i could not travel -borders still closed

this is my talk for the Arab Women Association -in London , i couldnot deliver the speech in person , as the borders are still closed and i could not travel ,
i send you my love from Gaza , and sorry for not writing regularly , iam very busy here and soon i will announce , very good news for all of you who supported my efforts to get the MRI for Gaza patients!
from gaza with love
Mona


Dear all
Thank you for your presence today ,thank you for the great support you show for the Palestinian people and specially for Gaza .
While addressing you from a distance, and being unable to cross the borders, like many of us here in Gaza ,who try everyday and fail, I feel strongly of the injustice that has been imposed on the Palestinian people since Israel was founded 1948, where big ethnic cleansing process took place and Palestinian people were made refugees ,
it is not only Gaza and the siege , it is the occupation with its practices against all the Palestinian people in Gaza in the west bank and the Diaspora.
The injustice continues and the resistance and steadfastness will also continue
Life in the Gaza Strip continues. It must. But the continuing effects of the closure,
And the visible reminders of trauma (15%of Palestinian children suffers from the severe post traumatic stress disorder ) and devastation make normality – even by
The standards of the Gaza Strip – an illusion; the reminders of tragedy are ever
Present, and all too real. , over 9 months after Israel’s
Declaration of a unilateral ceasefire on 18 January, the Gaza Strip is locked in
Stasis: the situation in Gaza remains exactly as it was on the day the offensive
Ended. The visible scars of the offensive remain, rubble continues to litter the
Streets of Gaza, thousands are homeless; families are forced to live in houses
With scorched interiors, blood stained floors, and bullet riddled walls. In some
Instances, victims are forced to look at the discriminatory and offensive graffiti
Scratched into their walls by Israeli soldiers.

The siege has directly contributed
To a worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Today, nearly 10 months
after Israel’s declaration of a unilateral ceasefire, the Gaza Strip remains in limbo;
although the offensive has ended, the occupation continues.
The closure, which includes a blockade on goods and materials, makes
reconstruction and recovery impossible. Civilians cannot rebuild their homes;
families are forced to remain in camps, with relatives, or in rented accommodation,
for as long as the closure remains in place. The 600,000 tonnes of rubble littering
the Gaza Strip cannot be cleared. There is not even the concrete with which
to construct a tombstone. Palestinians cannot enter or leave the Gaza Strip.
Patients continue to die because they are denied access to medical treatment The economy continues to contract. Today, there are ever-increasing levels unemployment, poverty, destitution, and despair; unemployment now stands at
60%, while approximately 80% of the population now lives in poverty.


The emergency health services in the Gaza Strip are in a state of imminent
collapse due to shortages of electricity, medicine and other vital, life-saving
Equipment. Due to a lack of available services in Gaza, many patients are forced
to seek medical treatment abroad. However, the closure makes accessing external
Treatment a near impossible task.
,
to date, at least 391 patients have died as a direct or indirect result of the closure. In addition
much of Gaza’s population does not have adequate access to safe drinking water,
as the pumps which supply water are unable to run due to the electricity cuts. every day the power cut off at least 8 hours .
Even basic foodstuffs and goods are in short supply; mainly families are forced to
Rely on food aid supplies by the Unrwa and othe raid organizations.

I address you while feeling and living the daily pain , Grieve and deprivation of 1.5 million, people living under the siege and the occupation , women, men and children and specially women, who has to cope every day with a abnormal life in a big open prison called Gaza ,
And shows everyday a great deal of steadfastness and resilience, all sorts of Palestinian women , working class , teachers doctors nurses farmers etc.. those women work at home and outside with no sense of economical , social or personal security ,

in Gaza everybody has a tale of profound greive to tell but people also determined to overcome pain and rebuild their lives , it is an extraordinary way of determination to continue with their lives despite of all the odds

Your help your humanitarian support will enables us to continue and never lose hope of the future , your support let us feel that we are not alone we are not forgotten we are not abandoned , while the governments are silent and there is no real progress on the political level .

In the name of my colleagues at the board of Red crescent society for Gaza strip I thank you for organizing this event I thank you for your generous donation and support , I thank you for your continuous support for the red crescent society , your support that enables us to continue and improve our health and social services and programmers for thousands of beneficiaries every year ..

Our daily struggle against the occupation , and despite of the siege in Gaza and the wall in the west bank ,this daily resistance and struggle , cannot be separated from international struggle against injustice and towards a better world for its citizens free from all sorts of injustices and exploitations , built on equal rights for all,

Together we can make it Thank you