From: Hermit (hidden@lucifer.com)
Date: Wed Aug 07 2002 - 01:55:45 MDT
Palestinian children suffer from malnutrition in Israeli blockade
[Hermit: Many people have asked their parents and grandparents why they did not act when they saw the initiation of genocide in Germany during the 1930s. None of the possible answers ever sounded particularly compelling in the light of the eventual death toll. Today, from Iraq to Israel, the answer is becoming apparent, even if no less pleasant. Think about what you will tell your children when they ask you the same question.
Source: The Times (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,251-376000,00.html)
Authors: Stephen Farrell
Dated: 2002-08-07
CHILD malnutrition among Palestinians has increased to “emergency” levels amid high unemployment, Israeli curfews and border closures, a study by the US Government’s development agency said yesterday.
More than one in five young Palestinian children suffers from acute (wasting) or chronic (stunting) malnutrition, with levels of anaemia almost as high, according to the report by USaid.
Medical and nutrition experts described the situation in Gaza and the West Bank as an “humanitarian emergency”, singling out shortages of high-protein foods such as baby formula, powdered milk, meat and poultry in the diets of mothers and children under five.
Israel insists that restrictions on movement of Palestinian people and traffic are necessary to protect its civilians against suicide bombs and shooting attacks.
The survey of 1,000 Palestinian households across the West Bank and Gaza found that 9.3 per cent of Palestinian children aged under five suffers from moderate or severe acute malnutrition and 13.2 per cent from longer-term chronic malnutrition, which is measured by stunting of a child’s growth.
Both figures were significantly worse in Gaza, where Palestinians have been locked behind fences since the outbreak of the intifada and where tens of thousands have lost all their income because they are unable to travel to their jobs in Israel.
The researchers admit that they do not have exact preintifada data against which to compare the findings, saying that the closest is the Palestinian Authority’s own study in 2000, suggesting 1.4 per cent acute malnutrition (a sixfold increase) and 7.5 per cent chronic (nearly double).
Last night Israel’s Health Ministry said that it could not be blamed for the situation, insisting that all shipments of food reached Gaza and the West Bank, albeit after delays for security searches. Although towns were under curfew, Palestinians could buy in advance when the restrictions were lifted every few days, Iddo Hadari, a spokesman, said.
Shlomo Benizri, the Health Minister, took a robust line. “They are suffering from malnutrition, but at least they are still alive,” he told Israeli television.
“They brought economic hardship on themselves. They are holding a rifle and shooting at us and when we come to strike them, they say: ‘Wait, I’m holding a child in my arms.’ ”
---- This message was posted by Hermit to the Virus 2002 board on Church of Virus BBS. <http://virus.lucifer.com/bbs/index.php?board=51;action=display;threadid=25975>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Wed Sep 25 2002 - 13:28:51 MDT