curfew, and we couldn’t reach a doctor. We tried to
take her to the hospital in the nearby city of Nablus, but Nablus
was also under curfew. The Israeli soldiers manning the checkpoint
on the outskirts of Nablus refused to let us in.
Eventually, on a rainy, cold day, my wife,
Amina, carried Lina three miles on mountainous roads into Nablus to
reach a doctor. One year later, we learned that the infection had
caused renal failure and that Lina would eventually need a kidney
transplant to survive.
For sixteen months, Lina underwent dialysis
every four hours. She spent many days in hospitals because of the
kidney failure’s side effects, including hypertension and hernia.
Her limbs became as thin as toothpicks.
During Lina’s numerous hospitalizations, the
Israeli security services denied me permits to accompany her. No
reason was given why.
Tests showed that neither her mother nor I
was a compatible kidney donor for Lina. In the spring of 2005, a
South African friend named Anna offered to donate a kidney to save
Lina’s life. I had met Anna in 2003 during a peaceful protest
campaign against the segregation wall Israel is building in the
West Bank
Anna was a compatible donor. We raised
$40,000 for the surgery. Hadassah Hospital in West Jerusalem agreed
to perform the operation at a discount.
But the next obstacle was obtaining a visa
for Anna, who was blacklisted from entering Israel because of her
activities, all completely nonviolent, protesting the Israeli
occupation of Palestine. Anna fought for a visa and only received
one after the Israeli hospital administrator called the Israeli
Interior minister.
For the transplant, the hospital helped me
and my wife get permits to enter Israel for a full month—an
exceptional feat. Before taking Lina to the hospital, we took her
to a nearby beach. Lina had never seen the sea. The sea is thirty
miles from our house, but the coast is entirely in Israel. West
Bank Palestinians do not receive permits to go to the beach.
We considered ourselves lucky. But is anyone
really lucky who needs special permission to be with one’s child at
a hospital? Imagine that if you needed to be at your child’s
hospital bedside, you had to wait in line at a military base for
hours or even days to plead for an entry permit, granted on FBI
approval only, approval that often is not forthcoming.
Despite the difficulties, the transplant was
successfully performed in October 2005 in Jerusalem. The surgery to
save Lina’s life was a collective effort of peace activists from
the USA, South Africa, Europe, Egypt, Israel, and Palestine.
Unfortunately, this was not the end of
Lina’s difficulties. After Hamas won the elections in Palestine,
the Israeli government tightened restrictions on Palestinians
entering Israel. For a while, it looked as if we would not get
permission to enter for further treatments, but with difficulty we
finally got approval to go to Lina’s appointment scheduled for next
week. We fear we will not get future permits.
Additionally, the U.S. and Europe have
decided not to continue aid to the Palestinian government, which
offered Palestinians free healthcare. As the Palestinian Authority
grows poorer and poorer, our benefits will almost certainly
disappear, and Lina may not be able to get her very expensive
medications. Her life might be in serious danger.
Israel claims it needs to restrict
Palestinian movement in response to the new Hamas-led government.
But the reality is that Israel first established its system of
permits and closures in 1991, and we have been living under these
difficult conditions ever since.
My wife, daughter, and I are active in a
nonviolent movement that includes many Israelis, Palestinians, and
foreigners. Although we received our permits this time, others who
need them have not. Denying permits to innocent men, women, and
children does not make Israelis safer. It destroys the hopes of
Palestinians.
But even if Lina’s health remains stable,
that
take her to the hospital in the nearby city of Nablus, but Nablus
was also under curfew. The Israeli soldiers manning the checkpoint
on the outskirts of Nablus refused to let us in.
Eventually, on a rainy, cold day, my wife,
Amina, carried Lina three miles on mountainous roads into Nablus to
reach a doctor. One year later, we learned that the infection had
caused renal failure and that Lina would eventually need a kidney
transplant to survive.
For sixteen months, Lina underwent dialysis
every four hours. She spent many days in hospitals because of the
kidney failure’s side effects, including hypertension and hernia.
Her limbs became as thin as toothpicks.
During Lina’s numerous hospitalizations, the
Israeli security services denied me permits to accompany her. No
reason was given why.
Tests showed that neither her mother nor I
was a compatible kidney donor for Lina. In the spring of 2005, a
South African friend named Anna offered to donate a kidney to save
Lina’s life. I had met Anna in 2003 during a peaceful protest
campaign against the segregation wall Israel is building in the
West Bank
Anna was a compatible donor. We raised
$40,000 for the surgery. Hadassah Hospital in West Jerusalem agreed
to perform the operation at a discount.
But the next obstacle was obtaining a visa
for Anna, who was blacklisted from entering Israel because of her
activities, all completely nonviolent, protesting the Israeli
occupation of Palestine. Anna fought for a visa and only received
one after the Israeli hospital administrator called the Israeli
Interior minister.
For the transplant, the hospital helped me
and my wife get permits to enter Israel for a full month—an
exceptional feat. Before taking Lina to the hospital, we took her
to a nearby beach. Lina had never seen the sea. The sea is thirty
miles from our house, but the coast is entirely in Israel. West
Bank Palestinians do not receive permits to go to the beach.
We considered ourselves lucky. But is anyone
really lucky who needs special permission to be with one’s child at
a hospital? Imagine that if you needed to be at your child’s
hospital bedside, you had to wait in line at a military base for
hours or even days to plead for an entry permit, granted on FBI
approval only, approval that often is not forthcoming.
Despite the difficulties, the transplant was
successfully performed in October 2005 in Jerusalem. The surgery to
save Lina’s life was a collective effort of peace activists from
the USA, South Africa, Europe, Egypt, Israel, and Palestine.
Unfortunately, this was not the end of
Lina’s difficulties. After Hamas won the elections in Palestine,
the Israeli government tightened restrictions on Palestinians
entering Israel. For a while, it looked as if we would not get
permission to enter for further treatments, but with difficulty we
finally got approval to go to Lina’s appointment scheduled for next
week. We fear we will not get future permits.
Additionally, the U.S. and Europe have
decided not to continue aid to the Palestinian government, which
offered Palestinians free healthcare. As the Palestinian Authority
grows poorer and poorer, our benefits will almost certainly
disappear, and Lina may not be able to get her very expensive
medications. Her life might be in serious danger.
Israel claims it needs to restrict
Palestinian movement in response to the new Hamas-led government.
But the reality is that Israel first established its system of
permits and closures in 1991, and we have been living under these
difficult conditions ever since.
My wife, daughter, and I are active in a
nonviolent movement that includes many Israelis, Palestinians, and
foreigners. Although we received our permits this time, others who
need them have not. Denying permits to innocent men, women, and
children does not make Israelis safer. It destroys the hopes of
Palestinians.
But even if Lina’s health remains stable,
that
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