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| We are doing this because no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying, because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity. Greta Thunberg UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Monday 16 June 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. We apologise for the technical difficulty at the last Solidarity Space meeting which was due to a one-off cause. Thanks are due to the acting chair for dealing with this issue as as well as possible in the circumstances. We anticipate that future meetings will run smoothly. Please write to ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to this meeting. National Demonstration for Palestine Saturday 21 June – assemble at 12 noon in Russell Square End the Genocide – Stop Arming Israel – Stop Starving Gaza The protest aims to mobilise public pressure on the UK government to take concrete action. https://palestinecampaign.org/events/national-demonstration-21-june-25/ Hold the date Cafe Palestine – Listening to Gaza Saturday 12 July at 11:00 (UK time) We will team up with the Palestine Trauma Centre (UK) to provide a live link-up with their heroic staff who are continuing to work under the most horrific conditions in Gaza. They want the world to know what is happening and this is an opportunity to hear them speak. [We are aware that “Cafe Palestine” is an inappropriate name in a time of mass starvation but it is an event format that people recognise and that is why we are continuing to use the name.] You can read about the work of the Palestine Trauma Centre (UK) here: https://www.palestinetraumacentre.uk/ Living Through the Unimaginable: A testament from Gaza Source: Dr Yasser Abu Jamei, Director General of the Gaza Community Mental Health Program, writing in CounterPunch Date: 11 June How do you provide mental health care to people being annihilated? It’s a question I’m asked constantly as a psychiatrist in Gaza, and one that haunts every interaction I and other clinicians have with the children and families we serve. The answer, I’ve learned after 20 months of genocide, is both simpler and more complex than anyone imagines. In my 20 years as a mental health professional in Gaza, I thought I understood trauma. Then came October 2023, and everything I knew about healing, resilience, and hope was tested against a machinery of annihilation that operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year […] https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/06/11/living-through-the-unimaginable-a-testament-from-gaza/ Child psychotherapists speak out for Gaza’s children Child psychotherapists across the UK are standing in solidarity with colleagues and families in Gaza and the West Bank. They are offering clinical support, sharing expertise, and urging professional bodies to condemn the deliberate targeting of children. A moving new slide deck for Infant Mental Health Awareness Week has been produced, alongside active contributions to public awareness and parliamentary advocacy. Full update from Child Psychotherapists for Palestine: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/child-psychotherapists-update-june-2025/ Powerful new slide deck for Infant Mental Health Awareness Week 2025: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/infant-mental-health-awareness-week-2025-slides/ Child Psychotherapists for Palestine on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/palestineukchildpsychotherapy/ Adam Goren, child psychotherapist, speaking on a recent Radio Voice of Islam podcast about the effects on children of the war on Gaza: https://soundcloud.com/voislam/weekend-world-podcast-08-06-2025-israel-war-on-gaza-a-war-on-children To email Child Psychotherapists for Palestine, please write to ukpalmhn@gmail.com Petition to the Royal College of Psychiatrists – Call to Action on the Gaza Humanitarian Crisis Are you a UK-based psychiatrist and a humanitarian? Please read, sign, and share this petition. The petition is part of the UK Medics’ Petitions to Royal Colleges for Gaza (UKMPRC) multi-specialty initiative. “We, the undersigned psychiatrists, write with grave urgency regarding the catastrophic and deliberate infliction of psychological trauma in Gaza. The toll of bombardment, mass bereavement, starvation, and the systematic destruction of healthcare has created a mental health emergency with consequences that will span generations. As mental health professionals, we recognize the massive harm these conditions inflict on caregiving relationships. This is causing a profound and intergenerational psychological trauma on Gaza’s civilians, from infants to the elderly, with devastating consequences that will echo for decades. […]” The full text of the petition and supporting documentation is available at this link: https://ukpalmhn.com/petition-to-the-royal-college-of-psychiatrists-call-to-action-on-the-gaza-humanitarian-crisis/ Psychiatrists can sign the petition here: https://sprw.io/stt–0ojV Palestine: Repair & Return – Stories of Art and Drama Thursday 3 July 2025 at 6.30pm (UK time) Presented by Theatre for Everybody (Gaza) & Az Theatre (London) A public conversation in-person at P21 Gallery 21-23 Chalton Street London NW1 1JD and online. This event will raise, and listen to, the voices of arts, drama and theatre practitioners in Palestine and throughout the world talking about how their work continues in the midst of genocide, struggle for liberation, displacement and armed violence, and how vital it is. https://mailchi.mp/45d9d04a1a7a/coming-full-circle-back-to-our-centre-stories-of-art-and-drama Call for co-creators: The organisers are keen to establish links with individuals, groups, and organisations with experience working in four areas. 1. food sovereignty, 2. with detainees, including those who have survived abuse and torture, 3. disability 4. homelessness/displacement. Your expertise would be appreciated and highly valued. We would love to have you on board in some way. These events are public conversations exploring how values and insights might converge with the prospect of joint action later. For further information please contact: Naomi: naymicole@gmail.com or Jonathan: info@aztheatre.org.uk Social workers call for ceasefire in Gaza, an end to arms sales and trade sanctions Source: Professional Social Work Magazine (PSW) Date: 3 June PSW is published by the BASW, the British Association of Social Workers. The magazine has published an article highlighting a petition for UK-based aid, health and social care workers calling for a ceasefire and a new statement issued by the BASW and the Social Workers Union, supporting calls for a ceasefire. The statement also calls on the UK government to immediately end arms sales to Israel and implement trade sanctions, among other actions. https://new.basw.co.uk/about-social-work/psw-magazine/articles/social-care-and-health-sector-call-ceasefire-gaza Owen Jones wins the Amnesty Media Awards’ first ever People’s Choice Award. Source: Owen Jones on Instagram Date: 5 June We received hundreds of nominations for a journalists who supporters believed should be recognised for their exceptional work towards making the world a fairer, more equitable place. We put the top ten people out to a public vote and after tens of thousands of votes, your winner is Owen Jones. Here is what Owen Jones had to say on the night. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKfk5lfvwak/ EVENTS Our Events page is updated weekly with events related to Palestine and mental health. As of 11 June, there are 14 up to date events listed. https://ukpalmhn.com/events/ FEATURED EVENT Sustaining Health and Healthcare in a Time of Genocide Date: Saturday 14 June from 10:30am -5:00pm at the University of Glasgow. Source: Scottish Palestinian Health Partnership (SPHP) SPHP is a network of healthcare professionals collaborating in support of health and healthcare in Palestine. Our forthcoming conference is an interactive event focusing on the impact of trauma and loss for Palestinians and the implications for mental health and wellbeing. With presentations from: Dr Yasser Abu Jumei (Gaza Community Mental Health Programme), Dr Andy Ferguson (IDEALS) and others. For further information and booking: https://scotpalhp.org/event/scottish-palestinian-health–partnership-conference/ ACTIONS Our Featured Action is available below and also on our dedicated Actions page. In the past 4 weeks we have added 7 new, relevant actions to our Action page. https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ FEATURED ACTION Definitive ceasefire now Act now and help protect children living in conflict A Save the Children petition The international community cannot afford to fail Palestinian children. We must demand that the ceasefire becomes definitive and put an end to the violence now. Together, we can protect children from the horrors of this conflict. Stand in unity with the hundreds of thousands who have already taken action and sign the petition for a definitive ceasefire now. Children must be protected. Stop the war on children https://www.savethechildren.net/takeaction/stop-war-children BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS (BDS) A founding aim of the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network is to “encourage our colleagues individually and collectively to consider their response to the Palestinian call for boycott, sanctions and divestment (BDS).” Polling shows British public strongly backs sanctions on Israel Source: Palestine Solidarity Campaign Date: 4 June A new poll conducted by OpiniumResearch for PSC shows broad public support for an arms trade ban, sanctions on Israeli ministers, supermarkets to boycott Israeli goods and Israel to be expelled from the UN. https://x.com/PSCupdates/status/1930181609426215370 |
الشبكة البريطانية الفلسطينية للصحة النفسية 