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Mission to Gaza

Reuter Photos

Goals and Objectives

 

To bring biosand water filtration systems, manufactured by Cascade Engineering, in the U.S. to Gaza for testing and deployment

 

To bring children of Gaza disfigured or incapacitated and in need of critical medical care to the U.S. for treatment

 

With the conclusion of the 2014 Israeli/Palestinian conflict the numbers were staggering:

 

1,479 killed, 506  of them children

11,231 injured, 3,436 of them children

10,690 housing units destroyed

520,000 individuals displaced

 

Caught in the middle of this geopolitical struggle over which they have little to no control the men, women and children of the Gaza Strip are left in a situation that, without reservation, can be called desperate. Winter is coming; it will be relentlessly cold and wet.

 

With Gaza under a continuing military and economic siege construction materials, food, gasoline and simple humanitarian supplies are restricted.  The United Nations is the primary source of aid, but with multiple Middle East crises at play they are stretched to the breaking point.

 

There will be international governmental assistance to Gaza, but history has proven this aid to be intensely bureaucratic and detached from the immediate needs of individual families.

 

Specifically this proposed mission is simple and limited in scope.

 

~ To bring Hydra-Aid water filtration technology developed by Grand Rapids based Cascade Engineering to the Gaza Strip for a series of pilot tests to judge its feasibility for larger deployment through the region.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~ To identify and conduct preliminary triage on children seriously injured by the bombing within the territory. The goal will then be to obtain U.S. visas for a small number of those needing immediate attention and simultaneously identify medical facilities and medical personnel capable of providing the specialized care needed for these children within America..

 

 

 

 

Link to background information on clean water systems

United Nations Report Field Report

 

29 September 2014 – There is not a single child who has not been adversely affected by the recent conflict in Gaza, where children suffer from bedwetting, difficulties in sleeping, nightmares, a loss of appetite, and display more aggressive behaviour at school, an independent United Nations human rights expert said today.

 

At the end of his first mission to the region, Makarim Wibisono, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, expressed alarm at the terrible cost paid by Palestinian civilians, especially children in Gaza, as a result of Israel’s military operation that lasted 50 days in the summer of this year.

 

According to a press release on his findings, the latest round of violence from 7 July to 26August 2014 has left 1,479 civilians, including 506 children dead. A staggering 11,231 Palestinian civilians, including 3,436 children were injured, many, now struggling with life-long disabilities. Tens of thousands of children live with the trauma of having witnessed the horrific killings of family members, friends, and neighbours before their own eyes.

 

“This raises serious questions about possible violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law,” said Mr. Wibisono.  “Israel’s claim of self-defense against an occupied population living under a blockade considered to be illegal under international law is untenable,” he said. “In a population where over half of the 1.8 million people are under 18, this is truly a tragedy, which will be felt for generations to come.”

 

During his visit to the region, Mr. Wibisono met with Palestinian officials, civil society representatives, human rights defenders and victims, among others, in Amman, Cairo, and in Gaza via video and teleconference, as Israel did not grant access to the occupied Palestinian territory.

 

In Amman, the expert also visited patients from Gaza receiving treatment at King Hussein hospital. Among them was Manar, a 14-year-old girl from Beit Hanoun, who lost both her legs, and suffered shrapnel wounds and internal injuries when an Israeli strike hit an UN school. Manar also lost her mother and three brothers in the same attack.

 

Mr. Wibisono noted that voices from across the occupied Palestinian territory called in unison for three demands: the need for accountability, an end to the blockade, and an end to the occupation.

 

He also reported that some 7,000 unexploded ordinances are still littered across the Gaza Strip, continuing to pose a serious threat to Gazans, including children.

 

“In the 50 days of relentless bombing and shelling, 228 schools in Gaza were damaged, including 26 destroyed or damaged beyond repair. Eighty-seven schools are now operating double shifts,” the press release said.

 

An estimated 60,000 civilians remain in 19 shelters across the Gaza and health professionals also reported a critical shortage of medicines and equipment, and doctors expressed frustration at the shortage of electricity, as mobile generators were overburdened beyond their capacity.  The Special Rapporteur also raised serious concerns about the deteriorating situation of human rights in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, regarding the excessive use of force by Israeli

security forces in the context of demonstrations and clashes in recent months.

 

Independent experts, or special rapporteurs, are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.

 

Mr. Wibisono will report fully on his findings and recommendations to the 28th session of the Council in March 2015.

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