There Are Alternatives
Yes, there are people of good will. People do exist who wish to learn more about one another, who do not entirely trust the ongoing demonization of others, who are willing to compromise, to work together to achieve something memorable and lasting and of use to themselves and others. People are capable of putting away distrust and working toward forging ties of mutual value.A program has been initiated, the work of the Canada International Scientific Exchange Program, based at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital and headed by Dr. Arnold Noyek, head of the University of Toronto's Peter Silverman Centre for International Health. This is an initiative that seeks to bring together physicians and researchers to pool their resources and opportunities for advancement in medical training and research.
A practical plan of international co-operation which had, in the past, been encouraged by the late King Hussein of Jordan, focussing largely on public health projects bringing together Arab and Israeli health care professionals. One of its original projects was to tackle the problem of the epidemic of genetic deafness common to some Arab communities; a result of marriages between first cousins.
Unfortunately, the latest video conference intended to include doctors from Canada, Israel, Jordan and the West Bank faced an unanticipated glitch and was able to continue, but without the intended participation of the Palestinian representation. It would appear that Israeli soldiers had surrounded the West Bank university in an effort to disperse "agitated" students who were responding to the militant calls to dispatch a new wave of suicide bombers into Israel in revenge for the accidental shelling in the village of Beit Hanoun. The Palestinian delegation was unable to make their way into the university tele-event laboratory.
The Israeli delegate, Dr. Yehudah Roth was able to make it to his Tel Aviv office for the video session, reporting that his young niece's house had just been hit by a Hamas-fired Kassam rocket. "We hope...we will be able, some of us, to maintain the spirit of co-operation which is needed here; the spirit of maintaining channels, despite all difficulties" said Dr. Roth. "And some of the difficulties may become very, very personal. It is not the first time one of my immediate relatives has been hurt."
Despite which, the group of Palestinian, Israeli and Jordanian physicians participating in the video hook-up events appear determined to make the most of this unique opportunity to advance the opportunities to learn from one another. At this session, a neurologist at a seniors' residence explained a perplexing case of early dementia, enabling the participants to question both the doctor and the patient and to reach conclusions of their own.
In the event that tensions in the region might soon subside, the doctors are all hopeful that their co-operative initiative will produce meaningful and lasting results. Dr. Ziad Abdeen, the Palestinian doctor, said that co-operative with Israeli colleagues had been a boon to his university which has been enabled to publish more academic papers than almost all other Arab universities combined.
Where there is reason and commitment there is hope.
posted by Pieface @ Thursday, November 09, 2006
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