Palestinian Medical Relief Society

• PMRS is a grassroots, community-based Palestinian health organization. It was founded in 1979 by a group of Palestinian doctors and health professionals

• PMRS national health programs emphasize prevention, education, community participation, and the empowerment of people in Palestine

• Our Comprehensive health programs focus on the need of the most vulnerable members of the Palestinian society: women, children and thepoor in rural village refugees camps and urban center

PMRS has developed also different programs offering health and social care for

children and youth• School Health Program

Without preventative care provided in schools, most children would only come into contact with health professionals in the context of curative or emergency services. Thus, in an effort to improve child health in Palestine, PMRS has implemented a School Health Program in the poorest schools throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip

• The Well-Baby and Child Health ProgramPMRS strives to reach to most vulnerable members of Palestinian society, which includes infants and children. PMRS conducts screenings, vaccinations and educational programs in order to ensure that infants and children are well prepared to live health lives

• Youth CentersIn line with it's philosophy of holistic health and community development, PMRS established The Ramallah Youth Center in 2000 to provide young people with a space to grow and develop

Youth Centers Activities The center was founded on two guiding concepts:

democracy and empowerment. We recognize young people's potential to become agents of change in their communities and contributing to community led development and advancement

We offer to the youth different programs and training courses: • first aid and emergency response training• youth receive trainings in computer skills, life skills and

leadership and democracy which will empower them to contribute in building stronger democratic structures in Palestine

• environmental education• Youth volunteering in refugee camps• Youth of the Center organized themselves and arranged

hospital visits • A Youth Parliament was created that will lobby

governmental and local organizations Youth Centers Activities and Programs are mainly

based on the proactive participation of local and international volunteers

When Life is a challenge…

…Palestinian Children in their daily Life

Salaam! I am a child from Palestine

Israel-

Every morning I wake up

very early… Do you know

why?

When I have to go to school I find many obstacles on my

way!!

The first obstacle is the Check-Point

Soldiers at the check-points violates my basic human rights

At the check-point Palestinian children are exposed to violence

- A check-point is a military barrier

- It restricts my freedom of movement

- It restricts my right of education

- My dignity is heavily offended

The Government of Israel sends its soldiers in the

Occupied Palestinian Territories

Until September 2005

Israeli military forces occupied 43 schools in

the West Bank, converting them to

military bases or prisons

Since September 2000

Until May 2003, 367 days of curfew were imposed to Palestinian schools all around the West bank

The Effect of the Israeli Occupation on the Palestinian Education from 28/9/2000- 6/5 /2006: Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education

Today I attend my class…but I am not always able to do it!!

Since September 2000

• 3403 students and their teachers are currently not able to reach their schools because of the Apartheid Wall

• 3,471 pupils have been wounded on their way to or from school

• 597 Palestinian students and school children have been killed

• 669 students and 176 teachers have been arrested.

Israeli assault on Palestinian Education in Jerusalem and other Occupied Areas: Press Release, Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, 15 September 2005

The Wall fragments my territory into small and closed urban

areas

The Right to Health

for Children

The Israeli occupation and in particular the Wall have

paralyzed the Palestinian health system

The Wall significantly impairs access of Palestinians in

isolated villages to Hospitals

Children are particularly vulnerable to this policy of

collective punishment

133,000 under five year children cannot obtain the due

vaccinations on time or possibly at all

The Wall built by Israel... in the occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem... [is] contrary to international law. Israel is under obligation... to dismantle forthwith the structure...

[and] make reparation for all damage caused...International Court of Justice Ruling, July 9, 2004

• Approximately 50% of Palestinians in the OPTs currently live below the poverty line of $2 per day, with the Gaza Strip rate at approximately 70%

• More than 350,000 children have suffered directly due to the reduction in income of their main source of support, with malnutrition rates for Palestinian children under five currently at 10% “Poverty in the Gaza Strip”: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

I’m still hungry!I’m still thirsty!

Especially in the Refugee Camps and in many villages drinking water is not a right

granted to me!

At least 5,000 Palestinian children have been affected by the “demolishing houses policy” implemented

by Israel

288 schools were heavily shelled and broken into by the Israeli military

I just came back from school…

…Where is my house?

VIOLENCEAGAINST CHILDREN

Since the uprising of the second Intifada, approximately 4,000 children have been arrested

Currently 435 children, representing 4,6% of the total

number of prisoners, are being held in Israeli prisons and detention

centers inside Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

From September 2000 to May 2006

• 745 Palestinian children (under the age of 18) have been killed by the Israeli army and Israeli settlers

• They represent almost 22% of the total Palestinians killed

My Right to Play……

What Can I do Against… a Tank?

Playing along with the basic needs of nutrition, health, shelter and education, is vital to

develop the potential of all children

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees the fundamental rights of all

children

The State of Israel willingly signed this agreement in October 1991

Since 1967 the illegal Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip has been

violating the basic rights of Palestinian children for the last 39 years

• Palestinian children arrested, detained or imprisoned by Israeli authorities routinely face physical and psychological torture, arbitrary arrest and denial of a lawyer or family visits, in evident violation of the Art. 37

• Throughout the current Intifada, Palestinian children have been subjected to heightened discrimination in every way – from the war-like situation in which they live, the curfew and closure imposed on their homes and villages, to the constant threat to their physical safety and sense of security

• Palestinian children are deprived of an officially recognized nationality and associated benefits

Special Thanks to the Photographer Mushir

AbdelRahman