INDONESIA HOSPITAL IN GAZA AWAITS MEDICAL SUPPLIES by Fardah

    Jakarta, Nov 22, 2014 (Antara) -- The construction of the Indonesia Hospital in Gaza, Palestine, has been completed, but the supply of medical equipment and facilities is being hampered by traffic restrictions on people and goods in areas bordering Gaza and Egypt.

         "The physical construction of the hospital is completed, but it has yet to be stocked with medical equipment," Dr. Sarbini Abdul Murad, a member of the Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) Indonesia presidium, said.

         The Indonesia Hospital, first initiated in 2009, has been built in Bayt Lahiya, North Gaza, with funding from the Indonesian public. It is expected to be opened in February 2015.

         On November 21, Dr. Murad led a MER-C Indonesia delegation to meet with Indonesia's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Abdurrachman Fachir.

         Accompanied by Campaign Director of Indonesia Hospital in Gaza, Luly Larissa Aqil, Secretary Rima Manzarianis, and Antara journalist Andi Jauhari, he reported the progress made in the construction of the hospital to the deputy minister.

         At the meeting, he explained that the supply of the Indonesia Hospital's medical equipment was being hampered by restrictions imposed by Egyptian authorities on goods and people entering Gaza at the Rafah border gate.

         Dr. Murad hoped that Fachir, who was a former Indonesian ambassador to Egypt, could help assist in the smooth entry of the hospital's equipment and staff from Egypt into Gaza.

         The deputy minister responded, stating that the development of the Indonesia Hospital in Gaza was a noble humanitarian mission that could strengthen relations between Indonesian and Palestinian people.

         He pledged to help assist in the delivery of medical supplies to the hospital through the Egyptian border.

         "We will communicate with the Egyptian ambassador in Jakarta, the Indonesian ambassador in Cairo, and with other related parties to help facilitate the smooth entry (of the medical supplies into Gaza)," Fachir affirmed.

         The establishment of the hospital was first proposed in 2009, following brutal Israeli military aggressions in Palestine that killed and injured thousands of civilians, particularly women and children, in Gaza between late 2008 and January 2009.

         MER-C Indonesia has been very active in sending medical personnel and supplies to help injured civilians in Gaza, which has frequently been the target of brutal Israeli military strikes.

         The NGO collected humanitarian funds, which amounted to more than Rp15 billion as on October 13, 2013, and more than Rp74 billion was donated by the Indonesian public to buy medical supplies.

         The President of the MER-C Presidium Farid Thalib told Republika Daily in October 2014 that negotiations for the procurement of medical supplies were being conducted.

         He explained that the hospital's treatment room sections would bear the names of Indonesian heroes, such as those of the heroine of Aceh Cut Nyak Dien and major donators, including Republika Daily.

         On the occasion, the newspaper donated as much as Rp400 million as funds, which was collected from its readers, for the people of Gaza.

         Some 30 Indonesian nationals have been involved in the construction of the Indonesia Hospital.

         They endured Israeli air strikes, rockets, bombings, and embargoes while trying to complete their humanitarian mission to provide the people of Gaza with medical services.

         However, the construction of the hospital needed to be halted from time to time due to the Israeli attacks.

         Two years ago, the MER-C president told the Indonesian press, "We plan to finish the construction of the Indonesian-funded hospital by the end of 2013, or by early 2014."
    However, instances like the one on November 14, 2012, when an Israeli rocket landed some 100 meters from the hospital site, forced the construction works to be put on hold.

         "After the bombing, the MER-C volunteers, who were all Indonesian nationals, were instructed to take shelter in the half-completed basement of the hospital," Thalib stated.

         Furthermore, Abdillah Onim, the team leader of Indonesian volunteers in Gaza, had told the press that the volunteers were often "unable to go anywhere."
    The Rp50 billion (nearly US$5 million) Indonesia Hospital is an initiative of the MER-C Indonesia and the Palestinian government.

         The primary objective behind the establishment of the hospital is to treat and rehabilitate traumatized patients, as well as provide first aid and care for those living in the Gaza Strip.

         The traumatology and rehabilitation hospital was being built since 2011 on a total land area of 16,261 square meters provided by Palestinian authorities.

         The two-story hospital will have 100 beds and will be staffed primarily by Palestinians, with a few Indonesian volunteers.

         The hospital will have one emergency unit, four surgery rooms, one intensive care unit, a laboratory, a radiology installation, a polyclinic, a medical rehabilitation unit, a pharmacy, a kitchen, a laundry room, and a boiler room.

         Israeli military attacks in Gaza between July and August this year killed more than 1,500 Palestinians and injured 8,000 others, two-thirds of which were civilians. At least 296 of the dead Palestinians were children, according to the United Nations.

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