Medical Aid Delegation to Gaza
We recently received this e-mail from Lora Gordon, an activist now living in Chicago who spent time in Rafah and Gaza about six years ago, around the time of Rachel Corrie’s death. Lora visited Madison and spoke on the first anniversary of Rachel’s death at the Madison premiere of “The Killing Zone” about the murders of Rachel, Tom Hurndall and journalist James Miller.
Lora is planning to return to Gaza and plans to work for a few weeks with our partner in Rafah, the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights.
Please consider if you can help defray the costs of her trip. Instructions for that are below. They are also taking donations for water purifiers.
Thanks,
Barb O.
Family and friends,
So here goes. On March 1, I will join a medical aid delegation to the Gaza Strip. After completing the two-week delegation, I will stay on for an additional 4-6 weeks to work with the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights. I’m writing in hopes of your emotional, political, and of course, financial, support.
While most people in Gaza generally seem to live by miracles, the situation has, as you know, become particularly urgent in the wake of Israel’s December-January 22-day bombing campaign, which left 1,300 dead, about a third of whom were children. Cell phone towers, schools and universities, hospitals, UN buildings, and mental health centers were targeted.
Gaza is now once again under siege. Journalists and relief workers seeking entry to Gaza have been denied.
I’m joining a team of physicians, surgeons, mental health professionals, social workers and journalists, who aim to break the siege to deliver needed supplies. Our delegation is being coordinated by scholars, journalists, and community organizers in Cleveland and Gaza. With the support of the Arab-American Medical Association and contacts inside Gaza, we feel extremely hopeful about the success of the delegation.
Our delegation will:
– Deliver water purifiers to hospitals and schools
– Assess medical and mental health needs in Gaza
– Assess infrastructural damage and rebuilding efforts for Gaza
– Facilitate medical and mental health work teams
– Facilitate school supplies shipments and deliveries
– Help Coordinate home rebuilding teams
The cost of the delegation is approximately $1500 per delegate, and an additional $500 each for water purifiers our Gaza contacts have requested. Please make your donations at my blog. Go to the “Donate” PayPal button at the top and follow the prompts. Checks can be written to Janice Gordon with “Gaza Delegation” in the Memo, and mailed to 250 South Homewood Avenue/Pittsburgh, PA 15208 (Thanks, Mom!). Chicago dwellers – I’ll be hosting a good-bye/fundraising party at a date and location TBA soon.
Now on a more personal note. As most of you know, I spent a year in Gaza in 2003-4, and it turned my world, outlook, and priorities upside-down, then distilled and clarified them, then spit me out a better person. So I’m very excited to finally return after 5 years. I will send updates as I did in the past – hopefully new and improved. I will also spend a lot of time working on the book that I began years ago, and that I am finally updating to the present to finish and get out the door.
Also, as I mentioned, I plan to work with the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, a long-standing dream of mine. Al-Mezan is staffed by some of the most positive people I know, who keep their heads firmly connected to their bodies at all times regardless of the day’s dire situation and tirelessly document, document, document.
I’ll be posting my updates to my blog.
Thank you for everything.
Lora
Lora Gordon
snippy.blogsome.com
twitter.com/Lora_Gordon
