First month in Palestine
When I applied to come to this region I could not know that armed conflict would worsen that much to the date I arrived, and the trip was finally delayed because of these incidents. First, unrest in Jerusalem made the trip to be postponed one week. Then a rocket landed near Tel Aviv airport and airlines suspended flights for 3 more days. Over time, however, arriving at a time of great humanitarian emergency increased the desire and urgency in me to do something to alleviate in any way the suffering of so many people that the conflict has left. In that sense I feel grateful to have reached this place at this time.
With the emergency, thematic clusters for coordination were re-activated and one of the ways I was able to support the humanitarian response to the current crisis in Gaza was participating in the Health Cluster Meetings conducted by the Ministry of Health, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), with extended communication via skype to medical authorities and organizations responsible in Gaza during the meeting, in order to follow up the health situation in Gaza and monitoring all assistance, interventions and donations to the health sector. I am also supporting the team in SI Jerusalem in the analysis of local legislation, and in the analysis of economic and financial information for the following up project, as well as reporting and planning presentations.
Therefore, I feel this first month on the field was of a great growth and personal development for me. Not only for the professional experience it has brought to me, in which I could expand my knowledge in this field of study and achieve special technical skills applicable in such situations. But also because the conflict in this part of the earth has touched me in a much deeper and personal manner. There is much to learn every day about the context here and my intention is that the humanitarian sector may be always prepared to deal with these circumstances without losing its strength and commitment.
By Tatiana Paradiso.
