Children Under Occupation

January 27th, 2011

Ziad Abbas, Palestinian Refugee from Dheisheh Refugee Camp in the West Bank, to Speak at South Puget Sound Community College
Rachel Corrie Foundation Joins Effort to Bring Clean Water to Children in Gaza
CONTACT:
Ziad Abbas, Middle East Children’s Alliance, 510-717-6644, ziad@mecaforpeace.org
Rochelle Gause, Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice, 360-754-3998, rochelle@rachelcorriefoundation.org

On Monday, February 7th, Ziad Abbas, a Palestinian refugee and Associate Director of the Berkeley-based Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA), will be speaking at 7p.m. at South Puget Sound Community College, in Bldg 26, Room 101 in Olympia, WA. Ziad will give an informative and moving presentation entitled Children Under Occupation: Human Rights, International Solidarity and Water in Palestine about the water situation and MECA's Maia Project that provides clean water to children in Gaza. Ziad will delve into the reasons behind the water crisis and the personal impact of both the crisis and the Maia Project on people in Palestine. “The Maia Project is close to my heart because the struggle for clean drinking water was a constant in my childhood.” The Rachel Corrie Foundation has recently partnered with MECA on the Maia Project to raise the funds for a water purification and desalination unit for a Kindergarten in Rafah, Gaza.

There is a growing water crisis in Palestine that affects agriculture, industry, and the health of virtually every adult and child. In the Gaza Strip, poor sanitation and over-extraction have polluted the limited water supply. Recent reports from the World Bank, Amnesty International, UNRWA, Gaza's Coastal Municipalities Water Utility & Science of the Total Environment conclude that:
The Gaza aquifer is already over-extracted; the UN estimates that Gaza will have no drinking water in the next 15 years.
Researchers have found that water from the aquifer is 90-95% polluted and unfit for human consumption.
A recent study found excessive nitrate levels in the drinking water of Gaza. 90% of their water samples contained nitrate concentrations that were between two and eight times higher than the limit recommended by the WHO.
There has been a marked increase in kidney diseases due to contaminated water.
The most common infectious diseases affecting Palestinian refugees in Gaza—who make up more than three-quarters of the population—are directly related to inadequate supplies of safe water and poor sanitation: water diarrhea, acute bloody diarrhea and viral hepatitis.

The Maia Project began when the Student Parliament in Bureij Refugee Camp, Gaza was given the opportunity to choose one thing they most wanted for their school: They chose to have clean drinking water. MECA’s partner in Gaza heard about this vote and came to MECA's Director of Gaza Projects, Dr. Mona El-Farra, to see if we could respond to the children’s request. MECA provided the funds to build a water purification and desalination unit for the school in 2007. Ziad proudly explains since then “We have succeeded in building 27 water purification systems in primary schools and kindergartens giving 30,000 children access to clean water. As a result, thousands of mothers will feel less frightened that their children might be harmed by polluted water.” He adds that “The Maia Project seeks to expand to all the schools in Gaza so more children can realize their right to clean water.”

LOCATION/DATE/TIME
Children Under Occupation: Human Rights, International Solidarity and Water in Palestine: South Puget Sound Community College, Olympia, Bldg 26, Room 101
Monday February 7, 7p.m. For information please contact the Rachel Corrie Foundation at 360-754-3998.
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