'Condenadas en Gaza', un documental sobre palestinas enfermas sin acceso al tratamiento necesario

The objective of the documentary “Condenadas en Gaza” (Doomed in Gaza) is to put a name and a face to the isolation, the lack of freedom of movement and the misery suffered by the almost two million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, through a small group of women suffering from cancer. These women have not received timely diagnosis, treatment and the opportunity to recover. Sick women who, in other parts of the world, could have completely recovered. The blockade that Israel imposed on the Gaza Strip twelve years ago, after the Islamist movement Hamas assumed power, prevents the free movement of people and goods and closes the door to these women. They need an Israeli permit to leave Gaza and access Palestinian hospitals in the West Bank or East Jerusalem, where the treatment they need is available. In Gaza, for example, there is no radiation therapy or the latest generation scanners, essential for all cancer patients. For security reasons, Israel prevents the entry of these items. In addition, the health system has collapsed; it is greatly affected by power cuts and the lack of fuel, entering the Strip from Israel. Medicines and medical expertise are often lacking, as many doctors have left Gaza and most of those who remain cannot continue to train and update their knowledge.

As a rule, Israel only allows entry into its territory for the purpose of transit for medical treatment, if the treatment is “life-saving” or “life-altering,” and on the condition that it is not available in the Strip. According to figures released by the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2018, Gaza residents submitted a total of 25,897 permit applications to Israel for the purpose of receiving medical treatment in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and in very few cases in Israel. Israel only approved 61 percent of the applications submitted during the year; 31 percent of the applications did not receive an answer in time for the applicants to reach their appointments for treatment outside the Strip, or never received an answer at all. Some 8 percent of the applications submitted were directly denied.
We have chosen to tell the story of these women because in addition to not having access to treatment, they are discriminated against, despised and stigmatized within their own conservative and patriarchal society. In Gaza, a woman suffering cancer may be abandoned by her husband, suffer from her family's abandonment too or lose her job.
We believe that it is a subject misknown by the general public and is representative of what is happening in Gaza. Journalistically, it is a challenge. It requires
time and patience to gain the confidence of the protagonists and their families and to uncover intimate stories in a very traditional and closed society. It demands knowledge and understanding of the reality on the ground in Gaza; an effort to document and contrast sources and a duty of rigor and lucidity and journalistic courage to know how to approach to this reality and how to describe it.
The public, in general, including Israeli citizens, is not aware of the desperate situation faced by sick people in Gaza. They can’t imagine how the blockade and isolation affect them. The documentary will show as complete a picture of the origin of this situation and the shared responsibilities between the Israeli and Palestinian authorities. Our goal is to show and to listen these women, often silenced.