THE AMERICAN MEDICAL MISSION TO GAZA (AMMG) AIMS TO REPORT THE HUMANITARIAN AND MEDICAL OBSERVATIONS OF AMERICAN DOCTORS TRAVELING TO THE GAZA STRIP. THE AMMG DOES NOT ADVOCATE POLITICAL ACTION OR ESPOUSE POLITICAL VIEWS.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

4/16/09 Coverage

Aid rots while blocked from Gaza

Penetrating the laws of war

Norwegian doctor's presentation on Gaza attack leaves Chicago audience 'shell shocked'

Egypt seizes $2m aid meant for Gazans

Hope for Gaza Convoy: Updates

Gaza patients demonstrate near Gaza-Egypt borders

Al Jazeera video

Gaza Event at Rochester Institute of Technology

The Campus Antiwar Network will host a presentation by Dr. Ismail Mehr, "Gaza's Dilemma", on May 6, 2009 at 8pm at the Rochester Institute of Technology Wallace Library; as well as a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War for a forum titled, "Eyewitness to Occupation."

Dr. Mehr, in conjunction with the Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA), and his team of 12 doctors from the American Medical Mission to Gaza traveled to Gaza just as Israel's initial military siege ended. He lead the only American delegation of doctors and witnessed countless cases of inhumane living conditions and medical inadequacies. Since returning, Dr. Mehr and his team have traveled the country sharing their photos, videos and experiences about life under siege in Gaza.

Aside from his work as an anesthesiologist in Hornell, NY, through IMANA Dr. Mehr has traveled to other disaster zones in recent years including Pakistan and Indonesia.

After the presentation, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War will speak to their experience of occupation and its impact on the lives of people each day. There will then be time allotted for discussion.

This event is open to the public.

Sponsored by the RIT Social Action Group, a chapter of the Campus Antiwar Network.

For more information, directions, and parking details: please email admin@thesitch.com or visit the AMMGaza website at AMMGaza.com

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

NYU to Host Gaza Event Tonight

Ibn Sina presents:

The Healthcare Crisis in GAZA

What: American Medical Mission to Gaza

When: Wednesday April 15th @ 6:30pm

Where: Coles 109 NYU Langone Medical Center
550 First Avenue (between 30th and 34th on 1st Ave)
New York, NY 10016

Come join Ibn Sina: The Muslim Student Association at NYU Med this
Wednesday April 15th at 6:30pm for an enlightening talk about the
healthcare crisis affecting the war-struck area of Gaza. Dr. Kanwal S.
Chaudhry, who recently went on a medical mission trip to Gaza, will be
sharing her experiences and telling the stories of the lives and the
conditions of the people in the area. We hope you will join us to not
only see the terrible conditions that have plagued Gaza since the
recent war, but also to hear about how we, as future physicians, can
help out in less fortunate areas throughout the world through similar
medical relief efforts.

Kanwal S. Chaudhry, M.D. is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the
Department of Emergency Medicine at Kings County Hospital Center,
State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New
York. She is double board certified in Pediatrics and Emergency
Medicine and is part of the Islamic Medical Association of North
America.

FOOD WILL BE SERVED! Please come join us.

Contact abbas.anwar@nyumc.org or kanwal.merchant@nyumc.org if you have
any questions

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Gaza Event at Ithaca College

Gaza's Dilemma
Dr. Ismail Mehr of the American Medical Mission to Gaza

April 15 2009
4-630 PM
Friends 205
Ithaca College

Ithaca NY

Sponsored by Students for a Just Peace and Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East

There will be a double feature in Ithaca on April 15. Read the second event listing here.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Children Scarred by War

PressTV video

Friday, April 10, 2009

Videos of Dr. Mehr's Talk on Gaza

Courtesy of Adriano Contreras (The Sitch)

Part 1

Part 2


Part 3

The Sitch Features Video of Dr. Mehr's Talk

Ream Kidane of thesitch.com reports

Dr. Ismail Mehr led the only American medical mission to Gaza in late January. Since his return he has been speaking all over the country about the medical needs of Palestinians, the devastation of Israel’s recent attacks, and the people he encountered and became friends with during his stay.

Dr. Mehr is a member of the American Medical Mission to Gaza which seeks to report the medical and humanitarian observations of American doctors traveling to the Gaza strip. Visit the AMMGaza website to find out more about the organization, how you can help as a citizen and as a doctor, and to schedule interview or ask more information from its members.

Video link

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Testimonial of a Gaza Medic

Al Jazeera video

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Gaza Event in Chicago IL

Dr. Imran Qureshi to present on his trip to Gaza earlier this year.


The Fourth Presbytarian Church
8am sharp
Breakfast will be served
(312) 787-4570

126 E Chestnut St (intersection of Chestnut and Michigan Avenue)
Chicago, IL
Entrance is on Chestnut Street

Sponsored by Downtown Islamic Center-Chicago and the Fourth Presbytarian Church

Ithaca NY to Have Event for Gaza

GAZA'S DILEMMA is the title of a talk by Dr. Ismail Mehr

Wednesday, April 15
7:30 in the Annex of the First Unitarian Church
208 E. Buffalo St
Ithaca, N.Y.

