2 March 2018
This month, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) will be joining the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in London as a presenting partner for ‘Muhi – Generally Temporary’, showing at the Barbican, London, on Sunday 11 March and Monday 12 March.
The film tells the story of Muhi, a young boy from Gaza who has been trapped in an Israeli hospital for over eight years. Rushed there in his infancy with a life-threatening immune disorder, he and his doting grandfather, Abu Naim, are caught in an immigration limbo and only permitted to reside within the constraints of the hospital walls.
The film’s central issue – of access to medical care – is one which MAP campaigns on regularly. After a decade of devastating Israeli blockade and closure, Gaza’s health system has suffered de-development, culminating in the current healthcare emergency which sees 45% of medicines out of stock and hospital services shut down due to lack of fuel for generators.
For those therefore needing to exit Gaza for treatment elsewhere in the occupied Palestinian territory or abroad, severe restrictions are imposed by the Israeli Authorities. Last year saw just 54% exit permits for such patients granted by Israel, the lowest rate since record began, and 54 patients are known to have died after delays or denials to their permission to leave. Family members seeking to accompany children to treatment outside Gaza experience similar restrictions, sometimes meaning that even new-born babies are left in hospitals without their mothers or a close relative to care for them.
Muhi demonstrates the human impact of these issues and the injustices faced by patients from Gaza and their families.
Additional information and ticketing below.
+ Q&A with Director Rina Castelnuovo-Hollander
TICKETS:
Sunday 11 March, 18.30, Barbican
Monday 12 March, 20.45, Barbican
