Location: Gaza strip - Palestine

Local Partner: HDIP (Instituto de Información y Políticas de Salud y Desarrollo)

Justification: Last year TAU developed  a project in cooperation with the local Palestinian partner  HDIP. This organization is an example of how the civil society looks for alternatives and means of transformation in such a complex and hard reality in the West Bank and Gaza. It is an independent Palestinian non-profit organization that in the course of the years has extended its scope of activities, specialising in investigation, study and implementation of policies that contribute to a structural and integral development of the Palestinian society through exhaustive knowledge of available resources in each Palestinian locality, and, at the same time, launch projects for development and training of particularly vulnerable collectives such as women, youth, different health sectors, work/professional and productive qualifications.

At the same time they participate actively in the construction of a truly democratic political system for Palestine, looking for and partially achieving a stronger and more stable civil society, relying on values of solidarity and justice. They count with a considerable and good organization and also carry out awareness campaigns related to human rights, non-violence and democracy.

A short while ago their cry for help has reached us, asking for help for the suffering in Gaza, HDIP told us in their mail that “it is an authentic humanitarian desaster; every hour more people die, others lose their loved ones, others are physically maimed for the rest of their lives and many more develop severe psychological trauma, while humanitarian organizations and solidary persons work relentlessly to help in this desaster. HDIP is working side by side with the people and their bases, the dimension of the catastrophe is much too big for one entity or group of persons; it is impossible to do it alone and – they said – we need your help”

That the destruction offensive of the Israelis on the West Bank started December 27th and continues to bring death, destruction and intense suffering, mainly for the civil population; a population that already suffers under intense siege for more than one and a half years. That “it is too late for the majority of the people in  the West Bank, or little can be done for them, because the health sector has collapsed, incapable to respond to such a dramatic situation as the present one. There is no capacity in the region to attend to so much death, most of the infrastructure has been destroyed. In addition thirty nine schools and educational centers have been damaged or destroyed by the bombardments, and this has paralyzed the whole educational system. Everything has to be rebuilt and it is a very arduous task we are confronted with, a lot of money and all kinds of resources are needed. It is very hard to see children and young people having serious setbacks and delays in their studies causes by the systematic destruction of schools and formation centers.

In short, the humanitarian situation is deplorable and unsustainable. Not only hospitals, mosques or schools, also private homes of the population have been erased from the map. The state of generalized need for mere survival is very serious. Support and external aid are urgently needed to alleviate the suffering of a million and a half people who are under constant fire and Israelian attack in the West Bank .

HDIP askes for support for the people of the West Bank in two concrete areas: personal aid provisions for food, cloth, refuge, medicine and housing reconstruction; education give school material and rebuild schools. And they say thank you in the name of the women, men and children of the West Bank and Gaza for any kind of help.

In response to this call an economic Emergeny Aid was done, directly managed by HDIP; considering that any type of support and international aid should be channeled through Palestinian institutions and local entities who know best the situation and existing needs, and are in charge of giving basic service, such as health and education, without considering which party is in power. We thought that we should be supportive and cooperate above all, from a viable impartiality and based on real needs of the population, and not as political instrument of pressure for one sector or another.

Beneficiary population: People who have suffered under Israelian attacks in the West Bank

Duration of the project: year 2009

Budget and financing: € 18.000