Dr. Mehr, an anesthesiologist from Hornell, NY and an active member of the Islamic Medical Association of North America, has led IMANA medical relief teams to several different disaster areas in recent years. Last December and January he headed a humanitarian aid team to Gaza. His talk will cover the results of that war and also the effects of the 20-month embargo on Gaza.
All are invited.

Sponsored by the Social Justice Council's chapter (now in formation) of UU's for Justice in the Middle East (www.UUJME.org)

Directions & Parking: The Seneca Street Parking garage is only a block from the Unitarian Church annex. The entrances are on Tioga Street and East Seneca Street. Click here for a map. Please note that the event will be held in the meeting hall upstairs, above the Stepping Stones pre-school

Friday, April 3, 2009

UMass-Amherst to Host Gaza Event

On April 10th, Dr. Ismail Mehr of the American Medical Mission to Gaza will be speaking at the Umass Amherst Campus Center Auditorium. He traveled to Gaza with a team of American doctors only a few days after Israel completed “Operation Cast Lead”, in which 1300 Gazans were killed and 5000 wounded in an aerial assault and land invasion. Dr. Mehr will speak about his experiences during his ten day stay in Gaza, treating the wounded from that war, and what he observed.

Friday, April 10, 2009
7:30pm - 10:00pm

UMass Amherst - Campus Center Auditorium
Email:
umassmsa@gmail.com

Muslim Students Association! (MSA)

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

InFocus News Reports on Ahmed Kasem and Dr. Ismail Mehr

Physicians, lawyer on relief mission to Gaza

Mona Shadia of InfocusNews (Anaheim CA) reports

GAZA STRIP, Gaza City — Dr. Ismail Mehr’s Gaza relief trip wasn’t his first. He has been on relief missions to places like Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami and Pakistan after the 2005 earthquake that shook the country’s capital.

But there was something especially disturbing about the anesthesiologist’s recent Gaza trip.

"You can answer the questions about the Tsunami or the earthquake, it’s an act of nature," Mehr said. "But when a kid asks you in Gaza, you can’t answer this question, because this shouldn’t be happening, because it’s a man-made conflict. And it was difficult to accept as a physician."

Mehr was one of nine doctors who traveled to the hard-hit Gaza after the last Israeli strike that ended the lives of many innocent men, women and children.

On this relief mission was Ahmed Kasem, a Costa Mesa lawyer, who traveled along with the doctors to interpret for them.

The trip was sponsored by the Islamic Medical Association of North America, a nonprofit organization with members who travel to war-torn and disastrous areas to assist with relief efforts.

Mehr, who’s a member of IMANA, was asked to coordinate the trip. At the time Israel invaded Gaza, Kasem was visiting Egypt. From there, he worked to get through the Egyptian border and to get authorizations for him and the rest of the doctors to enter into Gaza, which was very difficult, he said.

"To get through the Egyptian border, you had to be persistent," he said. "There was a Turkish group there, and it took them five days to get there. It took us one day."

The doctors and the lawyer began planning their trip before the ceasefire went into effect. But the team made it there a few days after. Once there, they spent a week in January performing surgeries and helping those who were affected by the war and others who suffered from chronic illness. About 75 surgeries were performed on patients during their visit, Mehr said.

Along with those who were affected by the war and needed immediate help, there were hundreds who suffered from chronic diseases that went without treatment because of the embargo that has been imposed on Gaza for more than two years.

The Israeli-imposed embargo keeps the Palestinians in Gaza isolated by land, sea and air.


Kasem recalled the story of a child with a tumor that grew to the size of a ball due to lack of medical equipment and treatment in Gaza.

"The medical infrastructure is almost nonexistent, not because of the war but because of the embargo," Mehr said. "People are dying every day because of things that can be prevented."

For Kasem, whose trip was the first-ever to a war-torn area, being there was also especially striking. "It was kind of surreal going in," he said. "The Palestinian issue is central to international politics and to the U.S. foreign politics. When I got there, I felt like we were at the center of the conflict. It was surreal. But there was also so much life there. When you strip away all the man-made things, there’s life."

And with all of their troubles, Kasem said, the people in Gaza were not bitter, even though he had not met anyone who had not lost a loved one. This, he said, was the good part of his trip.


But the sad part for Kasem extended beyond seeing the lost lives and the damage the war caused.


"It was going into a place where these people are demonized. I felt really heartbroken," Kasem said.

And although they stayed for one week, the doctors and IMANA have committed to further helping the medical situation in Gaza.

Mehr said they have three goals to reach: Relax the borders to help humanitarian teams enter into Gaza, help build the medical infrastructure and train the doctors.

Kasem said everyone knows the United States is the biggest financial supporter to Israel. So, at the end of the day, "as a U.S. citizen, you should have the right to know what’s going on. Especially at a time when the entire economy is struggling, why shouldn’t people care about what’s being done with their money?"




Monday, March 30, 2009

100,000 Homeless in Gaza

Al Jazeera video

Friday, March 27, 2009

Syracuse University to Host Gaza Event

Grief in Gaza: A Doctor's Story

Featuring Dr. Ismail Mehr

7-830PM
March 31, 2009
Hall of Languages
Room 207
Syracuse University

Sponsored by the MSA

Gaza Children Search Trash For Survival

PressTV video