As islanders continue in their vigils for a ceasefire reports are confirmed of a baby paralysed by polio in Gaza.

Today, Saturday 24th August, islanders in Orkney will be participating in two events to show support for the people of Gaza and to highlight the plight of the region where the official death toll now exceeds 40,000 since October 7th 2023.

Between 1 and 2pm supporters for the campaign for a immediate ceasefire will meet on the Kirk Green, Broad Street, Kirkwall, and they welcome all who wish to join them in the vigil.

After the vigil there will be a kite flying event at the Peedie Sea – this is part of the Healing Arts programme.

It is over 10 months now since islanders began their vigils outside St Magnus Cathedral.

Polio

The previous reports of polio have now been confirmed as a 10-month-old baby girl has been paralysed in the first official case of the deadly disease to be detected in the war-ravaged enclave in 25 years.

 Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the World Health Organisation said that the UN health agency had confirmed via genomic sequencing that the girl’s infection was linked to the poliovirus type 2 variant, detected in environmental samples collected in June from Gaza wastewater.

Relief organisation UNRWA and UNICEF are working to support the delivery of vaccines.

Last month a research report said that the death toll in Gaza, including those dying from other conflict related issues, such as the lack of medical facilities, sewage, disease spread etc may have already cost over 186,000 lives.

People are being constantly forced to move by the Israeli forces but with nowhere safe to go. In the month of August alone, Israeli forces “issued 12 evacuation orders, forcing almost 250,000 people to move yet again”, said Muhannad Hadi, Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

WHO and UNICEF are calling for a ceasefire so that they can deliver the polio vaccine to the unvaccinated children now in danger of the deadly and life changing disease. The Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and partners, aim to provide two drops of novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) to more than 640,000 children under ten years of age.

Detailed plans have been finalised and a ceasefire would allow those to be vaccinated to travel to receive it. Vaccination will be administered by 708 teams, including at hospitals, field hospitals, and primary health care centres in each municipality of the Gaza Strip. Around 2700 health workers, including mobile teams and community outreach workers, will support the delivery of both rounds of the campaign. This will be supported by awareness-raising efforts to mitigate the risks of polio infection.   

A 95% vaccination rate is required to prevent polio taking hold. The Gaza Strip has been polio-free for the last 25 years. Its re-emergence, which the humanitarian community has warned about for the last ten months, represents yet another threat to the children in the Gaza Strip and neighbouring countries.  A ceasefire is the only way to ensure public health security in the Gaza Strip and the region. 

Despite the genocide being committed by Israel in Gaza, Military Aid continues to arrive from the Apartheid State’s top backers.  US President Biden has approved a $20 billion weapons package to the Israeli government. Tens of thousands have been protesting in the USA about the continued sale of arms to Israel and reported in the Jewish Voice For Peace.

Only a trickle of aid is being allowed in by the Israeli Forces. Starvation, disease, and the destruction of the medical infrastructure in Gaza is on a such a scale that numerous war crimes have been committed by Israel who have failed to rescue all the Hostages taken on October 7th during the Hamas attack. Israel has also taken hostages and tens of thousands of Palestinians, many of whom are children, have disappeared into Israeli prison camps. The Hostages: #Gaza

Food is being deliberately restricted. Starvation is being used as a weapon of war. A fifth of the population are experiencing catastrophic levels of hunger. All of Gaza is at high risk of famine.

Right now, 2.1 million people trapped in Gaza don’t have enough food and water. Some of the food allowed in, like rice and lentils, is of limited use as people have little clean water or fuel to be able to cook them.

There is not enough clean, safe water in Gaza. The situation is desperate.

Oxfam’s latest report, Water War Crimes, finds that Israel’s cutting of external water supplies, systematic destruction of water facilities and deliberate obstruction of aid have reduced the amount of water available in Gaza by 94 per cent to 4.74 litres a day per person – just under a third of the recommended minimum for survival in emergencies and less than a single toilet flush. Oxfam

If you would like to join in calling for an immediate ceasefire, the return of all hostages, and the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid, including the polio vaccines, then please join the vigil on Saturday 24th August on the Kirk Green between 1 and 2pm, and fly a kite for Palestine at 2.30pm at The Peedie Sea.

In this latest film by Mike Robertson, Nadia speaks about the importance of the vigils.

Fiona Grahame