Born
in Gaza with a rare genetic disease and abandoned by his parents, Mohammed al-Farra has spent his life in children’s ward of Israel’s Tel Hashomer Hospital. The Israeli staff
fund-raise to cover his bills, allowing him and his 56 year old grandfather to live in the hospital.
Mohammed’s plight is an extreme example of the
harsh treatment some families mete out to the disabled, particularly in
the more tribal-dominated corners of the Gaza Strip, even as
Palestinians make strides in combating such attitudes.
It also demonstrates a costly legacy of Gaza’s
strongly patriarchal culture that prods women into first-cousin
marriages and allows polygamy, while rendering mothers powerless over
their children’s fate.
Mohammed was rushed to Israel as a newborn for
emergency treatment. His genetic disorder left him with a weakened
immune system and crippled his bowels, doctors say, and an infection
destroyed his hands and feet, requiring them to be amputated.
In the midst of his treatment, his mother
abandoned Mohammed because her husband, ashamed of their son, threatened
to take a second wife if she didn’t leave the baby and return to their
home in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis, Farra said. In Gaza,
polygamy is permitted but isn’t common. But it’s a powerful threat to
women fearful of competing against newer wives.
1 comment:
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