INDONESIA HOSPITAL OFFICIALLY HANDED OVER TO PALESTINIAN GOVERNMENT

Jakarta, 30 Rabi’ul Awwal 1437/10 January 2016 (MINA) – Indonesia Hospital in Gaza, Palestine, was formally handed over to the Palestinian Health Minister Dr. Jawwad Awwad from the Indonesian people representated by Faried Thalib and dr. Joserizal Jurnalis in their capacity as the initiator of the hospital construction, in a ceremony at the Theatre House, Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts Center, Jakarta, on Saturday (9/1) night.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla attended  the symbolic handover  by the Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) which had initiated and raised funds for the noble cause.

Also present in the ceremony were Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, Minister of Education and Culture Anies Baswedan, Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia Fariz Mehdawi, Algerian Ambassador to Indonesia Abdelkarim Belarby, former Minister of Youth and Sports Adyaksha Dault, famous poet Taufik Ismail, Al-Fatah Boarding Schools (Pondok Pesantren) Network Chief KH Abul Saerodjie Hidayat and Chairman of the Aqsa Working Group (AWG) Agus Sudarmaji.

“It seems that the question of Palestine had been neglected due to myriad problems in the Middle East. Therefore, the government highly praises MER-C for taking the initiative ahead of the government to take special action and give alms by building a hospital in Gaza, Palestine,” the vice president said.

Although the construction of the hospital was not entirely funded by the government, it reflects Indonesia’s solidarity with the Palestinians, particularly those living in conflict-plagued Gaza, he said.

He expressed the hope that the construction of the hospital, which he described as a form of Indonesia’s support for Palestinian independence, would result in relations between Indonesia and Palestine becoming increasingly closer.

“Good friendship is always remembered if we help (others) in their difficult time. Of course, if our Muslim brothers are facing problems, we must help them,” he said.

The hospital began serving the Palestinians after a soft launching  on December 27 last year.

The hospital construction  was fully funded by donations received from the Indonesian community through various charity programs for Palestinians.

Located about 2.5 km from the Israeli border, the hospital is often monitored by Israeli military drone. It consists of two floors and basement and 90 inpatient rooms, 10 emergency rooms, a laboratory, a radiology room, and ten treatment rooms with a capacity of 100-150 patients.

Indonesian Hospital in Gaza has complete facilities,  including high-tech medical equipment, such as equipment for orthopedic surgery and a CT Scan.  (L/P008/R07)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)