Bringing hope and healing in the Holy Land

(Vatican Radio) The British charity Christian Aid is urging people to bring hope and healing this Christmas to people living in the Holy Land. In a special Christmas appeal, the charity is calling for help to provide care for children and adults facing barriers to medical treatment because of the physical restrictions on movement caused by Israel's separation barrier and the many Israeli military checkpoints. Tabitha Ross is a Communications Officer for Christian Aid. She visited Israel and the Palestinian territories recently and saw with her own eyes how the Israeli occupation and the physical barriers impact upon the life of children who face huge difficulties accessing essential medical care. Ross spoke to Vatican Radio's Susy Hodges.

Ross speaks about the "amazing" work done by Christian Aid's partner organisation called Physicians for Human rights Israel that helps children and adults needing medical care. She says that although it is an Israel organisation, it employs both Israeli and Palestinian staff who work side by side to try to not just open paths to healthcare but also to reconciliation in a divided land.

Ross shared with us the story of a Palestinian girl who needs to travel three times a week from her home in the West Bank to East Jerusalem for essential kidney dialysis. She explains that the journey to reach the hospital can sometimes take "up to 4 hours" because of the delays incurred going through the many checkpoints. Another problem, Ross adds, is the need for an Israeli permit to go to East Jerusalem and she describes the "opaque and bureaucratic process " involved in obtaining this permit. Sometimes the permit arrives too late and so the girl's father has been unable to take her to hospital. Ross says the strain of all this is "putting a massive weight on the family."

Ross says the story of this girl and a boy with severe deafness whom they also helped to access medical care is "only the tip of the iceberg" in the Palestinian territories. Sadly, she says, there are many many stories like this."

Listen to the interview with Tabitha Ross: