Monday, January 18, 2010
AMMG in Haiti
At press time, AMMG has several physicians on the ground in Haiti, helping provide medical assistance to those affected by the devastating earthquake a few days ago. They are working in conjunction with IMANA Relief and other aid organizations. Details to follow.
Technical Difficulties
Unfortunately due to reasons beyond our control, the blog was offline for the past few months. We apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Doctor Shares Experiences of Gaza Relief Work
Lily Oberman of the Ithacan Online reports:
Dr. Ismail Mehr, an anesthesiologist for St. James Mercy Hospital in Hornell, N.Y., traveled to Gaza in January 2009 to give aid to its citizens following attacks on the city. Mehr shared his experience and showed slides of his relief work tonight in a presentation called “Gaza’s Dilemma.” The event was sponsored by Ithaca College’s Students for Justice in Palestine, who also brought Mehr to Ithaca College in April.
Beth Harris, associate professor of politics, said she thought the presentation was educational.
“I hope that people who come tonight will get a different picture of what’s going on in Gaza,” she said.
Andrea Levine ’09, who helped bring Mehr to the college in April, said she thinks Mehr’s presentations are always eye-opening.
“Mehr doesn’t just talk about the normal effects of war,” she said. “He educates the public on not just the effects of the attack, [but] normal everyday health problems [of the region].”
Mehr began the presentation by giving a brief history of Palestine. He then showed slides, many of which included his own photos from his 10-day trip to Gaza, providing narration of his trip as he went along.
Mehr traveled to Gaza after a three-week- long war in which Gaza was attacked. The trip was sponsored by the Islamic Medical Association of North America, an organization that Mehr is a member of.
“[The president of IMANA] said the board of directors wanted to try to put a team in Gaza to help provide medical aid,” Mehr said. “I had been on multiple missions before, and they asked me if I would lead this team.”
Mehr had been to places such as Pakistan and Indonesia following natural disasters to provide aid. He said he didn’t hesitate when asked to go to Gaza.
“There was no internal struggle at all,” he said. “I felt that if I said ‘No,’ I would be breaking a promise to myself that if I ever had the opportunity to go and do relief missions again that I would.”
Mehr then gathered a team of 11 doctors, along with two others who helped organize the trip. The group arrived in Gaza on Jan. 22.
“[When] we arrived there, we saw convoys and trucks and aid and people from Portugal, from Cuba, from Canada, from Germany, from the Netherlands, South Africa,” Mehr said. “They’d been waiting there for days and [kept] being turned away.”
The AMMG were denied entrance on the first day, after being told that no more doctors were needed in Gaza and that the borders were closed for the day. Finally, a member of the group called someone who worked at the border and enabled the group to sneak in.
Mehr then showed photographs of destruction that he took when the group entered the city.
“These photos are one-dimensional,” he said. “The destruction was all around us.”
Out of the 13 hospitals in Gaza, five were destroyed in the attacks and many others were damaged. The AMMG went to work in the Shifa Hospital, the only untouched hospital.
Mehr said the hospital was lacking even basic supplies and that the majority of people his group treated were dealing with routine illnesses, such as pneumonia and diabetes. They also worked with cancer patients who could not receive chemotherapy because of the blockade. Some of the slides that Mehr showed included photos of a jaundiced 4-year-old with liver cancer being treated by doctors and a football-sized kidney of a boy whose kidney should have been smaller than a fist. Mehr said he particularly wanted to work with children because he has two young children at home.
In their free time, the AMMG went to the local orphanage. Two doctors from the group stayed at the orphanage over the course of the entire 10-day trip, giving routine health checks to the children. Mehr shared a story about a man who routinely visited the orphanage and returned to visit the children the day after his house was destroyed and his family killed.
“That story got to me,” Harris said. “No one should have to have this kind of resilience.”
Rachel Gunderson ’09 said the presentation was laid out in an effective way.
“Some of the stories were gruesome, but it was influential,” she said.
Mehr said he hopes people walk away from his presentation with the ability to form their own opinions about the politics of the Gaza region.
“I hope they are able to go, read and learn about the realities of Palestine in general,” he said.
Dr. Ismail Mehr, an anesthesiologist for St. James Mercy Hospital in Hornell, N.Y., traveled to Gaza in January 2009 to give aid to its citizens following attacks on the city. Mehr shared his experience and showed slides of his relief work tonight in a presentation called “Gaza’s Dilemma.” The event was sponsored by Ithaca College’s Students for Justice in Palestine, who also brought Mehr to Ithaca College in April.
Beth Harris, associate professor of politics, said she thought the presentation was educational.
“I hope that people who come tonight will get a different picture of what’s going on in Gaza,” she said.
Andrea Levine ’09, who helped bring Mehr to the college in April, said she thinks Mehr’s presentations are always eye-opening.
“Mehr doesn’t just talk about the normal effects of war,” she said. “He educates the public on not just the effects of the attack, [but] normal everyday health problems [of the region].”
Mehr began the presentation by giving a brief history of Palestine. He then showed slides, many of which included his own photos from his 10-day trip to Gaza, providing narration of his trip as he went along.
Mehr traveled to Gaza after a three-week- long war in which Gaza was attacked. The trip was sponsored by the Islamic Medical Association of North America, an organization that Mehr is a member of.
“[The president of IMANA] said the board of directors wanted to try to put a team in Gaza to help provide medical aid,” Mehr said. “I had been on multiple missions before, and they asked me if I would lead this team.”
Mehr had been to places such as Pakistan and Indonesia following natural disasters to provide aid. He said he didn’t hesitate when asked to go to Gaza.
“There was no internal struggle at all,” he said. “I felt that if I said ‘No,’ I would be breaking a promise to myself that if I ever had the opportunity to go and do relief missions again that I would.”
