By Smadar Shiffman | Project Leader, Volunteer
Dear Supporters and Friends,
Another quarter has gone by, and thanks to your continued donations, we were able to maintain the increased level of chartered minibus trips from Gaza to hospitals in Jerusalem. We funded nine trips in June, eight trips in July, and seven trips in August compared with only about half the trips in the year that preceded the beginning of our project.
This quarter we made a concentrated effort to raise the awareness of the work the Road to Recovery is doing and recruit new volunteer drivers, so that we can meet the increasing demand for our transportation services for Gaza patients. On July 21, 2016 Maestro Zubin Mehta—a prominent conductor and musician who is the Music Director for Life of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra—conducted a benefit concert at the Elma Arts Complex in Zikhron Ya’aqov, Israel to support of the Road to Recovery. The concert helped our recruiting effort for new volunteers and our fund raising. Prior to the concert, Maestro Mehta accompanied one of our volunteers when he drove a child patient to her last checkup in Tel-Hashomer hospital after receiving cancer treatment and recovering from leukemia. Maestro Meta’s impressions from the trip are summarized in a video (please see link below).
We are continuing to observe examples of mutual understanding between volunteer drivers and their patient passengers that develop when they spend time together on trips. An example of a small expression of understanding was described by one of our volunteer drivers, Mila, a mother of two and a student in the Arab Literature program at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Mila recalled a conversation with her passenger in a recent trip.
“Tell me, aren’t you afraid of me?”“No, why should I be afraid of you?” I replied, a bit surprised.“Because I’m an Arab, a Palestinian.”“No. And are you not afraid of me? You are sitting in my car, with your child, and I am driving you.”“And are you not afraid of Palestinians, in general?”“No.”“And aren’t you afraid to drive in the occupied territories, in general?”I think for a few seconds. “The truth is that I am afraid. This is why I am driving patients only to the road block, and not further in.”Silence again for a whole minute.“Tell me, does your husband know?”“Know what”?“That you transport, you know, Palestinians.”“He knows.”“And what does he think about it?”“He is supportive, in general.”“And does he know that you are driving me now?”“No, I didn’t tell him.”“He is probably concerned and worried about you.”“Maybe, but he never said so.”Silence again for half a minute.“So after you drop me off at the road block, when you get home, please give him a call and tell him that you are OK. “Stunned by the exchange we just had, I said –“sure, I promise I will let him know I am OK.”But from that moment on, something broke loose and the conversation flowed. My passenger is 30 years old. Her husband is at work and cannot miss a single day. Her son is ill, probably a genetic disease. She has a healthy six year old girl. After her daughter was born she had two more babies that died two month after birth, the cause of death was not clear. And now this baby. She had undergone genetic testing before becoming pregnant and everything looked fine. Her husband decided not to get tested, because he “did not have anything”, and like in Israel, if the woman’s tests are negative, the men do not get tested. We keep on talking, about family, spouses, children, getting grandparents to help out. We laugh. Sometimes the small-talk arrives only after a serious discussion.We arrived at Ni’ilin. We said goodbye. I continued home, to Kiryat Ono, thinking about the conversation we had in the car. After I got home I texted my husband, as my passenger had asked that I do.“The woman from Jalazun that I drove today with her baby asked that I call you to let you know I’m OK, because you are probably concerned and worried about me. Funny and sad. So I am home and OK, and Haim will be here soon to paint the fence.”Your donation enables us to provide humanitarian help to patients in Gaza, and thus develop understanding that is crucial for peace between Israelis and Palestinian.
We are grateful for your help and support.
Sincerely,
Yuval Roth and The Road to Recovery US volunteer team
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