Alison Barrett writes:
“I’m speechless. How many more women and children will lose their lives before a ceasefire? The horror that civilians in Gaza are enduring must end.”
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, tweeted this comment on 10 August following news of yet another Israeli military attack killing dozens of civilians, including children.
On 12 August, the head of the United Nations, António Guterres, issued a statement condemning the continued loss of life in Gaza, “as we witness yet another devastating strike by Israel on the Al-Taba’een school in Gaza City, sheltering hundreds of displaced Palestinian families, with scores of fatalities, amidst continued horror, displacement, and suffering in Gaza”.
Meanwhile, in Australia, a group of health workers is encouraging colleagues to speak up for the people of Gaza.
Health Workers for Palestine groups across Australia have urged medical and health professional bodies and workplaces to publicly condemn Israel’s war crimes on Gaza.
“Advocacy is part of healthcare,” Dr Elia Mohamed, a GP in Adelaide and one of the core coordinators for Health Workers for Palestine in Adelaide told Croakey.
“Israel’s attacks on hospitals and healthcare workers are uniquely iniquitous, and a war crime, and therefore, we have a responsibility to call it out”, she said.
Boycott and divestment
Last month, Health Workers for Palestine – which has groups in every Australian state and territory – issued a statement calling for medical and health professionals to apply an academic boycott against individuals and institutions supporting Israel – including research partnerships, disclose and divest any collaboration or investment supporting Israel’s military capabilities and protect health workers from anti-Palestinian racism.
More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israeli military action in Gaza since the 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel, according to a BBC report on 15 August. This is equivalent to about 1.7 percent of the 2.3 million population of the territory.
According to Mohamed, last month’s statement marks a new direction for the group, which prior to that was focused on raising public awareness of the issue and, for the Adelaide group, raising funds for Palestinian asylum seekers who have arrived in South Australia since November 2023.
Their advocacy efforts to date include collaborating with Paediatricians Without Borders and Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand Doctors for Palestine on open letters and petitions to politicians and health and medical organisations.
Mohamed said they have either received no response, or when a response has been received, it has been either an automated response, or a generic one not addressing the issue. “It feels like no one’s got that courage to just step up and do what’s obviously right,” she said.
While frustrated at the lack of engagement from health and medical peak bodies on the matter, they are “heartened by the increasing number of colleagues and peers who have taken an interest in the issue”.
Health Workers for Palestine also call for the Australian Government to demand an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire, apply diplomatic and economic sanctions on Israel and recognise a sovereign State of Palestine – joining the 146 countries who already do.
In coming months, the group has requested to meet with SA Health and Minister for Health Chris Picton and are collating evidence of anti-Palestinian racism at the workplace amongst healthcare workers in South Australia.
They are also contacting South Australian medical institutions, including the state’s public hospitals, to demand that they disclose pharmaceuticals, medical technology and equipment, research, and training that have Israeli links, to then encourage them to divest from these partnerships.
“We have a list of pharmaceuticals which we request that our medical institutions and colleagues boycott, particularly when there are generic or other brand alternatives available.” Mohamed said.
Consisting of GPs and healthcare workers of all professions, the group formed in December 2023 to increase public awareness of the situation in Gaza. Mohamed told Croakey it is an informal organisation with no official membership. Vigils are attended by 70 to 100 people, with larger numbers attending fundraising events.
Care for refugees
Meanwhile, Dr Helen Haines, the Independent Member for Indi, has raised concerns about the impact of Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s comments about people fleeing Gaza, suggesting they may be terrorists or a security risk.
“What we’re dealing with here is one of the most appalling, tragic, catastrophic human disasters that we’ve seen in modern history,” she told ABC TV.
“These are real people. We’ve seen, I think, 2,900 odd visas that have been approved for, for women and children, families fleeing a disaster zone in Gaza – these people have come into our country.
“We need to make sure that, in the language that’s used in the House of Representatives and indeed the language that Mr Dutton uses in his media appearances does not demonise these already traumatised people.
“We want to have a socially cohesive nation for refugees who are fleeing the catastrophic human disaster that is Gaza. We don’t, in any way, want to make the lives of those people any more miserable than what they are.”
In a statement today, Amnesty International Australia said the Australian Government’s rejection of over 7,000 Palestinians fleeing Gaza “is a shocking abdication of its legal and moral obligations to provide safety to those in crisis”.
In contrast, Canada announced the expansion of its visa cap to 5,000, granting refugees rights to work, study and access to medical care. Canada is also considering streamlined processes for processing refugee claims – a commendable model for Australia to follow.
Previously, Australia has granted over 11,000 Ukrainians temporary visas and offered 6,000 additional places over three years to Afghan refugees under its humanitarian program.
Amnesty International Australia urged the Australian Government to immediately extend similar measures to Palestinians fleeing Gaza.
According to the Department of Home Affairs, over 7,000 visas have been rejected, and only 2,922 visas approved. Of those only 1,300 of women, men and children have safely arrived in Australia.
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