Khuloud J. Khayyat Dajani
Posted on | November 13, 2008 | No Comments
Professor and Chair of Al Quds Child Institute
The Palestinian nation has one of the highest fertility rates and a median age of 18. Large numbers of children need special care. It is obvious nobody looks out for them by the results in the streets of Gaza and the camps of Beirut and the West Bank. There’s little investment in refugee children by Palestinian leaders or Israelis, so they don’t know how to be proper citizens of the world. They suffer from a toxic environment—if you feel your country move towards civil war, it tells what kind of atmosphere the children live in.
What are the results of a “toxic environment?”
Violence, ignorance, social problems. All children are children of Adam and Eve. It’s not adequate to feed them, give them water, and put them in schools with 40 or 50 students in a class, with violence, substance abuse, and inadequate education. They need the best education to help cope with the struggles of daily life. Only Palestinian children are security prisoners, are in jails, and are used as human shields when soldiers infiltrate a camp. Only Palestinian children are forced to pass through checkpoints and encounter soldiers on their way to school.
You hear from children, “God, did you create me as Palestinian to make me suffer?” They laugh to survive it, but to be born a Palestinian child means submission, means you don’t know what is waiting for you tomorrow. Let alone tomorrow, you can’t plan for the afternoon.
You sound angry for the children.
Being in social medicine, I want to understand why the Israelis do what they do. On one hand, you have an intelligent nation—they plan, they do things in a scientific and systematic way—and on the other hand, they try to kick a people out of their homeland. This is a paradox. I did learn that leaders, especially those with big passions for big things, manipulate nations, on both sides.
Nobody is truthful in this part of the world. Read any paper, they shift on borders, militaries, Jerusalem, security, everything. If truth and trust were there, then people could work with some pluses or minuses on various issues.
Words will not describe what the Israeli military apparatus is doing to the people of the West Bank and Gaza. I ask, “Why do you pretend to have democracy when you don’t have it equally for both people? Why do you pretend humanity when you don’t implement it? Why do you pretend religion when you don’t respect God? If you bring water and green to this occupied territory, the more chance you give to people to create a better future together.”
And the Palestinian government needs to implement transparency, freedom, social justice, prosperity, and have good relations with all neighboring countries. This way the children can live in a good environment. But how can you form a proper government under occupation? It is like a puzzle, you don’t know where the pieces are or how to bring it all together.
Tell us about yourself and your work.
I was born in Jordan, but I lived my childhood in Nablus, in the West Bank. I was a child during the ’67 war. It was the biggest jolt in my life. They call it a war, but the way it was planned and the way it was implemented, I couldn’t figure out who was fighting whom. I became a medical doctor when I was 22 years old. I worked in pediatrics, anesthesia, and women’s and children’s health, but I left the hospital to work in social systems and institutions. I went into the management track in social health and got my PhD in health policy.
Today, I am a doctor, social activist, and professor, and I work for the social health of Palestinian families and children. My focus is not just on their physical well-being but also for their wellness, which is a new model of thinking about health. This involves promoting their development in terms of language, thinking, emotional and spiritual status, as well as their behavioral and physical development. I see my role as helping this holistically-developed child to be socially active, economically productive, and politically intelligent citizen of the world.
Describe the conditions that are interfering with the social health of Palestinian children globally.
Throwing stones is a game for the children, the only game that they have for releasing their pent up emotions. They know that they have been deprived of many things. Think about what happens when they pass some of the checkpoints to go to school. Think of the children from 12 to 18 years who are jailed by the Israelis without being accused of any serious crimes.
Palestinian children are scattered all over the world. But no matter where they are, whether they are Palestinian children in Israel or in the Arab world, no matter which country they are in or what citizenship they hold, they remain second-class citizens.
However, I don’t see it as obstacles the child has to overcome on a personal level. I look at it as part of the challenges that nations have to overcome; you can’t move ahead unless you break down all these stereotypes in your society.
The Palestinian children are suffering the most, but the Israeli children suffer as well. They feel responsible and in attempting to do something about it, they become part of the freedom movement. We need to pave the way for peace and security for both the Palestinians and Israelis.
What are your thoughts on suicide bombing?
I don’t believe that violence and blood solve any problems. I cry over any bloodshed. However, it will take more than putting an end to suicide bombing to solve the problem. Solving the Palestinian-Israeli issue will take much more. It’s like a baby crying to say it exists. The baby has the mother who will pick it up and soothe it. For the Palestinians, no one is hearing or listening.
If you could say something to the Israelis, what would it be?
In Judaism as well as in Islam, you have the obligation to treat your human brother as you would like to be treated. Jewish people should have democracy for Palestinians just as they have it in Israel. You can’t support democracy on one side, and then on the other create a system of colonialism, patriarchy, and apartheid.
If you could say something to the people of this world, what would that be?
Make peace not war, and love means serving your human brother and sister.
Recipient of the Arab Woman of 2004 Excellence in Management Performance award, Dajani was a co-founder of Al Quds University in East Jerusalem, where she is a professor and chair of the Child Institute for Health, Development, and Learning. Before earning her PhD in health policy, Dajani worked as a medical doctor in pediatrics and mother-child health. A peace activist, she focuses on public diplomacy and social health.
