no family around, with no identity?

Who is the winner in this crazy, senseless war?

The killing, shelling, slaughtering, the disabling of women & children continues! What do they expect, in return?

It is a historically irreversible crime Israel is committing against its own nation!

What did Israel achieve in sixty years — a militarized state with no respect for any living human being, no values, no moral, no conscience, no principles, no boundaries, no manners! How will Israel survive?

As a mother, as a human being, as a woman with a humanitarian mission for our children to dream, forgive, love and to live in peace and dignity, how am I going to continue with my mission for a better future for all Palestinian children and the children of the world? How am I going to implement a culture of peace, forgiveness, acceptance of the other, after this systematic killing of Palestinian children? I have just joined the World of Children’s honoree to become one of eight change makers, who’s remarkable work on the ground work has significantly improved children’s lives! I have just received an International Award, the “CHILDREN’S NOBEL PRIZE®”.

How can I continue with the vision, the mission that I was honored for!??

It’s a humanitarian catastrophe against Palestinian children in Gaza. What the Israelis have done is an act of aggression against all children of the world. They have no excuse! Children are children everywhere.

Amal continued to call, to express her feelings and to tell me her stories and events she has witnessed: “We are so frightened, we can’t sleep day and night. They keep shelling everywhere and from everywhere. My friends ran away from their home to the UNRWA school and the next day it was also shelled. There was killing everywhere. There was no safe place, not even our moms’ bosoms. My friends’ house was bombed and they stayed for hours stuck to the body of their mom — not moving, not breathing from terror, only to discover later on that their mom was dead.”

What should we tell these children? How can we explain to them what has happened and why?

Dear Amal: I have no answers for your questions. I am also wondering — did the Israeli leaders not think of the moral and political consequences? Did they think of the emotions of the masses in the streets of the whole world? Did they think of the impact of this “anti human, anti-civilization, ugly, crazy war? Did they think of the impact on the future of Israeli children? Did they think of the impact on the Palestinian children? Did they think of the impact on children around the world?

Dear Amal, Dear Children of the World: What Israel did and is continuing to do is immoral and outrageous. I was on the edge of loosing the most precious value I’ve always had — LOVE, HOPE, FORGIVENESS! This horrible experience taught me that they can steal our land, they can kill our children, they can kill our loved ones, they can destroy our homes, clinics, mosques, churches, schools, hospitals, and they can defeat our political leaders. Yet they can’t and will never be able to steal our dreams and our hopes!

Dear Amal, keep up your dreams!
One day a just peace will come!

By: Jumana Odeh MD, MPH
Ramallah – Palestine
March 2009

It’s just not fair!

“Vova go back to your Homeland.”

The plane was full of Russian immigrants, a young Russian shy guy sat next to me. He didn’t move, he almost didn’t breath! It seems, it’s his first experience in the KLM flight from Amsterdam to Tel Aviv, or may be it’s a new world for him? He wanted to thank the stewardess when she offered him a drink, but he said: spa… and didn’t dare to finish the “spasiba”, thanks in Russian! So I volunteered to finish it for him!! After that the conversation started. Actually I’ve started, I broke the barriers, the silence, the uncertainty. He’s just 18 years old, he’s coming to Israel not knowing where does it exist on the map! He doesn’t know how much Jewish he is?!. He was told that his great- great- grandmother might’ve been Jewish?! He knows no other language except Russian, which he’s even shy to use! He has no career yet! He doesn’t know, who he is ?! He doesn’t know what he’s going to do in Israel! Yet, he’s coming to Israel!

Vova is my daughter’s age, whom I called off my conference in Holland to attend her graduation ceremony from the high school. This graduation that I was patiently, silently waiting for the last eighteen years! Eighteen years I was investing in my daughter for her education, health, safety and well- being. Just few days ago I wasn’t certain if this day would come or not, since we all were under strict curfew in Ramallh for almost a month, we were shelled day and night, we were put under house arrest without knowing when this horrible situation will be ended!?. Dana was so worried about her future, final international exams, and success! We all were so worried, sad, helpless, uncertain of what would happen tomorrow? Even for a while, we were thinking that we might all die! Who could expect what Sharon is doing? What happened in Jenin and Nablus could happen in Ramallah too! Who would guarantee otherwise?! And tomorrow Dana is graduating after she successfully finished her exams, even she was offered a scholarship to study in the United States (from her beloved Quaker school “Friends School”, which she went to for a long 14 years).

