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| UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Monday 7 October at 1pm (UK time) This is an open space where people exchange their emotional responses with a view to remaining resilient amidst a constant stream of distressing news. Please contact ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to the meeting. National March for Palestine Saturday 5 October – Assemble 12 noon in Russell Square, Central London One Year On – End the Genocide in Gaza – Stop Arming Israel https://palestinecampaign.org/events/national-demo-for-palestine-5-october-2024/ The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network banner will be at the march. All are welcome to join us. We will meet at 12:00 noon at: Bloomsbury Square Gardens, London WC1A 2PJ This is the same location where we have assembled for previous marches from Russell Square. There is a map showing our assembly point at the end of this email. UK-Palestine Mental Health Network statement A year of genocide: decades of impunity The statement has also been signed by 10 partner organisations. As mental health practitioners, we take stock at this juncture of the impact of a year of continuous bombardment, killing, catastrophic injury, displacement, starvation and disease inflicted on the people of Gaza … The full text is available at the end of this mailing and at this link: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/a-year-of-genocide-decades-of-impunity/ Unbearable suffering: mental health consequences of the October 2023 Israeli military assault on the Gaza Strip This is a new British Medical Journal Article. The authors include a member of the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network and colleagues, most of whom have spoken at previous Cafe Palestines. The onslaught on Gaza is leading to catastrophic psychological consequences which will not be limited to the short term and to those directly affected, but will have long-term, intergenerational effects. This commentary argues that to understand trauma responses among Gazans, we need to go beyond individual illness and, instead, link the biomedical sphere with the political sphere through the concept of social suffering and, thereby, expose the socio-political conditions of life and the collective trauma-inducing nature of the Israeli military occupation and repression. Addressing these complex trauma responses requires approaches that bring together the political, social and personal-level components of mental health with a focus on three factors: safety and allyship; the right to agency and acknowledgement, accountability and reparations. https://gh.bmj.com/content/9/9/e014835 Holy Redemption: Stealing Palestinian Land 55-minute world exclusive investigative documentary by TRT, a Turkish public broadcast service. The shocking, impactful documentary – with much undercover footage – unveils the violent fanaticism of armed illegal Jewish settlers who aim to uproot Palestinians from the occupied West Bank. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF6B5UVupyA Palestinian trauma, healing and olive trees 40-minute Middle East Monitor conversation with Ashira Darwish, one of the producers of ‘Where the Olive Trees Weep’, a powerful documentary about the struggles and resilience of the Palestinian people living under Israeli occupation. She explains that Palestinians aren’t suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, there’s been no ‘post’ for them as they continue to live under occupation and colonialism. “Ongoing stress disorder” is what they experience daily. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1m4B_HyPjY Voice notes from Gaza A moving 10-minute video In 2023, Dr Iain Overton taught a group of students in Gaza living with disabilities how to tell their stories on social media. A year on, their University lies in ruins, they are all refugees and one of them is dead. This is their story. https://x.com/iainoverton/status/1839629049301233960 Israel is torturing & abusing Palestinian prisoners, international pressure is urgently needed An article by an advocate from Addameer, the leading Palestinian prisoner support and human rights association. Since October 7, Addameer has documented a dramatic increase in the number of arbitrary arrests and detentions, the use and intensity of violence, and the gravity of the crimes committed against Palestinian detainees. In almost a year, over 10,000 Palestinians have been arrested, and the number detained by the Israeli Occupation grew from over 5,000 to 9,900. 3,332 of the detainees are under administrative detention, which means that the occupation’s military court can hold any Palestinian infinitely (no matter age or gender) for up to 6 months without any evidence or charge against them. https://www.newarab.com/opinion/tortured-abused-we-mustnt-forget-about-palestinian-prisoners Mental Health workshop for activists Thursday 10 October from 7.00-9.00 pm at Palestine House, 113 High Holborn, London WC1V 6JJ (Tickets cost £17) In observance of World Mental Health Day on 10 October, join Richmond and Kingston PSC at Palestine House for an empowering and interactive workshop. This special workshop will explore the intersections of mental health and activism, creating a safe space for activists to reflect on their own mental health needs and understand the role of solidarity in their movements. It will be led by Psychotherapist Mustafa Jayyousi, who is a Palestinian activist and psychotherapist/NLP coach. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mental-health-workshop-for-activists-with-psychotherapist-mustafa-jayyousi-tickets-1014476846557 Palestine: Repair & Return Az Theatre (London) and Theatre for Everybody (Gaza) will be presenting three performances in the series called Palestine: Repair & Return at the P21 Gallery, 21-23 Chalton Street London NW1 1JD Thur 17 Oct at 7pm – Stories of Learning and Teaching Thur 31 Oct at 7pm – Stories of Women and Health Thur 21 Nov at 7pm – Stories of Water The first event (Learning and Teaching) will present voices and stories from Palestine about how Palestinians are managing to continue learning and teaching, how communities are resisting attempts at ‘scholasticide’ and the destruction of schools and universities. https://p21.gallery/news/192 Amos Trust presents Requiem Monday 21 October at 7.30pm in Central Hall, Westminster Tickets are free but you will need to register. Requiem provides a chance to stop, to mourn and to reflect. With first-hand accounts of life in Gaza during the last year written