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| UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Next meeting: Monday 14 April 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. Zoom link: Please contact ukpalmhn@gmail.com for a link to this meeting. No Way But Forward; Life stories of three families in the Gaza Strip by Brian Barber Last week, members of our steering group attended an event in Oxford where Professor Brian Barber spoke about his recent book No Way But Forward, based on the life stories of three Gazan men and their families. This extremely moving and intimate account of the lives of Hammam, Khalil and Hussam – from their adolescence and youth during the first intifada through to the genocide now being unleashed on them and their community – is invaluable for two main reasons. First, the life story narration provides a uniquely detailed chronicle of what it means to try and carve out a future under brutal occupation, siege and bombardment and how every life transition has to be navigated in the context of deliberate obstacles to human growth and development. Second, by specifically focussing on the lives of men, Brian Barber provides a powerful counter-narrative to the dehumanising and stereotyping discourses about Palestinian men in Gaza which are propagated by Israel and its allies in the West. Reading this testimony creates a profound identification with and empathy for the three men and their families, rendering the last section of the book which consists of exchanges of WhatsApp messages with the author since the start of the genocide all the more poignant and anxiety provoking. https://www.amazon.com/No-Way-but-Forward-Families/dp/9695892825/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0 Brian Barber will be holding a book launch at Palestine House in Central London on 21 April https://www.tickettailor.com/events/palestinehouse/1656352 Visualisation telling the stories of children whose lives and limbs have been stolen by Israel, while its destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system leaves them without vital care Source: Visualizing Palestine, DCIPalestine, and Palestine-Global Mental Health Network Date: 3 April https://x.com/visualizingpal/status/1907794041384710288/photo/1 More than one million children in Gaza deprived of aid for over a month Source: Unicef Date: 5 April No aid has been allowed into Gaza since 2 March, representing the longest period of aid blockage since the start of the war, resulting in shortages of food, safe water, shelter, and medical supplies. Unicef said that without these essentials, malnutrition, diseases and other preventable conditions will likely surge, leading to an increase in preventable child deaths. https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/04/1161931 The graver Israel’s atrocities in Gaza, the quieter the BBC grows by Jonathan Cook Source: Middle East Eye Date: 4 April Once again, the UK state broadcaster is missing in action – this time at the discovery of a mass grave of Palestinian emergency workers executed by Israel. https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/graver-israels-atrocities-gaza-quieter-bbc-grows Starvation and solitary confinement: 14 months in Israeli prison Source: Electronic Intifada Date: 3 April I have known Shaqoura, who is 37 years old, for four years. Our friendship developed while he was a trainer for a course I took on digital media in Gaza City in 2021. He works for the Palestine Today news agency and is married with five children. He is also a skilled cook and enjoys swimming and playing electronic strategy games, notably PES electronic football. […] We found no place to sit and talk except on the rubble of the destroyed houses around us. https://electronicintifada.net/content/starvation-and-solitary-confinement-14-months-israeli-prison/50555 Palestinian doctors ‘tortured into confessions’ in harrowing claims of abuse against Israel’s soldiers Source: The Independent Date: 1 April Dr Khaled Al-Serr, a surgeon at Al-Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, claims he was brutally beaten and other inmates told him they had been raped in Sde Teiman military detention centre, southern Israel. Chief International Correspondent Bel Trew reports. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/palestine-doctors-israel-torture-gaza-war-b2725438.html From Maternity Wards to Mass Graves: PRC briefs UK MPs on Gaza’s health on World Health Day Source: Palestinian Return Centre Date: 7 April Marking World Health Day under the theme “Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures,” the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) has issued an urgent briefing to Members of the UK Parliament, drawing attention to the catastrophic collapse of the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip.The document, titled “No Healthy Beginnings in Gaza,” outlines the severe impact of ongoing Israeli bombardment and blockade on maternal and newborn health, amid widespread targeting of healthcare facilities and medical personnel. https://prc.org.uk/en/post/4909 Rethinking Trauma Against a Genocidal World: Palestinian healing Is a sound of our victory by Devin G. Atallah &Yasser M. Abu-Jamei Source: Journal of Palestine Studies (not open access) Date: 3 April In this essay, two Palestinian healers, mental health workers, and fathers […] reimagine the trauma that Indigenous communities face as a result of settler colonialism not as a “mental illness,” but as being connected to the silence and inability of the world to stop genocide in ways that protect collective Palestinian liberation. They conclude that Palestinian trauma is an intergenerational message to a genocidal world, requiring courageous listening in the face of the ongoing Nakba. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0377919X.2025.2481819 Gabor Maté explaining the feeling of moral injury, which we feel at the moment facing the genocide livestreamed on our phones every day – and why we must not give up Source: Palestinaforum Austrian Date: 5 April https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIDj8Rbs7xy EVENTSOur Events page is updated weekly with events related to Palestine and mental health. As of 9 April, there are 9 up to date events listed. https://ukpalmhn.com/events/ FEATURED EVENT London Book Launch: No Way but Forward by Brian K. Barber Mon 21 April Palestine House, WC1V 6JJ The book offers an intimate and profound look at life in Gaza over three decades—including the year following October 7, 2023, when the region faced unprecedented devastation and upheaval. This deeply moving narrative follows three men—Hammam, Hussam, and Khalil—as they build families, pursue education, and fight for justice in the face of unimaginable challenges. Barber, a psychologist and researcher, has developed genuine relationships with these families since 1995, allowing him to tell their stories with rare depth and authenticity. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/palestinehouse/1656352 ACTIONS Our Featured Action is available below and also on our dedicated Actions page together with a range of other current actions https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ FEATURED ACTION Parliament Lobby Day Date: Wednesday 14 May Location: Parliament The British government remains deeply complicit in the ongoing Nakba (catastrophe) against the Palestinian people, including the current genocide taking place in the Gaza Strip. This will only change through mass public pressure. You can help by joining the Palestine Solidarity Campaign lobbying MPs on Wednesday 14 May. Register here: https://palestinecampaign.eaction.online/MayLobby2025 |
الشبكة البريطانية الفلسطينية للصحة النفسية 