GPHRC Members de-arresting a Palestinian at the weekly Sheikh Jarrah Demonstration

 

 

 

 

GPHRC was formed in early 2003 after we visited a number of refugee camps in the West Bank.
While there, we were shocked to witness the stark poverty and  gross injustices inflicted upon the Palestinian people by the (so-called) Israeli  Defence Forces (IDF), an army of oppression which the Palestinians, more appropriately, call the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).  We saw, for example, how the IOF had sealed-off all the main entry points to one of the camps, making normal life impossible, and it soon became apparent to us that these brutal operations were making Palestinians feel tragically isolated from the world.
Following numerous conversations with people and organisations living and working in the camps, we resolved to fund a young girl whose dream it was to be a nurse, an aspiration which seemed unrealisable due to the Occupation.  We were also asked if we could supply digital cameras, thus allowing Palestinians to record such operations and put them on the internet for all the world to see.  We, and they, saw this as a practical way of fighting the Occupation with words and pictures, while teaching the children that there are also peacefully-effective forms of resistance.

From those moving experiences in the camps and uplifting engagements with our Palestinian friends, the work of GPHRC has steadily-grown to include further funding of student tuition fees, operations and other medical relief, assistance to theatre and cultural groups, paying for kids' outings and additional forms of practical support inside the camps.  It's also important to note that, while we endeavour to raise all the money we can for these projects, GPHRC do not regard this as, simply, 'charitable' work.  Rather, we wish to assist in a spirit of concern and solidarity with our Palestinian friends.  We also feel it vitally important, in this regard, for people to visit the camps with a view to working with, understanding and enjoying the warm company of these resilient people.

Want to get involved ???

Are you interested in getting involved visiting the West Bank is great way of witnessing the hardships forced upon the Palestinian People by the IOF when internationals are about they cant get away with the same violence in most cases because people like you can go back home and let other people know what ’s going on as you probably know most of the violence is never reported in the media so you can make vast difference so please try and make the effort to visit www.ism-scotland.org