Through the past ten years KinderUSA’s remarkable and diverse range of supporters have stayed the course, never wavering from their commitment in safeguarding the rights of the Palestinian child according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, forgoing fear to provide sustainable lifesaving projects for the children in Palestine. Yet, we continue to witness a brutal, cruel blockade on Gaza 5 years and counting that punishes infants and children.
According to a recent report by the World Bank, the blockade is the single greatest contributor to rampant impoverishment in Gaza. Widespread chronic malnutrition prevails resulting in anemia (58.6% in school age children, 68.1% in children 9-12 months) and protein deficiency. Under siege, 1.7 Million people, of whom 800,000 are children, are crammed into an area about twice the size of the District of Columbia.
The World Health Organization has reported that the under-age-5 mortality rate per 1000 live births in Gaza was 29.2, two-thirds of which occurred during the first days of life (compared to a death rate of 6 per 1000 children under age 5 in Israel). Palestinian children who do survive are forced to drink water contaminated with fertilizer and human waste as 90% of the water supply is undrinkable due to infrastructure damaged by the Israeli assault in 2009 that has yet to be repaired. The incidence of diarrhea among children 3 years old and younger, easily treated here in the US, has doubled. Typhoid fever has been reported as well.
Valarie Amos, Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, recently stated that, the blockade “amounts to collective punishment of all those living in Gaza and is a denial of basic human rights and in contravention of international law.”
Yet, despite numerous statements of outrage and countless reports on the deteriorating conditions confirming that “the average Gazan today remains worse off than s/he was back in the nineties” (source World Bank), the blockade continues, children suffer, and in some instances die needlessly. Trapped in an open air prison, there are no safe havens for them to grow and thrive.
"Year after year, we somehow expect the situation to improve; instead conditions continue to worsen," said Dr. Laila Al-Marayati, KinderUSA Board Chair. "As a result, our humanitarian efforts continue to play a vital role for the survival of the most vulnerable segments of Palestinian society, whether in Gaza or in areas of the West Bank severely affected by restrictions on movement and economic development."
KinderUSA is unshakeable in its commitment to belief that the survival and well-being of Palestinian children is inseparably linked to peace in the region. For every child who begins his or her life marked by malnutrition, inadequate education or no schooling, and unsafe drinking water, the world moves closer to abandoning the importance of the future for us all. Reducing food insecurity will relieve some of the effects of the blockade, but we still believe that the only permanent solution is to bring an immediate end to the obstruction of life imposed by the siege.
There is no limit to the dispossession of life Israel exacts upon the occupied Palestinians. Ratcheting up their unlawful demolitions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem over the past year, displacing record numbers of families, destroying both their homes and livelihoods is not only a violation of international law but also direct contravention of human rights law.
While the demolitions increase, so do settlements and the increase in violence perpetrated by the settlers with impunity. Children continue to fall victim to their contemptible actions with the UN reporting estimated 24 cases of injuries and one fatality directly attributable to the settlers’. This does not include the daily harassment and intimidation inflicted coupled with impending expulsion children face.
Today, 32% of all Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem, or approximately 86,500 residents, are at risk of having their homes demolished due to restrictive ‘zoning’ laws making it virtually impossible to obtain building permits. Children live in a perpetual state of insecurity.
In 2011 over 500 Palestinian homes, wells, cisterns, and other structures have been destroyed in the West Bank displacing more than 1000 Palestinians, over half of whom are children. During this same period, plans for 4000 new settler units have been approved for East Jerusalem.
The daily realities of life for a child in occupied Palestine compel us to do all within our power to provide these children with a chance in life. Unfortunately, there is no limit to the humiliation inflicted upon Palestinians at the hands of their occupiers, but their spirit and determination cannot be shattered.
As we reported earlier, our projects in the West Bank work with community based organizations that work to empower women so they can care for their children while maintaining their dignity. Thank you for your continued support of these projects and the children they serve.
There is serious concern in the international humanitarian sector that aid provided to the Palestinian population acts merely as a bandage that is forestalling the absolute collapse of living conditions in the region as the ongoing political crisis deepens. Recent movement in the US Congress has frozen all aid to Palestine until a determination has been made regarding UN recognition of Palestinian statehood. While everyone will suffer as a result, Palestinian children will experience the abrupt decline in aid most severely.
Palestine is one of the most complex aid environments for humanitarian agencies which, just like the population, face their own set of obstacles and limitations in the delivery of aid. In addition to the US policy of “no-contact” with certain government officials which further ties our hands and wastes precious resources that could be used to feed children, the blockade prevents our work from providing a means for Palestinians to free themselves from dependency on others and embark on a path of true self-determination.
The over 4 year blockade of goods necessary for the health, well-being, and educational needs continues to infringe on the rights and human dignity of the Palestinian population.
Today in Gaza, those that can afford to purchase food are spending an average of 61 percent of their total expenditures while most families are unable to provide their children with even the most basic nutritional needs. The prevalence of food insecurity in Gaza in absolute terms is over 821,000 according the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics – more than half the population, two thirds of whom are children.
Parents are doing their best to cope and are bracing for further reductions as politics continue to determine their future and whether or what their children eat. Families are eating less food that is of poorer quality due to rising costs and lack of funds, causing them to use credit or forego other necessities. Over 80% of the population is dependent on humanitarian aid and 18% of elementary school age children have left the classroom in order to work and help their families survive. Too many children are hungry while their parents are powerless to help in the face of the ongoing blockade.
The psychological trauma children are facing due to the ongoing siege is further aggravated by regular exposure to violence and the persistent violations of their basic human rights.
While Palestinians struggle to remain whole and humane despite the profound inequities, KinderUSA continues its work in Gaza providing a springboard to a future that the children will create. "Our commitment to their survival and well-being," said KinderUSA Chairperson Dr. Laila Al-Marayati, "offers at least a small glimmer of hope that their suffering will one day come to an end."