by the young writers of We Are Not Numbers and a soundscape created by acclaimed musician and producer, Brian Eno. https://www.amostrust.org/gaza-requiem Want to take Action? Our website has a list of up to date of petitions, letter writing campaigns and other ways you can express your solidarity. https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ Think it’s all hopeless? Look at this link celebrating the successes of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement on its 19th anniversary in July 2024: https://bdsmovement.net/BDS_Impacts-In-Times-Of-Genocide UK-Palestine Mental Health Network Statement A year of genocide: decades of impunity2 October 2024 We, the following organisations dedicated to supporting mental health through justice for Palestine, issue this statement on the anniversary of October 7th 2023. One year ago, on the very day of the Hamas attacks, Israel began its genocidal onslaught on the citizens of Gaza and on its entire infrastructure. Few of us then, even as we witnessed bloodthirsty calls for annihilation from Israel’s politicians, could have predicted that in October 2024, Gaza would still be under remorseless bombardment, and its citizens under constant threat of permanent displacement and dispersal. The consequences of this lethal year for the long term physical and mental health of the citizens of Gaza and the impact on the functioning of its communities is incalculable. As mental health practitioners, we share our profound outrage, sorrow and collective shame at the enormity of what has been and continues to be inflicted on the people of Gaza. We take stock at this juncture of the impact of a year of continuous bombardment, killing, catastrophic injury, displacement, starvation and disease. While every citizen of Gaza has suffered immeasurably, we draw particular attention to the effects on children, Gaza’s citizens of the future. UNRWA Commissioner- General Phillipe Lazzarini has termed this a “War on children and their future” Denying children a future in their own land, stunting their growth both physically and psychologically is, and always has been, part of the logic of settler colonialism. Children in Gaza, if they survive, have been dealt a legacy of terrible injury and disabilities which will require years of rehabilitation in the absence of any resources to enable this. They have been evicted from their homes but also from childhood itself, either by the loss of parents and extended family or by having to take on adult tasks beyond their capabilities. One year is the entire life of a baby, half the life of a toddler and a quarter of the life of a four year old. A child of ten, surviving this past year, has the legacy of at least three previous lethal bombardments of their homes, families and communities. Children in Gaza, for whom education has been a major source of resilience and pride, now have no school buildings to return to and no prospect of any such provision. UNRWA, the main provider of schooling, has been under severe attack by Israel, which also denies the entrance into Gaza of adequate supplies of food. Uniquely among world conflicts, the citizens of Gaza have no means of escape from the relentless bombardment, snipers and killer drones. The wanton murder of civilians, destruction of vital infrastructure, despoliation of the built and natural environment, killing of healthcare workers and others providing aid have led to unparalleled outrage and protest in civil society worldwide. Shock at the initial genocidal onslaught has intensified with every passing month. And yet, despite rulings by the ICJ and the request by the Chief Prosecutor of the ICC to issue arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister and Defence Secretary, the slaughter continues. It does so because of the active collusion and complicity of the major Western powers which, over the decades, have granted Israel absolute impunity to pursue its aggressive settler colonial expansion, land theft, ethnic cleansing, incarceration and violent suppression of human rights. As mental health practitioners we know that when no external boundaries are set and no restraints imposed on abusive and violent behaviour, the perpetrator is empowered to pursue their own interests only, objectifying and dehumanising others. As we have seen in Gaza, in the rest of occupied Palestine, in the torture chambers of Sde Teiman, and now in the massacre of Lebanese civilians, cruelty and sadism flourish in conditions of impunity. In protesting the year-long genocide in Gaza, we have called for our governments to end this impunity by demanding Israel be held accountable under international law, ending the supply of the weapons enabling this genocide and sanctioning its leaders. So far the new Labour government has made a few very modest steps in this direction and all of us in our various roles within civil society must keep up the pressure. In the past year there has been increased consciousness of the realities of Israel’s colonial, racist and apartheid practices and the complicity of world powers. Many in the ‘helping professions’ – healthcare workers, psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers – have mobilised to call for an end to collusion with Israel, to resist normalisation with its institutions and to refuse to be intimidated by strategies of silencing. One year on, we are profoundly affected by the suffering inflicted on Palestine but rather than giving into exhaustion and despair, we are more engaged than ever in the collective action required of us to abide by our professional ethics and oppose this geonicide. Gaza’s children, who are active citizens as well as victims, are asking no less of us. UK- Palestine Mental Health NetworkSocial Workers for a Free PalestineFamily Therapists for PalestineGroup Analysts for PalestinePsychoanalytic Voices for PalestineLiberate Mental HealthPsychotherapists & Counsellors for Social Responsibility(Carol Jones on behalf of) Socialist Health Alliance, LondonHealing Justice LondonCommunities for Holistic Accessible Rights-based Mental HealthThe Red Clinic The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network was founded in 2014 to promote mental wellbeing, liberation, dignity and social justice for Palestinians and all peoples and societies It is part of a worldwide movement with fifteen participating national networks. ukpalmhn@gmail.com Assembly point for UKPALMHN for National March for Palestine on Saturday 5 October at 12 noon. Bloomsbury Square Gardens, London WC1A 2PJ  |
الشبكة البريطانية الفلسطينية للصحة النفسية 