Medical Initiative For the Benefit of

The Children of Palestine

Ear Surgery for Palestinian Children

By Dr. Ibrahim K. Ladaa

Message from Nablus, September 1, 2003

Dear Colleagues,

There is a colleague from Nablus who is a gynecologist and has quite a wrinkled face, which makes him look older than he really is.  During the break, between two operations, he can always be found with a cigarette between the middle finger and forefinger, which have both become dark brown.  He speaks quietly; he does not want to become engaged in conversation.  It is not until the second week of my stay in Nablus that we got to know each other better and he began to talk in a faltering voice.

His 20-year-old son has been in an Israeli prison for four months.  Before that he was a student at the Al Najah University in Nablus, a university with 12,000 students.  He was very eloquent and actively engaged in student movements; you can sense how proud the father was of his son. He said that he, the father, had even given him his car whilst he himself went to the hospital on foot. When the Israelis came early in the morning to arrest him, he had opened the door. The officer asked, “Is your son there?”  He answered “Yes.”  As they were leaving, standing at the top of the stairs with the son in handcuffs, the officer turned round and said to him, “You are a lucky father.”  He looked at him in astonishment and asked him what he meant by that. The officer replied that he had planned that, if he didn’t find the son, he would rig his car in such a way that it would blow up......

Two days ago the first trial was supposed to have taken place, about 40 kilometers away from Nablus in an Israeli settlement via Jenin.  The colleague took two days off and set off in order to be present at the trial. After passing several checkpoints he arrived early on Wednesday morning. Together with almost 30 Arabs and their wives and children he waited in a large room.  After a long time an officer came and told them to follow him.  The people thought the moment had arrived, the tension rose as they followed the officer.  He led them to the main exit and said, “You can get in your bus again, you can’t see your children today, you are not allowed to see them, go home.”

When the prisoners heard that their relatives would not be allowed to enter the court room, they went on strike and refused to appear before the court so that the judge adjourned the trial indefinitely..... A voice was heard from the operating theatre that said, “Dr...... your patient is ready on the operating table.” The colleague got up and went towards the operating theatre.  It was his eleventh Caesarian operation of the day.

Kind regards,

Ibrahim K. Ladaa