Dr. Majdi Hamarshi knows the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip is a politically loaded topic, but he’s committed to keeping all of that out of the lifesaving work his organization does and focusing instead on providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
For 11 years, the group he co-founded, Palestinian American Medical Association, has provided health care to people in Gaza who need it — everything from dialysis treatment to cochlear implants. Hamarshi has overseen it all from Kansas City, where he teaches critical care at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
“We don't get involved in the ‘why’ and the root causes and all that,” he said. “We just deliver humanitarian services in a professional way, very focused on what we do helping the people of Gaza.”
The organization has now grown to include more than 4,000 volunteers.
PAMA’s first program centered around funding breast cancer screenings for Palestinians, primarily those living in the West Bank.
Since then, PAMA has expanded into four primary projects. That includes providing clinical services in Palestine, like mental health care for children. Through its capacity building arm, PAMA also provides medical equipment to hospitals in Palestine. And the education program pays tuition for Palestinian medical students.
“Gaza needs everything,” Hamarshi said. “They need not only the service from outside, they need to rebuild the service from inside.”
‘More than anyone can imagine’
As the war in Gaza has fueled a humanitarian crisis over the past year, PAMA’s fourth project, its crisis fund, has become its largest and most critical.
“(The) medical situation in Gaza particularly is very bad,” Hamarshi said. “More than anyone can imagine.”
Israeli attacks affecting hospitals and health facilities in Gaza, combined with the blocking of humanitarian aid, has led to a collapse of the health care system and resulted in health care access becoming “totally inadequate,” according to the World Health Organization.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health estimates the war has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, wounded more than 107,000 and displaced nearly 2 million.
Hospitals and clinics need help treating the common cold, Hamarshi said, and they need services to manage chronic conditions. There aren’t emergency services to treat people who are injured, and the country needs help providing reconstructive surgery to people who have lost their limbs. Wound care and eye care are critically lacking.
As part of its work, PAMA has sent teams made up of doctors and medical professionals from the U.S. to Gaza. The current group is the 10th medical team the group has sent to the area since the war began.
“Many hospitals have been destroyed and evacuated. The health system collapsed,” Hamarshi said. “They lost the resources, the equipment, the tools to take care of these conditions.”
As the war continues, PAMA’s work has grown more critical. The organization is now involved in major projects in Gaza, like building several dermatology clinics to treat an outbreak in skin conditions that PAMA says is fueled by poor sanitation.
The organization also took over operations in a hospital in north Gaza, and is working to rebuild the intensive care unit. PAMA will soon launch a cancer care section of the Gaza European Hospital in the south. Hamarshi said that will cover 90% of cancer patient care in Gaza for at least the next year.
It’s evidence of the “extremely dire condition” of Gaza’s health care system, said Mustafa Musleh, president and co-founder of PAMA.
“We believe, and we know, that they're going to save lots of lives and they're going to help a lot of patients,” Musleh said of PAMA’s efforts. “And that's what all this is about.”
“The needs are much more than ever before. And, yes, the work is definitely more critical and more needed. We're becoming a significant part of the health care delivery to that population,” he said.
But the organization has faced obstacles in delivering medical care to people in Gaza. Hamarshi said he joined a medical mission in June, but was then denied entry into Gaza. The same has happened to other medical volunteers, he said.
Hamarshi also noted PAMA has had to limit the number of volunteers it sends to Gaza to only four people a month — just 10% of its capacity.
Still, the group’s leaders are careful not to get involved with the politics surrounding the war.
“We work with all parties to try to deliver our care and our help to the people who need it,” Musleh said. “We have always maintained neutrality.”
“It's very straightforward: It's just a humanitarian organization trying to deliver medical care,” he said.
Roots in Palestine and Kansas City
Hamarshi, who practices critical care at St. Luke’s Health System, held PAMA’s first community meetings in Kansas City in 2015 to spread awareness about its mission and to fundraise. Meetings then grew and took place across the country.
“He came up with this thought, to have an organization that aims to help improve and promote the health care system in Palestine,” Musleh said.
Now, there are six PAMA chapters throughout the U.S., including Kansas City.
The Kansas City Council recognized PAMA with a special action in November “for its courageous and invaluable humanitarian efforts in Gaza and across the region,” the resolution read. “(We) recognize the Palestinian American Medical Association's deeply rooted connection to the community of Kansas City and commend the heroic contributions of healthcare workers around the world.”
Musleh, Hamarshi, and most of PAMA’s initial founders studied medicine at Al-Quds University, in Palestine. It was the only medical school in Palestine at the time, said Musleh, who graduated in 2004 and was among the first graduating classes.
Musleh then worked at the Al-Quds medical school as a research and teaching assistant before serving in free medical clinics at refugee camps as part of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. After moving to the U.S. in 2007, Musleh said it was always a dream to continue his medical training here. He now practices in Dayton, Ohio, as a gastroenterologist.
“We are very connected with our roots and families there (in Palestine),” Musleh said. “We came here to the U.S. seeking better life opportunities.”
A big part of forming PAMA, Musleh said, was about giving back to the place they were raised.
“Being graduates from there, and some of us also worked in the health system there, we understand the challenges and the difficulties,” he said.
“Coming here to the U.S., you see the advancement in healthcare delivery. And we wanted to try to build bridges and create some improvements in some areas, aiming eventually to have good health care access to the Palestinian people, similar to what we have here in the U.S.,” he said.
