15 May 2023
As Palestinians commemorate 75 years since the Nakba (‘catastrophe’), Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) has launched a new campaign, Generation Palestine to shine a light on the devastating impact of decades of forced exile, occupation, and systematic discrimination on the Palestinian people, and to demand international action to ensure a brighter future for Palestine’s next generation.
During the Nakba, 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from or fled their homes in historic Palestine during the violent events related to the creation of the state of Israel. Hundreds of towns and villages were destroyed, and their inhabitants displaced to the West Bank and Gaza and neighbouring countries including Lebanon.
Since 1948, each successive generation of Palestinians has been deprived of health and dignity: from elderly refugees trapped for a lifetime in overcrowded refugee camps in Lebanon, denied their right to return to their homes, to young people growing up amid daily traumatic violence and discrimination in occupied East Jerusalem. Now, in 2023, a fourth generation of Palestinians is being born into an ongoing Nakba, with limited access to services, opportunities, and the basic building blocks of health that they need to thrive and realise their brilliant potential.
“Every day our teams across the occupied Palestinian territory and Lebanon bear witness to the enormous healthcare challenges facing every generation of Palestinians. As we commemorate the Nakba, we draw attention to the failure of the international community to achieve justice or resolution for the millions of Palestinians affected. We reiterate our solidarity with the Palestinian people in their demand for the basic rights, freedoms and the upholding of international law that they have long been denied,” said Melanie Ward, MAP’s CEO.
“We are launching the Generation Palestine campaign to tell the stories of those impacted by the Nakba, past and present. With the help of the many people around the world who care so deeply for the Palestinian people, we believe a brighter future is possible for Palestine’s next generation. We hope supporters will join us in making their voices heard.”
The launch of this campaign comes at a critical time for Palestinians, with deepening health crises across all areas of MAP’s operations. Illegally-blockaded Gaza has just experienced a devastating Israeli bombardment in which 33 Palestinians, including six children have been killed, and 190 more injured. In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, an explosion of Israeli settler and military violence this year is pressuring more Palestinians off their lands to make way for expanding settlements. In Lebanon, an unprecedented economic crisis has pushed 93% of Palestinian refugees into poverty.
“Gaza is a microcosm of the challenges Palestinians have faced since the Nakba. The majority of the two million people here are refugees, and so for decades their lives have been affected by forced exile and the fragmentation of families and communities. On top of this, we experience the indignities of permanent Israeli occupation, a suffocating 16-year crisis of illegal closure and blockade, and frequent devastating military violence,” said Fikr Shalltoot, MAP’s Gaza Director.
“Despite this, Palestinians here and across the region remain steadfast in demanding our rights, connected to each other, and determined to build a better future of health and dignity for the next generation. We hope that the Generation Palestine campaign will inspire friends around the world to join with us in this mission.”
The Generation Palestine campaign will run throughout the next two years, with a range of actions, events and activities planned. As a first step, please join us in standing with Palestinians and demanding a brighter future for all.
