I'm presenting this diary in keeping with the Kossack Gaza ACTION spirit that was established so well earlier by droogie6655321 with assistance from Addison (and further input from dansk47, Vacationland and Something the Dog Said).
Do these people look like terrorists to you?
A young victim of Israeli shelling. (Eman Mohammed courtesy of EI).
Palestinian children attend funeral processions for victims of Israeli missile strikes in Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, 28 December 2008. (Hatem Omar/MaanImages courtesy of EI)
(Note: droogie wrote a diary that did not "take sides" in the current crisis. I'm sure my own point of view is entirely apparent in the following - I just can't edit it out. But please, whatever your outlook, consider making a donation to a children's charity of your choice. These are innocent victims, no matter on whichever side they may find themselves. Check the droogie diary, linked above, for other charitable giving options.)
I've been filled with an awful sense of helplessness since the new violence started in Gaza; perhaps you have too. So this morning I decided to visit a familiar site that until just recently, was being blogged directly from Gaza: From Gaza, With Love. The blogger is Dr. Mona El-Farra, a Palestinian physician who works with the Red Crescent and various other humanitarian organizations in Gaza (she is not associated with Hamas), especially those that provide aid to children.
I've been reading Mona's posts for several years; they've always provided a different view of the conflict in the middle east, the view of a person who is directly involved, who is living what to us here in the U.S. too often can seem an abstraction. But Mona's posts bring the situation into intense and painful focus. Try reading some of the archived posts, but I want to warn you, they can break your heart.
The scene of an Israeli missile strike in Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, 28 December 2008. (Hatem Omar/MaanImages, Courtesy of EI)
In her post today, Mona requests that we all contact the Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA) immediately and make a donation to assist with a delivery of medical supplies and food that she's arranging, in concert with the World Health Organization, to deliver to Gaza. I'm passing the information from Mona's blog along to you Kossack's, along with a request for your help.
Here's Mona's post:
Emergency for Gaza -contact MECA IMMEDIATELY
Dr.Mona El-Farra is flying to Cairo on Saturday to oversee the transportation from Egypt to Gaza of 5 tonnes
of essential medical relief . The consignment was to be taken by boats of the Free Gaza campaign, which can take
up to one tonne per boat. But after an Israeli gunboat rammed and damaged one such relief boat in international waters earlier this week alternative means had to be found. The World Health Organisation is helping to organise this emergency relief.
The consignment is taking anaesthetic, orthopaedic surgery equipment for adults and children, pain killers as well as milk powder and general medication. These will be distributed through the Red Crescent Society to hospitals and medical centres. The consignment is funded by Middle East Children’s Alliance and by a variety of organisations in US, Europe and Britain, including the Liverpool Friends of Palestine.
Once the emergency is over, Dr.El-Farra hopes to continue a project to introduce water purification into Gaza schools,
to provide drinking water for children. This has the support of Middle East Children's Alliance but has had to be suspended due to the Israeli bombing of Gaza. if you like to help please contact mecaforpeace.org
(You can also access the MECA site from the right-hand sidebar on the From Gaza, With Love blog.)
At first, I wasn't certain whether our country allows us as citizens to donate to this charity and even now I can't absolutely guarantee it. But, thanks to a creepy Islamophobic site that's trying to get MECA's charity status yanked, I was able to reassure myself that they're not on the verbotten list. MECA has offices here in the U.S. (in Berkeley, CA) and clearly files the proper 501(c)(3) paperwork. Many of the activities that obdurman complains about are ones that I think the average Kossack would applaud.
It should be noted that MECA is associated with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). I found that out again courtesy of that islamophobic site (thanks again for the helpful information, omdurman.org!). ISM is the organization which sponsored Rachel Corrie's trip to Palestine, but there are some who find the organization too far to the left. So if you've got qualms about ISM, perhaps you'll want to find another way to help. Otherwise, if you care about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, it's worth giving it a try, isn't it?
For a direct link to the MECA donation page, Click Here.
All spent out after the holidays and can't donate? Here's a list of demonstrations against the Gaza invasion that will take place all over the country (sorry that some of these are already expired, but there are still quite a few on the list that are still to occur).
Thank you, Kossacks!
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For the Electronic Intifada (EI) articles originally associated with the photographs in this diary, click here, here and
Click here.