Wisam Lulu couldn’t hide his tears as he was talking to the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) about his five-year-old Aisha wondering how her small body could endure all that pain and suffering.
Cancer
The second of her siblings Aisha had filled her family’s home in al-Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip with joy and laughter before she was diagnosed with brain cancer about a year ago.
Endless grief has plagued Aisha’s family. Her parents are still shocked by the horror their beloved child had to witness. Their pleas and tears were not enough to convince the Israeli occupation authorities to allow her to receive the proper treatment just like other children in the rest of the world.
Crime against humanity
Wisam told thePIC that the Israeli occupation authorities prevented him and his wife fromaccompanying their child for treatment in Jerusalem since Gaza hospitals lackthe necessary equipment to deal with cancer patients due to the blockade.
“I didn’tgive up. I repeatedly applied for a permit and didn’t lose hope despiterejection” he said.
“We sent more than 10 names of our relatives to accompany her including her grandmother who is over 70 years old her 55-year-old aunt 50-year-old uncle and many others but the Israeli authorities decided that she should be sent alone” the father added bitterly.
A complete stranger who is based in the West Bank volunteered to accompany Aisha from Beit Hanoun crossing to the hospital. There Aisha had a surgery to remove part of the tumor from her brain and fell into a coma.
When Aisha woke up she kept weeping and asking for her mother to be by her side until she was sent back to the Gaza Strip about two weeks ago.
Bitter return
The family still had hope that Aisha would get better. However despite her serious health condition Aisha was not transferred to Beit Hanoun checkpoint by an ambulance like any other patient but by a small vehicle used to transport travel bags Wisam said.
Aisha arrived at Rantisi Hospital in Gaza about two weeks ago and remained in a coma until she took her last breath on 17 May. Her father affirmed that she was subjected to deliberate medical negligence and had to fight her disease alone.
After a deep sigh the father stressed that his daughter should have been allowed access to health services in a safe manner adding that what happened to his daughter must not happen to any child in the world.
