By Gerry O’Hare

Dear friends, Thank you for asking me to speak to you this evening.

My name is Gerry O’Hare. I am an oncology advanced nurse practitioner here in Glasgow. I have been supporting cancer care in Palestine for 12 years, initially in Bethlehem University, developing and supporting the first cancer nurse post graduate diploma in cancer and palliative care in Palestine, and for the last five years working with my Scottish medical colleagues and Medical Aid for Palestinians supporting the breast services in Gaza. I was in Gaza just over ten weeks ago supporting the first ever cancer nurse conference in Gaza. I shared my time there with 30 of the most dedicated and compassionate nurses you are ever likely to meet.

My heart breaks knowing what these 30 are enduring. All of them are displaced and some have shared pictures of their bombed homes and the injuries they and their family have sustained. Some are no longer in contact and I fear the worst.

Nidal, a cancer nurse at the Turkish cancer Hospital in Gaza, was sharing live images of his unit being bombed by Israeli jets and his terrified patients. My MAP colleagues in Gaza are suffering and have lost homes and family members.

One of the medics I worked with closely in Gaza was Abdellatif Al Haj, he supported our breast cancer missions and was vital to the cancer nurse conference I attended recently in Gaza. You may be aware that 50 members of his family were killed in a rocket attack at his home in South Gaza. This is a family home that I have been welcomed in. I have met his sons, daughter and grandsons who have all been killed. His daughter Dima, a talent health care worker with the WHO, was killed with her husband and 5-month old son.

Dima stayed with us in our family home for two months while completing her Masters programme at Glasgow University and we remained in close contact with Dima just days before she died where she asked us to pray for her and hoped her son Abood would grow up and have a better life than she had.

Tomorrow is 75th anniversary of the Declaration on Human Rights, the Genocide Convention where the international community said ‘never again’.

We are watching genocide in real time no one can claim that they didn’t know what is happening. My friends in Palestine are telling me that never again should the EU and the US lecture dare to anyone on human rights and committing war crimes.

If I could share with you some messages I have received from colleagues in Palestine:

Rasha works for MAP in Gaza and supports our Breast Cancer Missions; she is a friend of Abdulla. I can only dream of making the contribution to breast cancer in Gaza that Rasha has. Rasha is from Gaza city and has moved three times since the Israeli attack.

This is a message I received from Rasha on Tuesday night:

“Alhamdulllah, dear Gerry, we are okay. However, lost access to water; Almawasi is far from the middle of the city and we can hardly get food items. We have to bake and cook on a wood fire, we try our best to save the resources we have for the upcoming days. The fuel in our cars is about to be zero; hope it can take us to our next destination; maybe Rafah, let’s wait for the occupier’s instructions. Air, land and see bombardments are non-stop. Night is lightened with bombings and those voices became the background of our life. The most difficult thing in Gaza is to stay alive, death is more merciful.”

Another friend, Farah, a recently qualified medic from Bethlehem whom we hosted In Glasgow and who spent time in clinical settings in Glasgow including with Roddy and Abdullah sent this message pleading for us to continue to show solidarity with Palestine

“I am writing this letter, while my hand is shaking and my heart is shattered and I’m really lost in this immense grief, that will eventually swallow every jot of hope from every Palestinian soul if this genocide against us won’t stop. However, I can assure every free rebel around the world that we Palestinians see, that you and your solidarity are the only hope that is left for us. So keep our flag flying high because we can’t, keep our kufyiah around your neck, because we can’t, and keep chanting our name so we are not erased You are our voice because our cords are cut, you are our backbone because our bones are broken and you are our last ignited candle so make it everlasting.”

This is a short poem by Em Berry it’s called:

“Because of Us

This morning I learned

                the English word gauze

                              (finely woven medical cloth)    

comes from the Arabic word Ghazza

because Gazans have been skilled weavers for centuries

I wondered then

how many of our wounds

have been dressed

because of them

and how many of theirs

have been left open

because of us.”

Thank you.

Gerry O’Hare is a Glasgow Oncology Advanced Nurse Practitioner who has worked with MAP for 12 years in Palestine, the last five years in Gaza, working with colleagues to develop breast cancer services. He was speaking last Friday at the Glasgow meeting of a global initiative held by health workers showing solidarity to their medical/ nursing/ physio, etc., colleagues killed in Gaza. #medical voices for gaza. https://www.tiktok.com/discover/gaza-medical-voices

Image: Protest in Chelmsford, October 28th, c/o Bryn Griffiths