 Christmas Cultural Souq Saturday 14 Dec from 12:00 noon to 6:00 PM Palestine House, London WC1V 6JJ Welcome back to the monthly Souq—this time, perfectly timed for the holiday season! It’s a wonderful opportunity to shop, connect, and celebrate the season’s spirit together. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/palestinehouse/1488720 UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Monday 16 December 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 write to ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to this meeting. The Israeli Society and the War Wednesday 18 December at 5pm (UK time) A Conversation with Orly Noy, journalist, political activist and chair of the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem. She is also an activist with the Palestinian Democratic National party, Balad. https://www.scientists4palestine.com/a-conversation-with-orly-noy/ “There, People Suffer And Die”: A Qualitative Analysis Report 2024 An important and comprehensive new report from the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme. In the five months since our teams in Gaza last reported from the tents, UNRWA schools and zones designated safe by the Israeli army, on the mental health of grieving and terrorised survivors of genocide, the context of these lives has significantly worsened. Our new report reveals an unimaginably challenging context for our work after many more forced evacuations into more crowded and unsafe spaces where malnutrition or starvation and contagious diseases are part of most families’ personal experience. In addition, the loss of almost all medical facilities, from the destruction of buildings, and the loss of electricity and fuel for generators, and the absence of equipment and medicines has taken a toll on everyone’s physical and mental strength. Our staff members, despite their own difficult situations and the dangers of moving around, have made a systematic survey from the grass roots of Gaza life. https://www.gcmhp.org/publications/4/220 (Click on the image to view the whole report) Miraculously, therapeutic care for Gaza’s deeply traumatised people is happening An article by Victoria Brittain related to the new GCMHP report (see above) New report details the mental health impact of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and how medical professionals are helping Palestinian survivors cope. https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/gaza-mental-health-miraculously-therapeutic-care-traumatised-people-happening Cafe Palestine 37: The human effects of starvation as a weapon of war The recording is now available. In this Cafe Palestine presenters spoke about the physical and psychological effects on children, families and their communities of the deliberate policies of starvation used on the population of Gaza. We heard testimonies from within and outside Gaza. Speakers: Dr Deborah Harrington from the UK, Obstetrician and expert in maternal and infant health, recently working at al Aqsa hospital in Gaza Dr Said Al Kahlout, Psychiatrist, Palestine Trauma Centre in Gaza Dr Omar Al Buhaisi, Psychiatrist, Palestine Trauma Centre in GazaDr Yasser Abu Jamei, Director, Gaza Community Mental Health Programme Dr Lama Khouri, Psychoanalyst, Palestine Global mental Health network https://ukpalmhn.com/cafe-palestine/cafe-palestine-37/ “Have you seen hunger?” A prose-poem read in Arabic by Dr. Said M. Kahlout at Cafe Palestine 37 https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/have-you-seen-hunger/ ***** FEATURED CAMPAIGN NO CHILD A TARGET INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN The Palestine-Global Mental Health Network, in collaboration with its international counterparts, is launching an urgent campaign demanding that world governments hold Israel accountable to the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prioritizes the inherent right to life and upholds the best interests of all children. Mondoweiss article about the campaign: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/11/no-child-should-be-a-target-international-campaign-launched-to-protect-the-children-of-lebanon-and-palestine/ 14-year-old Ayham Al-Salaymeh began serving a one-year prison sentence in Israel, becoming the youngest Palestinian ever imprisoned under Israel’s military law. The case is not an isolated transgression imposed by Israel; it is a reflection of a deeply rooted system of apartheid and oppression. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241206-why-is-the-world-silent-about-israel-imprisoning-its-youngest-palestinian-child-yet/ Dr Lama Khouri, Psychoanalyst and member of the Palestine Global Mental Health Network introduces the No Child A Target campaign https://youtu.be/Rls6DuTF6CY Message to supporters of the No Child A Target campaign Thank you for supporting the No Child A Target–International campaign, which is steadily gaining momentum. The Palestine Mental Health Networks, active in 20 countries, will be launching the No Child A Target–International campaign within their respective regions. This is a long-term initiative, and we aspire for its message to echo powerfully and garner support from every corner of the globe. If you haven’t already, please sign our petition: https://ujoin.co/campaigns/3351/actions/public?action_id=4410 For those with a UK address, we encourage you to write to your MP. There is a template letter here: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/no-child-a-target-template-letter-uk/ The No Child A Target–International team kindly asks you to forward the email below to at least ten people in your network and encourage them to do the same. Your support is invaluable as we steadfastly move toward the liberation of Palestine. With gratitude, Template letter for the No Child A Target CampaignDear friends, I am reaching out to you with an urgent appeal. The lives and futures of Lebanese and Palestinian children are at stake, and your voice can truly make a difference. The Palestine-Global Mental Health Network is demanding that world governments hold Israel accountable for its war crimes against these vulnerable children. Please see this Mondoweiss article for further information: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/11/no-child-should-be-a-target-international-campaign-launched-to-protect-the-children-of-lebanon-and-palestine/ I have just taken the following three actions, and I would like to urge you to do the same: 1. Sign the International Petition: No Child A Target International. https://ujoin.co/campaigns/3351/actions/public?action_id=4410 2. If you have a UK address, please write to your MP. Follow this link: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/no-child-a-target-template-letter-uk/ 3. Please follow the campaign’s Instagram account. https://www.instagram.com/no_child_a_target/ 4. Please share this email with at least 10 people in your network. Please act now. Every signature amplifies the demand for justice. Together, we can protect these children and hold Israel accountable for its actions. Thank you. ***** Contextualised trauma training in Ramallah This was organised through Medical Aid for Palestinians and led by Dr Samah Jabr https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-alan-kessedjian-2572622b_huge-respect-to-all-the-incredible-palestinian-activity-7272158093176672259-R86y/ Norway’s wealth fund divests from Israel’s Bezeq over services in West Bank Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, announced on Tuesday that it has sold all its shares in Israel’s largest telecoms group, Bezeq, as it provides telecommunication services to illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/norways-wealth-fund-divests-israels-bezeq-over-services-occupied-west-bank If I Must Die (set to music by the Irish musician Sive) “If I Must Die” is a poem by Palestinian writer and professor Refaat Alareer, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on 6 December 2023. The imagery is inspired by the children of Gaza who set a world record for the most kites flown in one place on the Gaza Strip in 2011. Kites have become an international symbol of solidarity with Palestine. The music by Sive is a beautiful, haunting tribute. https://sivemusic.bandcamp.com/track/if-i-must-die Want to take Action? Our website has a list of up to date 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 The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network is one of 19 national mental health networks working under the umbrella of the Palestinian-led Palestine-Global Mental Health Network.  |
الشبكة البريطانية الفلسطينية للصحة النفسية 