More than 300 health workers gathered outside the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town on Tuesday morning’s peak traffic with flags and placards to show support for the children of Palestine. Picture: Armand Hough/Independent Newspapers
Cape Town - Before starting their shifts on Tuesday, healthcare workers and hospital staff across Cape Town gathered outside the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, to demonstrate against the systematic and unprecedented attacks on their Palestinian colleagues, children and innocent civilians in Gaza.
The peaceful picket and vigil was organised by the newly-formed Healthcare Workers for Palestine South Africa (HCW4PSA), as a response to the ongoing Israeli Defence Force (IDF) assault which has resulted in the complete collapse of the healthcare system in Gaza.
The 300-strong picket comes a day after the commemoration of World Children’s Day.
Since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israeli towns and villages, at least 5500 children have been killed and around 9000 injured by the IDF in Gaza.
The World Health Organization said lack of clean water, fuel, medicines, food and other essential aid over the last six weeks has caused Al-Shifa, the once largest, most advanced and best-equipped referral hospital in Gaza to “essentially stop functioning as a medical facility”.
In addition, the IDF issued evacuation orders to those inside the hospital. An IDF strike at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza resulted in the death of 12 Palestinians.
Over 200 healthcare workers have been killed in Gaza.
Norwegian physician, humanitarian, and activist Dr Mads Gilbert, who is currently awaiting entry into Gaza to support Palestinian colleagues was among those at the picket.
Paediatrician Dr Fatima Khan said: “It’s dear to my heart that we look after children as a paediatrician but also the part where it’s now our colleagues that are being wiped out and if they are wiped out, who is going to be left behind to look after the people of Palestine and Gaza.
“We need a permanent ceasefire, we need to protect our children, our mothers and to protect our healthcare workers.”
Dermatologist Samina Parkar said: “They work under dismal circumstances. For them to be working under also all that pressure, the continuous indiscriminate bombardment, to be working with no antibiotics, no antiseptics, no anaesthesia. They perform amputations on children with no anaesthesia. Imagine the psychological trauma that they must be going through ... ”
Paediatrician working in the Paarl Cape Winelands area Samah El-Boraei said the picket was to encourage people to place pressure on the government to take action and the need for boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel.
“They’re at breaking point. We can’t sit by and watch this happen to our colleagues. We can't imagine having to leave a hospital and evacuate in an hour, those things are completely insane. There needs to be a ceasefire.”
On why the healthcare workers had picketed, retired deputy Health Sciences Dean at UCT, Gonda Perez said: “I think the main reason is that people are horrified at what is happening in Gaza and the fact that it’s been happening for such a very long time. Seventy-five years is a long time. The repression has just gotten worse and the ultimate goal now seems to be the complete genocide of the Palestinian people.”
shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za