“In Gaza, every single facet of society has been impacted or dismantled from the ground up. It should offend every ounce of civility in us that hospitals would ever be targeted, and it’s deeply appalling because it ties my hands to be able to save lives. It prevents humanitarians from providing critical aid. I just always thought that I would be safe in a hospital. It never occurred to me that I would feel more in danger.”
-Dr. Seema Jilani, episode 363 of Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso
As we enter month six of the Israel-Hamas war, a dispatch from Dr. Seema Jilani. She’s provided critical aid in the West Bank for nearly two decades, and recently returned from Gaza working with the IRC (the International Rescue Committee) to offer humanitarian support and medical assistance.
At the top, we discuss her latest trip to the region (10:40), the devastating conditions she witnessed (14:46), and the details of her rescue efforts at Al-Aqsa Hospital (16:34). Then, she describes the decision-making process of her colleges on the ground (20:28), how medical supplies are dwindling (28:39), and the subsequent consequences of those shortages on children (34:46).
On the back-half, Dr. Jilani underscores the importance of how doctors communicate with the media (40:36), how she views her responsibility as a physician (44:34), what she hopes comes out of the recent protest by U.S. airman Aaron Bushnell (45:55), and, to close, she reads a passage from poet Audre Lorde (55:02).
For questions, comments, or to join our mailing list, reach me at sf@talkeasypod.com. This conversation was recorded at Spotify Studios in Los Angeles and Circle Music Group in Houston.
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Show-notes:
- Learn more about Dr. Seema Jilani’s work with the International Rescue Committee.
- Support and donate to the IRC here.
- You can also support the Gaza emergency response through Medical Aid for Palestinians.
- Read Dr. Jilani’s words in The New York Times and The Guardian, along with her recent interview in The New Yorker.
- Follow her on Twitter.
- For more, hear our talks with Gloria Steinem, Maria Ressa, and David Remnick.
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Original illustration by Krishna Shenoi.
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