Mehr then gathered a team of 11 doctors, along with two others who helped organize the trip. The group arrived in Gaza on Jan. 22.
“[When] we arrived there, we saw convoys and trucks and aid and people from Portugal, from Cuba, from Canada, from Germany, from the Netherlands, South Africa,” Mehr said. “They’d been waiting there for days and [kept] being turned away.”
The AMMG were denied entrance on the first day, after being told that no more doctors were needed in Gaza and that the borders were closed for the day. Finally, a member of the group called someone who worked at the border and enabled the group to sneak in.
Mehr then showed photographs of destruction that he took when the group entered the city.
“These photos are one-dimensional,” he said. “The destruction was all around us.”
Out of the 13 hospitals in Gaza, five were destroyed in the attacks and many others were damaged. The AMMG went to work in the Shifa Hospital, the only untouched hospital.
Mehr said the hospital was lacking even basic supplies and that the majority of people his group treated were dealing with routine illnesses, such as pneumonia and diabetes. They also worked with cancer patients who could not receive chemotherapy because of the blockade. Some of the slides that Mehr showed included photos of a jaundiced 4-year-old with liver cancer being treated by doctors and a football-sized kidney of a boy whose kidney should have been smaller than a fist. Mehr said he particularly wanted to work with children because he has two young children at home.
In their free time, the AMMG went to the local orphanage. Two doctors from the group stayed at the orphanage over the course of the entire 10-day trip, giving routine health checks to the children. Mehr shared a story about a man who routinely visited the orphanage and returned to visit the children the day after his house was destroyed and his family killed.
“That story got to me,” Harris said. “No one should have to have this kind of resilience.”
Rachel Gunderson ’09 said the presentation was laid out in an effective way.
“Some of the stories were gruesome, but it was influential,” she said.
Mehr said he hopes people walk away from his presentation with the ability to form their own opinions about the politics of the Gaza region.
“I hope they are able to go, read and learn about the realities of Palestine in general,” he said.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
5/21/09 Coverage
Catholic peace workers, medical supplies denied Gaza entry
Aid workers on hunger strike after Gaza entry refused
Gaza healthcare under seige (Al-Jazeera video)
Aid workers on hunger strike after Gaza entry refused
Gaza healthcare under seige (Al-Jazeera video)
Monday, May 11, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Painted Post NY to Have Gaza Awareness Event
Dr. Ismail Mehr will present a talk with slides of his American Medical Mission Trip to Gaza on
Thursday May 7th
7pm at the
First Baptist Church in
Painted Post, NY
Dr. Ismail Mehr's presentation
~ “Gaza's Dilemma” ~ will cover the medical and humanitarian aspects of Gaza as it relates to the recent war & the effects of the 20 month embargo.
Dr. Mehr is a board certified anesthesiologist and Chairman of the Department at St. James Mercy Hospital in Hornell NY. He has been an active member of IMANA (Islamic Medical Association of North America) for the past 7 years and a member of the humanitarian medical relief committee.
Following the Gaza war last December and January, Dr. Mehr was called upon by IMANA to be the coordinator as well as team leader. Please join us to learn about Dr. Ismail Mehr's humanitarian medical relief work in Gaza, his first experience in a war torn region.
Before his trip to Gaza, Dr. Mehr was fortunate enough to go to Indonesia shortly following the devastating tsunami of December 2004. In addition, he traveled to northern Pakistan in October 2005, when an earthquake rocked the region. He was the team leader for the first IMANA relief team and oversaw the relief efforts for the next several months acting as the North American Coordinator.
Corning Vicinity Faith Communities,
Peaceful Gatherings and the
Southern Tier Interfaith Coalition
are sponsors of this event.
Thursday May 7th
7pm at the
First Baptist Church in
Painted Post, NY
Dr. Ismail Mehr's presentation
~ “Gaza's Dilemma” ~ will cover the medical and humanitarian aspects of Gaza as it relates to the recent war & the effects of the 20 month embargo.
Dr. Mehr is a board certified anesthesiologist and Chairman of the Department at St. James Mercy Hospital in Hornell NY. He has been an active member of IMANA (Islamic Medical Association of North America) for the past 7 years and a member of the humanitarian medical relief committee.
Following the Gaza war last December and January, Dr. Mehr was called upon by IMANA to be the coordinator as well as team leader. Please join us to learn about Dr. Ismail Mehr's humanitarian medical relief work in Gaza, his first experience in a war torn region.
Before his trip to Gaza, Dr. Mehr was fortunate enough to go to Indonesia shortly following the devastating tsunami of December 2004. In addition, he traveled to northern Pakistan in October 2005, when an earthquake rocked the region. He was the team leader for the first IMANA relief team and oversaw the relief efforts for the next several months acting as the North American Coordinator.
Corning Vicinity Faith Communities,
Peaceful Gatherings and the
Southern Tier Interfaith Coalition
are sponsors of this event.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Gaza Strip Perspective - Dr. Ismail Mehr
WHCU News Talk 870 AM (Ithaca NY) interviews Dr. Ismail Mehr:
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
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
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
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.
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
Friday, April 10, 2009
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
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
Thursday, April 9, 2009
4/9/06 Coverage
Audio slideshow: homeless in Gaza
Little hope in Gaza aftermath
Aid convoys to be sent from Scotland and Italy
More US Congressman visit Gaza and recognize crisis, urgency to act
Red Crescent Authority says aid obstacles must be removed
Ron Kovic and George Galloway launch Viva Palestina US
Little hope in Gaza aftermath
Aid convoys to be sent from Scotland and Italy
More US Congressman visit Gaza and recognize crisis, urgency to act
Red Crescent Authority says aid obstacles must be removed
Ron Kovic and George Galloway launch Viva Palestina US
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
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