The
Lancet
Mustafa
Barghouti
Published: 23
June 2018
Volunteer medical emergency first aid worker
for the Palestinian Medical Relief Society. She was born on Sept 13, 1997, in
Khuza'a, Gaza Strip, occupied Palestinian territory, and died after being shot
while helping the wounded near the Israel–Gaza border, on June 1, 2018, aged 20
years.
“We have one goal—to save lives and evacuate people. And to
send a message to the world: without weapons we can do anything”, Razan
al-Najjar told The New York
Times in an interview
earlier this year. Razan was a first aid volunteer for the Palestinian
non-governmental organisation Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) who was
working near the Israel–Gaza border when she was shot by an Israeli soldier on
June 1, 2018, while trying to help a wounded man. Her colleague Mahmoud Abdul
Ati, who was also injured while tending the injured with Razan on the same day,
told me that Razan was “one of the most committed to helping injured people,
and she was very kind to her colleagues”. Razan's funeral was attended by
thousands of people who were shocked by the death of a young woman who was
fulfilling her humanitarian duty. Since her death, many people having applied to
train as PMRS volunteer emergency workers.
Razan grew up in Khuza'a, a small farming town near the
armistice line separating Israel from the Gaza Strip in the Khan Younes
district. Razan's father, Ashraf, is a mechanic and is currently unemployed,
and her mother, Sabrine, is a home maker. Razan was their eldest child and she
had three brothers and two sisters. She attended a governmental school in
Khuza'a but was unable to attend university because of family financial
constraints.
When she was 18 years old, Razan began to volunteer as a
medical emergency first aid worker at PMRS, after having received several short
training first aid and nurse assistant courses with PMRS and at Al Naser
Hospital. She worked as a volunteer at PMRS and Al Naser hospitals providing
first aid to her community. Since what we Palestinians call the Great Return
March began on March 30, 2018, Razan provided first aid and helped evacuate the
wounded during these demonstrations. She had been slightly injured previously
while helping the wounded but continued to volunteer as a front-line responder.
She was known for her strength and commitment. In her interview with The New York Times she insisted that “being a medic is
not only a job for a man. It's for women too”, and that women “have a big role
here” in helping the injured.
On June 1, Razan and PMRS volunteers were providing first aid
to the injured and working to evacuate them. The volunteers, including Razan,
were wearing identifiable white uniforms that are worn by volunteer medical
emergency first aid workers. Razan and her five colleagues shouted to the
Israeli soldiers to alert them that they were medical people helping the
injured with their hands in the air, as was shown on a CNN video. They were
standing away from the borders and away from protests. Suddenly, an Israeli
soldier started shooting with live ammunition. Razan was shot. She walked a few
steps and collapsed and was taken to the European Gaza Hospital where she died.
Two other PMRS volunteers were also hit with live ammunition in their legs but
were not fatally wounded. A third colleague tried to run away but fell and
broke his leg. Razan was the second medical worker to be killed by Israeli
soldiers during Great Return March demonstrations, with more than 240 health
workers affected by such attacks, of whom 29 have been injured with live
ammunition.
Her mother told me that Razan spent her life occupied by her
humanitarian work for PMRS. Her mother added: “a person does not have words to
describe how I feel. I wanted to tell the world that Razan is gone, and I am
here instead of her. This is why I began to volunteer myself with PMRS at the
front line. What Razan did is humanitarian work, and I cannot understand why
they killed her. Even though she was exposed to danger and great strain, she
was insistent. When I began to volunteer as a PMRS first aid worker, I began to
realise what it means to serve people in hardship.” Razan is survived by her
family. She will be sorely missed by her PMRS family. As her mother told me:
“Razan died but her mission continues.”
Al-Hlou Y, Collier N, Abuheweila I. The Palestinian medic
killed by Israeli soldiers. The
New York Times online. 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/middleeast/100000005932394/palestinian-medic-killed-at-gaza-protest.html?playlistId=100000001914099&re (accessed June 11, 2018)
Lee I, van Heerden D. “Her only weapon was her medical vest”:
Palestinians mourn death of nurse killed by Israeli forces. CNN June 4, 2018. https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/03/middleeast/razan-al-najjar-gaza-nurse-killed/index.html (accessed June 11, 2018)
WHO. Situation report occupied Palestinian territory, Gaza
23–29 May, 2018. http://www.emro.who.int/images/stories/palestine/documents/WHO-Health_Cluster-Special-SitRep-29May2018-Final.pdf?ua=1&ua=1 (accessed June 11, 2018)
I am President of the Palestinian Medical
Relief Society.
