Help Mahmoud's rehabilitation
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Mahmoud Sawalhi is an 11 year-old boy from Gaza who was shot in the head and the shoulder with live ammunition by an Israeli sniper on the 14th May Great Return March protests. A bullet passed through his eye and out of the top of his head, and he lost both his eye and part of his brain. His heart stopped twice in the ambulance on the way to the hospital in Gaza, and he fell into a coma for 6 days.
Three days after he was shot, Mahmoud was transferred to a hospital in Ramallah, where he has some cousins, but he doesn’t know them very well because of the travel restrictions between Gaza and the West Bank. He had only met his cousin Samar once before when she visited Gaza for a day a year or so earlier. The Israeli authorities then eventually allowed Mahmoud’s mother Feda to travel to be with her son in hospital. They were both then sent back to Gaza where his family will try to care for Mahmoud.
We met Mahmoud and his family while in hospital in Ramallah. We are a team of solidarity activists working in the West Bank. You can read our interviews with Mahmoud's family here:
https://corporateoccupation.org/2018/06/01/0-urgent-action-needed-to-support-feda-sawalhi-refused-permission-to-be-with-her-critically-injured-son/
And here:
https://palsolidarity.org/2018/06/i-just-want-him-to-be-a-normal-boy-again-gaza-family-appeal/
His mother told us ‘I just want him to be a normal boy again, I just want him to be a normal child again.’ Mahmoud is has severe brain damage and will need a great deal of support during his long-term recovery. Gaza hospitals are at breaking point due to the injuries inflicted on so many Palestinians during the Great Return March protests and the ongoing siege of Gaza that limits medical supplies entering the territories. As a result, Mahmoud's family will have to provide for his rehabilitation, including equipment and support to help him live a normal life.
All funds will be given directly to Mahmoud's family, who asked us to set up this fundraiser. It is not possible to link a Palestinian bank account to a fundraising website, which is why they asked for our help.
They are asking for help from international supporters to help cover costs for his rehabilitation so Mahmoud can adapt to normal life. This is likely to include:
Equipment to adapt his home to his disabilities
Paying for a psychological assessment and any medicine that will be needed
Travel expenses (for visiting hospitals)
Three days after he was shot, Mahmoud was transferred to a hospital in Ramallah, where he has some cousins, but he doesn’t know them very well because of the travel restrictions between Gaza and the West Bank. He had only met his cousin Samar once before when she visited Gaza for a day a year or so earlier. The Israeli authorities then eventually allowed Mahmoud’s mother Feda to travel to be with her son in hospital. They were both then sent back to Gaza where his family will try to care for Mahmoud.
We met Mahmoud and his family while in hospital in Ramallah. We are a team of solidarity activists working in the West Bank. You can read our interviews with Mahmoud's family here:
https://corporateoccupation.org/2018/06/01/0-urgent-action-needed-to-support-feda-sawalhi-refused-permission-to-be-with-her-critically-injured-son/
And here:
https://palsolidarity.org/2018/06/i-just-want-him-to-be-a-normal-boy-again-gaza-family-appeal/
His mother told us ‘I just want him to be a normal boy again, I just want him to be a normal child again.’ Mahmoud is has severe brain damage and will need a great deal of support during his long-term recovery. Gaza hospitals are at breaking point due to the injuries inflicted on so many Palestinians during the Great Return March protests and the ongoing siege of Gaza that limits medical supplies entering the territories. As a result, Mahmoud's family will have to provide for his rehabilitation, including equipment and support to help him live a normal life.
All funds will be given directly to Mahmoud's family, who asked us to set up this fundraiser. It is not possible to link a Palestinian bank account to a fundraising website, which is why they asked for our help.
They are asking for help from international supporters to help cover costs for his rehabilitation so Mahmoud can adapt to normal life. This is likely to include:
Equipment to adapt his home to his disabilities
Paying for a psychological assessment and any medicine that will be needed
Travel expenses (for visiting hospitals)
Organizer
Susannah O'sullivan
Organizer
