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Interview with
Mustapha Barghouti
by
The Palestine Report
Following is an interview
with Mr. Mustapha Barghouti, head of Palestinian Medical Relief Services,
on the condition of the Palestinian health sector after eight months of
Aqsa Intifada, conducted by Palestine Report intern and Birzeit University
student Masada Othman.
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What are the problems that the
health sector is facing during the Aqsa Intifada?
The biggest problem is the Israeli
violence practiced against the Palestinians. The vast number of
injuries in such a short period has put the medical sector in a
state of emergency. Evidence of this is that in the past seven
months .5 percent of the population have been injured or killed.
This is a huge number given that the population of Palestine [West
Bank and Gaza Strip] is 3.1 million.
The number of injured totals 15,000
and there are 450 martyrs. This is a very high number and puts the
medical sector in a state of emergency because tremendous resources
are needed to deal with this number of injuries.
Also, the ban on freedom [of movement]
and the restrictions on medical and health teams, the closure of the
territories and the transformation of the West Bank and Gaza into 64
separate sections has been a blow to the health sector. People are not
able to reach hospitals, especially those in rural regions where 70
percent of the population lives. There have been a number of martyrs
that died at the sand hill barricades set up by the occupation. Some
people have died of heart attacks and others died during childbirth.
There have also been children who passed away before being able to
reach the hospital.
In addition, the medical teams that
provide health care are not allowed to move freely. They cant
always get to villages to provide services such as vaccinations and
maternity care.
The siege imposed between the Gaza Strip
and the West Bank and between the West Bank and Jerusalem and between
cities and villages has destroyed any possibility for a comprehensive
system. This is done purposely by the Israelis, their goal being to
paralyze health, educational, agricultural and economic services.
Can you tell us a bit about the
emergency plan that you formulated at the beginning of the Intifada?
There is cooperation between private
and government institutions and the Ministry of Health and United
Nations Relief Works Agency in the field. Some institutions, such as
the Medical Relief Services, made prior plans for emergencies.
Before the Intifada, we trained a first aid team of 11,500
paramedics. These people did an excellent job during the Intifada.
They were sent to villages and checkpoints to administer first aid.
These training courses are still going on; 5,700 paramedics have
been graduated during the Intifada. We also set up mobile clinics.
We set up seven mobile emergency rooms that focus on providing free
health services in besieged, poor or remote areas.
Is there a shortage in
medicines?
The problem is that we are not
able to bring medicines into besieged areas. There is also a shortage in
some important medicines.
What about the aid offered by
Arab countries?
The amount of aid is much too little
in comparison with the needs. Most of the aid is presented to the
Ministry of Health. Some is given to private health institutions and
sometimes the aid is provided in a certain form medicine,
medical equipment or in the form of a project that is adopted by a
certain party, such as the project for the rehabilitation of the
disabled. We project that the number of disabled persons will reach
15,000 to 20,000 in the course of the Aqsa Intifada.
At present, where are most of
the injuries located on the body? Given that at the start of the
Intifada, injuries were mostly in the upper body. Has there been a
change?
There really hasnt been any change
in the pattern. The Israeli strikes are directed towards the upper
parts of the body, aimed to kill. Ninety-nine percent of those
killed were hit in the upper parts of the body and only one percent
in the lower parts. Seventy percent of those wounded were shot in
the upper parts of the body while 30 percent were hit in the lower
parts.
What kind of weapons are being
used in terms of their modernity and dangers?
First, there is the shelling with bombs.
This turns a person hit into fragments, such as what happened with the
martyr Naim Badran. Second there are 500 and 800- millimeter bullets.
These are used in a very malicious way. They are what you call
"soft-nosed." They enter the body and then explode into
fragments without breaking the bone. The result of the explosion is
that many internal organs are destroyed. They usually hit the
intestines, the lungs and the liver. Then they use [rubber-coated
metal] bullets, which are very dangerous if they hit the head. They
are very heavy. Four hundred people have lost their sight because of
them. If they enter the brain, they cannot be extracted because that
would mean causing damage to the brain.
Did you bring in specialized
doctors to help you in dealing with injuries caused by these new
weapons?
Our medical qualifications are very
high. Everyone agrees on the mastery of the Palestinian surgeon and
the abilities of our ambulance teams. They have gained lots of
experience and have overcome the mistakes and shortcomings that they
faced during the first Intifada. Despite their skill, it is difficult
for any surgeon in the world to handle the dangerous Israeli weapons
that target the bodies of our children.
We did bring in doctors from Sweden,
Germany and other countries. But European support now is much less
than in the first Intifada.
Are there any statistics on the
losses incurred by the health sector?
From the Medical Relief Services, 45
paramedics were wounded, from the Red Crescent, 70 employees were
wounded and four doctors and nurses were killed. In addition, 57
ambulances were subjected to gunfire.
What about medicine from the Arab
countries. Do the Israelis obstruct their entering the territories?
A large portion of this aid is being
held in Jordan. Also much of the medicines have spoiled because of the
high temperatures they have been exposed to. Some aid was held for
over four months before being distributed in Jordan.
Source:
by courtesy & 2001 The Palestine Report
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