But, why do I have such a bitter feeling, I should be so happy ! What did this Russian boy did to me? Why don’t I accept him? Is it because he’s coming to change the demography of my country! Why don’t I have the same feeling, that I have had, few days ago when I met with few Israeli X- soldiers in Jerusalem after the ABC night line program, and we both were attending. That day, the young X- soldiers told me about their sad experience in the army in Gaza, they were so bitter about that experience, they believe that what their government is doing to the Palestinians is a war crime, they were satisfied that at least they didn’t kill, they sadly admitted that they are few, yet they feel that they have to speak out, we have had a very constructive conversation, where we accepted each other. Why did I have that peaceful, nice feeling towards those kids, especially when one of them asked my permission to call me mom! I felt him so close, with no barriers, what so ever, I felt how human we can be, I could see only the human, young, peaceful spirit in those Israeli youngsters. I felt that I’m agreeing with my own children, that we Palestinians and Israelis deserve to live in peace and dignity next to each other, no matter what!!

Why can’t I accept this Vova? I think I certainly know why. I’m sure of my feelings. I should tell it to him.

You know Vova, it’s not fair, that you are coming to my country, knowing nothing about this land, this culture, the language of this part of the world, and tomorrow you’ll be the one who has the right to live on my own land, drinking my daughter’s water, confiscating my own garden, shelling my house, destroying my daughters school, and I’ll be with my daughter, the victims of your aggression. Tomorrow you might become a soldier who might kill my precious daughter Dana, under any name or any color, tomorrow you might serve at a check point where you might prevent me from reaching my patients! Tomorrow Vova you will become usurp, and you will not be able to understand nor explain why?

Dear Vova, I don’t think that it’s fair nor just, you better go back home to your HOMELAND, as we say in Russian: “Vezde chorosho, no doma luocheh”,
”No Place like HOME” !

Jumana Odeh, MD, MPH
Ramallah – May, 2002
Palestinian Happy Child Centre – Director
Email: phcc99@palnet.com

Omar!

“Doctor, please help, help my son. There’s no time left, as the curfew will be imposed again in half an hour. I’m at the checkpoint north of Ramallah, where Omar is having convulsions and I don’t know what to do? The soldiers aren’t allowing us into Ramallah”

Oh God, what should I do? Where should I start? What should I do first, get the medicine for other children, go immediately to get the medicine for Omar, or get the medicine for my elderly aunt who is ill?

No, I must go and see Omar first. But we don’t have his medication;  we already gave all we had to our children in Ramallah. To save time we even left some with the butcher, the grocer and some relatives, as the curfew was only lifted for two hours after 12 days of total closure.

I’m on another checkpoint south of Ramallah trying to reach the pharmacy to get the medication,

An Israeli soldier: “ It’s forbidden, you can’t cross”.
“But I’m a doctor and I need to get to that pharmacy just over there  to pick up medicine for my patients”
 “No, you’re not allowed, it’s closed”
“O.K. I’ll leave my car here and walk and you can keep my I.D with you till I come back”
“No, you can’t…”
“Yes, I can, and I will. Who’s the officer here?”
“I’m the officer, what’s going on here? “
“ Ani rufat yeladim”, (Hebrew). I’m a pediatrician, and I need to pick up medicine for my sick children from that pharmacy nearby and this soldier can’t understand how urgent this is for the children and for me? He doesn’t want to listen to the language of humanity, he just listens to the language of war and aggression?”
“I have to go”.   Giving the officer my I.D, I walked towards the pharmacy!
No comments!
As I came back carrying a very big box, the officer comes towards me to help!
“No thanks, I don’t need your help. I can manage, but teach your soldiers how to behave.  Would you like to be treated as you treat us?
“Of course not”.
“Would you like to see a child having convulsions and being denied medical help?”
“Of course not”.
“OK, have a nice day”.
“You too.”

I rush to see Omar and call his father:

“I’m coming, I’m on my way, don’t worry, he’ll be OK, how’s he doing?”
“He’s fine now.  No more fits, we’ll be waiting for you near the big tank, there are a few jeeps and a tank here at the check point.”

