“The Dead Sea is closed” October 2006
“The Dead Sea is closed”. This rather unusual statement by the hotel clerk accurately reflected the situation. Because of Yom Kippur the roads were closed in most areas throughout Jerusalem and surrounding regions. The locals had an effective way of enforcing the proscription against driving on the Sabbath; they would roll huge boulders onto the roads!
Our medical mission was winding down. In four days of surgery, Bill and I had performed 35 operations at Rafidiah Hospital in the city of Nablus, an ancient Caananite city located in the center of the West Bank. Most were children and about half involved repair of cleft lips and palates; the rest were burns. Palestine, with a population of over 3.5 million, has one plastic surgeon and we just scratched the surface of work to be done.
Bill is William B. Riley, Jr., MD, past president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and founder of Operation Rainbow which has provided plastic surgery to children throughout the world. We were invited to come to Palestine by Steve Sosebee, who in 1991, founded the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) a non-political, humanitarian organization to provide free medical care to Palestinian children. Years of hostilities with Israel and the recent military occupation have devastated the economy and eliminated much of the social infrastructure; the West Bank has no police, limited public services, and essentially no formal civil or criminal court system. Travel within the West Bank is severely restricted and even street signs have been eliminated. Medical care is limited at best and there is a critical lack of specialists.
Our aim was simply to provide plastic surgical care to as many children as possible. While our intentions were non-political, it was our hope that this tiny bit of medical diplomacy might in some way help bridge the gap between the Israelis and Palestinians.
Along with our team of 3 plastic surgeons (Michael Parker, from Ohio, was working on his own in a hospital in Jenin, a city to the north of Nablus) PCRF had a team of pediatric orthopedic surgeons and one of pediatric cardiac surgeons working in the West Bank. Our plastic surgical mission got of to a rocky start when the sentries at the military checkpoint into Nablus did not have any record of our approval to enter the city to work. Once that was corrected, things went smoothly.
Despite my misgivings about safety, at no time in the 10 days we were there did I feel any fear for our safety. The Palestinians were, without exception, gracious, friendly, and grateful for our presence. I was thanked more times than I can count. The chance to visit this area, the cradle of the world’s three major monotheistic religions, and provide a needed service, was just too incredible to pass up. It did not disappoint. I drew water from Jacob’s well and stood in the garden tomb that may well have once held the crucified body of Jesus Christ. Truly the experience of a lifetime. For more information on PCRF, go to www.pcrf.net.
Richard T. Bosshardt, MD, FACS
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