PHA-Exch> On the untimely demise of Palestinian activist doctor Ahmad Maslamani

[Intal - Wim De Ceukelaire]

On the untimely demise of Palestinian activist doctor Ahmad Maslamani

Monday morning January 7 we, at the intal secretariat in Brussels,
received the message about the sudden death of Dr. Ahmad Maslamani
earlier that day. It left us in disbelief and shock.

Ahmad Maslamani was the director of the Health Work Committees, intal's
partner organization in Palestine. Our first thoughts went to his wife
and three children, his colleagues in the Health Work Committees and his
friends in Palestine. That very morning we sent them our sincere
condolences by fax and e-mail.

After the first shock, we started to realize how big a loss this was for
the Palestinian social movement. Only a couple of weeks ago we still
consulted him through fax and e-mail about the Social Forum on the
Middle East in Madrid. The Spanish ministry of foreign affairs was
pressuring the organizers to reorient the conference from support to the
legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to dialog with the Israeli
occupier. It was Ahmad who coordinated the reaction of the social
movements: Eventually, the boycott of the forum was a resounding
success.

We have known Dr. Ahmad Maslamani for more than ten years and have been
working together to support the implementation of a large school health
program for the Palestinian children of East Jerusalem. For him every
child has the right to health, even if the Israeli occupier was trying
to deny this right to the Palestian youth. Hence, he went all-out for
this school health program.

He was our guest in Brussels several times for our partners' meetings
where he always defended his view on health passionately: "Health is not
the absence of disease but it is a comprehensive quality of life that is
the right of anyone. How can this be realized in a society that suffers
from repression and exploitation?" 

He talked to the Cuban partners about the alternatives that are taking
shape in Cuba. He went to visit our Philippine partners in their country
in order to learn from their experiences. He showed his appreciation for
the tireless mass work of our partners from Congo. Ahmad was a
Palestinian activist and a world citizen. He was likewise eager to share
with intal members and sympathizers while he was in Belgium or during
solidarity missions to Palestine.

Ahmad was arrested by Israeli security forces in June 2005 and was
detained for nine months in inhumane conditions because he was playing a
key role in the progressive people's movement of Jerusalem. His health
was badly affected while he was in prison, but not his militancy in
defense of the Palestinian people's rights. After his release he wrote:
"In spite of the difficult conditions we are still able to denounce
injustice, defend our identity, claim our rights and to condemn the
inhumane practices of the Israeli occupation and express our incense
about them."

Ahmad was a doctor who was serving his patients tirelessly and an
activist whose world was not limited to his clinic. He wrote about the
Palestinian cause: “Our people need more than a government. They need
more than elections. Our people need to revive their national dream for
independence. The entrance for achieving this dream is the
reconstruction of the Palestinian institution on popular and democratic
basis, starting from the Palestinian Liberation Organization and ending
in the smallest club in the most remote village in Palestine.”

As we are currently developing new plans and programs in cooperation
with the Health Work Committees, we realize full well that we will miss
his wisdom and leadership dearly. But his dedication calls on us to
deepen our commitment to the liberation of the Palestinian people. We
are sure that this is also the best tribute we could possibly pay to
Ahmad.

Brussels, January 8, 2008
intal staff – www.intal.be

-- 
Wim De Ceukelaire, coordinator of intal's international partnerships
wim.deceukelaire at intal.be | tel.: +32 2 209 23 55 | fax: +32 2 209 23 51
| mobile: +32 484 119231 | skype: wimdeceuk
intal – http://www.intal.be | http://www.g3w.be – Globalize Solidarity!

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