I jump out of my car to look at Omar. Poor kid, he looks so tired. As soon as he saw me, he ran towards me.

“Doctor, I felt down on the ground. I don’t want to fall down again, no I don’t want to!” (Omar was describing his epileptic seizures)

The father, with eyes brimming with tears. “Doctor, you remember don’t you that Omar has had no convulsions for more than six months. You were so pleased that he was responding to the treatment. But three days ago we ran out of the medicine and he started having bad convulsions and we could do nothing”

“But I told you to call me or try to get more medicine at least three days before it runs out”.
“Yes doctor, I tried  to get to Ramallah three times, but each time the soldiers wouldn’t allow me in. That’s why I brought Omar with me thinking that they might be sympathetic to a child. But as you see they weren’t”.
“Goodbye Omar, goodbye sweetie. Don’t worry, I won’t allow this to happen to you again. You’ll be just fine”

On my way back, I thought to myself what a promise!  Would I be able to keep it? The soldiers in the Israeli military jeep are already shouting that it’s curfew.  I’m fifteen minutes late and just near my house. As I try to get into my house drive way, one soldier took a sound bomb from the jeep and threw it next to my car. I was lucky that I saw him, so I wasn’t so frightened!

Thinking over what has happened today, I feel so frustrated. I feel so sad about the whole situation in my country. Doctors all over the world have the right to work in dignity, except for those living under military occupation.

The other day Omar’s father came to pick up the medication. As he came into my office, he heard me on the phone explaining and apologizing to the mother of a child from a village near Jinin that we were short of a particular medication.  The next day Omar’s father came back having again made the long journey from his village, which involved crossing five checkpoints. He had come to return some of the medicine he had got from us, because he had found out that the Ministry of Health clinic in his village was able to get the medicine he needed. He told me “I don’t want anyone to have to suffer the way I did with my child. Please give this medicine to the child from Jinin”

Today Omar no longer has seizures and we are in the process of gradually stopping his medication. Soon he will stop taking all anti- epileptic drugs. Naturally his father and the whole family will be very happy.

As for me, I will definitely be happy for Omar and his family, I’ll be happy for my mission and myself. Moreover I’ll never forget Omar father’s humanitarian stand and his compassion for other children.

Don’t you think that such a Nation deserves to live in freedom and dignity?

By: Jumana Odeh MD, MPH
Director of PHCC
Ramallah – April 2002
Email: phcc99@planet.com

Tears of All Mothers Are Equally Salty…

I will never forget the voice of the mother of a young martyr, as she told us of the death of her son. It was just after sunset when she noticed his absence. He was usually around by that time. She went racing out, with terror in her eyes, her shaky voice pleading with the rocks to tell her about her child. A few minutes later, his friends came in with the terrible news of the loss of her son. She was and is a Palestinian mother.

My mother in law lost Osama, her 23 year-old son, in Lebanon in 1982. He was killed by an Israeli sniper. Since then, each time I saw her, I wished that she could overcome her grief. Every day I was thinking that time would help her to forget, as time does in many others of life’s events. She continued to give as much love as she could to our kids: there is in our culture a saying that “dearer than a son or a daughter is their son or daughter”. But she never forgot her son. Yes, she had nine other children, but she continued saying that each child has a special place in the heart of the mother and this place can never be filled by any other person or thing.

She tried to cope with her grieving until the last moment of her life. In 1990, she was overcome by a tear gas grenade thrown by Israeli soldiers in her village close to Jerusalem. It exploded near her bedroom window “by mistake”, as the IDF explained after her death. With her serious heart condition, she succumbed to the heavy fumes. Worst of all, she died with deep pain in her heart for the loss of her son. She too was born Palestinian and died Palestinian.

Palestinian mothers remember the date of birth, weight at birth, first step, and first word of each and every one of their children. Even if a mother has several children and even if she is illiterate, she will remember all of the details. We are eight brothers and sisters. My mother kept a strand of hair from our first haircut. I still think of how she gave me my file when I left home. In it I found a prescription from a pediatrician when I was eight months old. Later on I worked with him when I became a doctor. I showed him his 25 year-old prescription. My mother is Palestinian.

