50 to '67 – Chronicles of Occupation
- Countries
- oPt
- Sources
- Physicians for Human Rights Israel
- Publication date
- Origin
- View original
On the occasion of celebrating Human Rights Day (December 10^th), we are thrilled to present to you 50 to '67 – Chronicles of Occupation – a unique book on which we have worked over the past year, born in the 50th anniversary of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories.
In this book, we travelled back in time to the first days when Physicians for Human Rights Israel was established following the devastating images of the First Intifada (starting on December 1987). In that time, we truly believed that the outcries of physicians and other healthcare practitioners responsible for the integrity of people’s bodies and minds in their most fragile moments would awaken conscience and common sense, and promote a solution leading to the end of the occupation and to healing the wounds of the conflict.
In the book, we have returned to moments and events in which PHRI activists encountered the realities of occupation and the daily lives of the inhabitants of the Occupied Territories, in routine, at wartime and during military activities that leaves scars on the bodies and minds of their victims for many years after.
We have returned to historical milestones that have deeply affected the right to health. Together with these key events, we have also recollected small moments of satisfaction, special moments in which we found encouragement and comfort by helping the sick and injured, and limited achievements, partial or temporary as they may have been.
More than everything, this book tries to go beyond the narration of chronicles the right to health under occupation from the perspective of PHRI staff and members. It wishes to serve as a wakeup call, based on the hope to overcome the despair one might feel when faced with decades in which the hope for reconciliation has been trampled by terrorist and military attacks, and insist on our shared humanity precisely because dehumanization has become so rampant.
On this the thirtieth anniversary of PHRI, we hope this book would contribute to the attainment of this goal.