International
Conference of Mental Health Professionals Denied Access to Gaza
A Winnipeg doctor
and anti-occupation activist was a member of a delegation that has been denied
access to the Gaza Strip to participate in a conference on the impact of the
Israeli occupation on mental health. The fifth international conference
“Siege and Mental Health: Walls vs. Bridges” was scheduled to meet in
Gaza on October 27 and 28. Organized by the Gaza Community Mental Health
Program (GCMHP) in collaboration with the World Health Organization, the
conference was to be attended by 120 foreign academics and mental health care
workers, all of whom were denied permits to enter Gaza by the Israeli
authorities.
“We have just received news that the Israeli authorities have decided to block admittance to foreign participants, which has shut down our capacity to convene this conference in Gaza,” the GCMHP noted in a statement. “Our conference about the effects of the siege has itself come under siege. … We feel strongly that these actions represent a profound blow to the rights of academic freedom, free speech, education, and cultural dialogue.”
Conference organizers and participants decided to hold the conference in Ramallah instead, using teleconferencing to connect international participants with Palestinians. Research on the impact of the occupation on the mental health of Palestinians has shown that psychological disorders, trauma, anxiety and depression are very common. Over 90 per cent of Palestinians feel as if they are living in a prison. Parents worry that they will not be able to find adequate food, clothing, shelter and medical care for their children, while children live in a constant state of fear and insecurity. The number of patients seeking treatment for mental health disorders in Gaza has increased by 38 per cent in the last eight years.