From my own 18 years of experience with mothers all over the West Bank and Gaza I have always gotten the impression that they are very aware of their children’s health and well-being, no matter how many they have. And as a pediatrician I have learned a great deal from mothers that medical schools can’t teach us, issues related to our culture and our attitudes.

I experienced motherhood when I gave birth to my first daughter by caesarian section, as many mothers do all over the world. Sometimes we are scared to give birth, especially for the first baby. I still remember when Dana was put in another room with other newborn babies and at night I jumped from my bed as I heard her crying. I recognized her voice among seven other babies’ voices.

We Palestinian mothers breastfeed our babies as do many mothers all over the world. The UNICEF study showed that 97% of us breastfeed their babies. I remember helping mothers to give birth in many parts of this globe, of different ethnic groups, different colors, different cultures, and different religions. My second daughter Tala was born normally. But what I remember most clearly is that all of us had the same pain and the same joy. Sometimes we even die while giving birth, as is the case is other developing countries. Maternal mortality rate in Palestine is still high. I will never forget what once happened when I was flying back home with my 4 year-old daughter Dana, in a charter flight. She was the only child, along with Daniella, an Israeli girl of almost the same age. Something seemed to have gone wrong with the airplane, and we all became as one family in the face of death. Dana and I were the only Palestinians. When we landed at the Tel Aviv airport, Dana and Daniella stuck together like sisters. After having gone through passport control, we were stopped by security as all Palestinians invariably are. Both children made a loud fuss, and they were allowed to pass together, just as they had passed through the experience of possible death together.

I have an American friend, a German, a Russian and another French friend. We are all about the same age, exercise the same profession, and have children about the same age. The other day, when Israeli helicopters shelled Ramallah, Beit Jala and Beit Sahour, all of us experienced the same quickened heartbeats and elevated blood pressure. Most of all, we were scared that our children would be hurt. Biologically, we are all the same, but some people think that I am less human than other mothers, just because I am Palestinian.

Studies bearing on Palestinian mothers show that, like other members of the community, they draw on various ideologies, identities, and systems of meaning to make sense of who and what they are, particularly during times of crisis. The cultural and political reality of Palestinians under prolonged occupation and exposure to various kinds of political violence has fostered a search for solace from their harsh conditions and provided them with strength and meaning through political and religious beliefs.

In this context, ‘martyrdom’ is acknowledged as necessary suffering in their legitimate political struggle; their drive to go on and to maintain their national resistance is fueled by a religious belief in jihad and ‘shahadah’ or martyrdom.

Why do some people claim that we throw our children into the streets to be killed? Do we love our children less because we want them to live a happy life in a free country? These types of statements are, I believe, racist, because they picture us as sub-human or inhuman.

Rather than accusing Palestinian mothers of not being mothers, I think those people should consider the fact that Israel is the only country that, in the twenty-first century, is still occupying the land of another people. And that 99% of all youth who are participating in the struggle against the Israeli occupiers were born in the last 33 years, that is to say, under occupation. 100% are of the generation of the first Intifada. The majority of them have witnessed all of the forms taken by the occupiers’ aggression, 42% of them witnessed beating of their fathers before their eyes, 92% of them were exposed to tear gas, 85% witnessed night raids, 19% were detained and 23% were injured.

Studies on Palestinian children have showed that they have a positive self concept and high self-esteem. They likewise have a limited understanding of the consequence of death, and of living in a dangerous situation. What else could be expected from a generation of war?

We don’t want to see our children suffering, we would prefer to channel all the anger, fear and hatred into something constructive rather than damaging. But we insist on the right of our children to live in dignity, in a free country. Who can deny us this right?

This brings to my mind what happened to my younger child, Tala. Despite the difficult situation through which we are going, she was having a good time preparing popcorn to sell at a school function, the so-called ‘white gifts ceremony’. Suddenly, Israeli settlers or soldiers began shelling the neighborhood. She looked up at me and said: “This is no joke! They are shooting with 800 mm and not 500 mm this time”. Like other Palestinian children, she has begun to differentiate between the sound of different shells and bullets!

Unfortunately Israelis are insisting on teaching our children the language of war instead of peace!

By: Jumana Odeh MD, MPH – Christmas 2000
Director of The Palestinian Happy Child Center.
Al Quds University – Faculty of Medicine,& School of Public Health.
Email: phcc99@palnet.com