Invited Presenters among other:

Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish is a Palestinian Obstetrician, Gynecologist and Health System development specialst. Dr. Abuelaish was born, grew up and still living in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. Inspite of the suffering and deprivation he was determined to succeed and he was selected for a scholarship to attend medical school in Cairo, Egypt. Upon completion his MD in 1983, Dr. Abuelaish returned to the Gaza Strip, unfortunately he could not find a job. Soon after,therefore he moved to Saudi Arabia to work as general practitioner and recieved a postgraduate scholarship in obstetrics and gynecology. In 1991, he returned to Jabali Camp to be close to his family after the death of his father. He began volunteering at Soroka University Medical Center of the Negev, where he established a relationship with Israeli doctors.
In 1994 he spent a year working for the United Nations Relief and Work Agency UNRWA in Gaza as field obstetrician and gynecologist.
His excellent and clear convictions enabled him in 1997-2002 to obtain a fellowship at the Soroka University medical centre and was so the first Palestinian medical resident at Soroka who is committed to the idea that medicine can serve as bridge to peace.
In 2003 he did subspeciality in Fetal Medicine and Genetics from Italy and Belgium. He recieved his Master Degree in public health, health policy and management from the Harvard School of Public Health, USA. The last year he worked with WHO as International Health System and Policy Advisor at the Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health in Kabul.
Right now he is back in Gaza with his 1.5 million people in prison.

Adresse
13/7 Jabalia Camp, Gaza Strip, Palestine, phone: 00972-822456655, EMail: izz_aish@yahoo.com

Contribution

workshop 1 1/2 hours

The Life in Gaza and Broken Dreams
We are in the 21st century where a nation is still occupied,oppressed and neglected. The Gaza Strip is something of an anomaly. Gaza Strip is that samll piece of land which is 360 km2. It is one of the most densley populated places in the world. In Gaza, the spectacle of a million and a half million people held capitve in deteriorating conditions bringing the population of Gaza to new levels of misery. Alongside increased deprivations and new forms of human suffering, a threat has emerged from among Palestinians themselves, which could potentially be as devastating to the Palestinian cause as the decades of occupation.
The rising levels of domestic violence as one of the symptoms of the collapsed society, violence which hav brought nothing but more suffering for the masses of ordinary Palestinian people. In addition to this Palestinians' faith in the peace process has ebbed away and the frustration at the failure of progress towards a Palestinian State and the Israeli policies of closure that restricted movement and trade. Gaza is also dependent on Israel for all imports like water, fuel and electricity. Gaza Strip is blockaded and impoverished.

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