There is a growing effort to bring injured Palestinian children from Gaza to Canada for treatment, but it appears the federal government will not clear the way for that to happen. Doctors and several hospitals in the large province of Ontario are promoting the initiative. The premier of the province approves and there are indications there would be cooperation from Israeli and Palestinian authorities.
The Canadian government, however, looks like it will not comply. A spokesman for the foreign affairs minister sent the following in an email: “Those who want their support to have the greatest impact must recognize the importance of ensuring innocent victims receive the medical support they need close to their families and loved ones, and that includes avoiding the medical risks and dangers of being transported overseas.”
Adam Hodge added, “”Make no mistake: There is only one party responsible for the suffering of the Palestinian people, and that is the international terrorist group Hamas,” echoing the current government’s hardline position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
‘We are your children’
Palestinian authorities report 2,979 children have been injured. The United Nations reports that 459 children were killed. Several hospitals in Gaza were hit by Israeli forces and are severely limited in the care they can offer. The secretary-general of the United Nations has called the hospitals “disaster zones.”
ListenA Palestinian doctor who lost his own three daughters and a niece to Israeli shelling in 2009 spearheaded the initiative to bring some of the injured children to Canada for treatment, children who, in his words, “are in pain, who are suffering, crying, calling (to) the world, ‘give us a hand, give us hope, heal our wounds. We are your children. See us in your children.’”
Izzeldin Abuelaish is now an associate professor at the University of Toronto and he is the author of a book entitled I Shall Not Hate. One of his daughters wanted to be a pediatrician, another, a journalist who, he says, hoped “to give voice to the voiceless” Palestinians.
‘Girls armed with love, with hope’
“I lost my daughters, but I didn’t lose hope in this world,” he says. “It has strengthened my energy, my determination not to give up…
“I want to keep them alive. I want to achieve and fulfill the plans and the dreams of my daughters who were killed for nothing they did. They were girls armed with love, with hope, with plans.”
TEXT OF THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT RESPONSE ON BRINGING INJURED CHILDREN FROM GAZA TO CANADA FOR TREATMENT:
“We applaud the humanitarian instincts of those who want to assist victims of Hamas, and we are focused on ensuring that those humanitarian instincts achieve the greatest impact.
Those who want their support to have the greatest impact must recognize the importance of ensuring innocent victims receive the medical support they need close to their families and loved ones, and that includes avoiding the medical risks and dangers of being transported overseas.
Our Government will continue to support the Palestinian people as they continue to suffer under this ruthless terrorist organization, Hamas.
Make no mistake, there is only one party responsible for the suffering of the Palestinian people, and that is the international terrorist group Hamas.
Hamas’ reckless aggression continues to put Palestinian lives at risk by impeding the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
Background:
Our Government is exploring options with international partners and stakeholders on how best to deploy Canadian medical expertise, financing, and materiel to support victims of Hamas on the ground, and create sustainable medical solutions in the region. This includes ensuring greater capacity at hospitals in Gaza – as well as Jordan and Israel – that can treat the wounded. This includes the field hospital at the Erez crossing, which is currently being under-utilized, as well as others in the region. It also includes providing ways for doctors wishing to treat those injured in the conflict – Israeli and Palestinian alike – to provide their services in hospitals abroad, in a way that would allow them to grow local medical capacity there, transfer their medical expertise to the local population, and help injured innocents avoid the medical risks and dangers of being transported overseas.
Best regards,
Adam Hodge
Spokesperson for John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs
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