Earth-shattering testimony of Dr. Awad: Israeli army denies water to Palestinians, forcing them into exodus

(Patria) - On the occasion of World Water Day, the Institute for Health and Food Safety Zenica (INZ) today organized a seminar on the topic "Water for Peace – Every Spring Must Be Preserved".

Lecturers from the Department of Health Ecology and Hygiene of the INZ, Melita Lelić, Dr. Nermin Rondić, and Dr. Jasmin Durmišević, pointed out through various examples the need for water availability to all citizens, as well as the abuse of this vital resource during wars and aggressive campaigns.

Examples from Ukraine in the past year, or the war period in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995, were presented through examples and statements of witnesses and participants in the process of supplying water to wartime Sarajevo and other BiH areas.

A parallel was drawn with the current situation, as well as the capacities and preservation of water resources in the Zenica-Doboj Canton area. However, the most attention was drawn by the emotional and very substantive lecture by physician - neuropsychiatrist Dr. Hasan Awad, a Palestinian, who is the head of the Outpatient Treatment Department of the Center for Addiction Diseases of the ZDC.

Generations grow up without electricity and water

He spoke about the aspect of water as a weapon of coercion during the decades of his life spent in Gaza, as well as examples of how the Israeli aggressor army, with the help of the state, uses water to force Palestinians into exodus.

Awad lived in Gaza and Rafah until 2007, and even after that he visited the occupied territory several times. He pointed out that the problem of the Gaza area is the so-called "salty" water, i.e., water for hygiene, sanitation, and cooking. After decades of using tap water also for drinking, due to the actions of the aggressor army, which includes neglect of the treatment of sanitary and wastewater, Palestinian cities, the Gaza area, have been unable to use tap water for drinking for years. But that is only one of the problems.

- Life in Gaza is life with 16 to 20 hours a day without electricity. I know many Bosnians know what that is, but here it is not about a day, a week, a year, but about a lifetime. Decades of occupation and decades without electricity. Children are born, grow up, attend schools, get master's degrees, doctorates, have children who attend schools, all with four to eight hours of electricity a day. What does that mean? Life without a refrigerator, freezer, without many products that must be there. I repeat, not a day, a year, but since 1947, that is now 77 years.

He spoke to the participants about the impact on the mental health of Palestinians, pointing out that the concept of suicide, due to religious beliefs and way of life unknown in this area for centuries, has become increasingly present among young Palestinians in recent years and decades.

- Only faith and belief in Allah/God still prevents the suicide trend from approaching the figures of some Western, supposedly "happy and peaceful" countries. However, when you get a master's degree in Bosnia, anywhere in the world, you can be sad that you don't have a job, you can hope for it for days, months, even years. Hope, chance, opportunity sustains a person, even the option that in the end you can "pack your things" and go to Germany. That is also an option. Palestinians in Gaza do not even have that option. They are surrounded and are not allowed to leave, and even when it is possible, it often ends tragically. In Gaza, it is often said that the path to Paradise is more likely and easier than the one leading out of Gaza. On the topic of mental health, the best example is a young man who, overwhelmed by suicidal thoughts, decided to swim - to Cyprus. Anyone who knows geography knows that this is a death sentence even for the best swimmers on the Planet. But hopelessness leads a person to mental health disorders and such decisions, Awad pointed out.

Water as a weapon for decades in the hands of Israelis

To the seminar participants, doctors, medical staff, and representatives of utility companies from the ZDC, Awad explained the water collection systems in Gaza, which are often targeted by armed fire and destruction by the aggressor army.

- Roof tanks, even if they do not become a target of weapons, usually cannot be filled because the water pressure, when it arrives, three to four hours every two to three days, is too weak for the natural "buoyancy" to push it to the top of the building. Then tanks are placed in basements, and pumps "push" the water to the roof so it can be used. What is a real lottery is to have periods when there is electricity and when there is water coincide, mostly they are not simultaneous. The feeling of humiliation, tension, and nervousness becomes more pronounced as water supplies decrease. It is known that lack of water in the body causes not only physical but also mental problems. This has been the weapon of the Israelis for decades, said Dr. Awad.

He cited examples that even repairing a centuries-old well, let alone digging a new one, repairing an installation or pipeline, is not allowed without a permit from the Israeli army, and such a permit is generally impossible to obtain.

- Instead of a permit, the army comes and concretes over your spring, disables it with acids, or simply redirects it to themselves. I personally know an example of a neighbor who invested more than $50,000 in digging a well, because water in Gaza is available only at 70-80 meters, the Israelis knew he was digging without a permit, when he reached the water, they simply came, concreted over the spring, and fined him.

Finally, Dr. Awad ended his emotional presentation, full of details of the aggressor's cruelty in the decades-long occupation of Gaza, with a photograph of waterfalls from BiH, saying - protect the water, protect Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to UN data, significant water resources are located in the border areas of more than 150 countries in the world, and only 24 of them on the entire Planet have regulated cross-border relations when it comes to water use.