Update on Malak Taiser

December 15, 2002

by Michal Zak:

We have some very good news!! On Sunday, Dec. 15 Malak Taisir, the five and a half year old girl who suffers from severe burns was admitted to the hospital. She is about to begin a very painful, and long process, but the head of the department told us they will not release her unless she walks.

This is the hardest report I had to write, because yesterday was the first time that I met Malak, and she is hurting, and scared and her situation is worse than I had dared to imagine. It was much easier to go through the motions, and make all the arrangements, than to look into her eyes.

We want to share with you what we had to do this week, just so you know the details of life during a war:

Monday: We received the official word from the hospital that if we would pay half the amount, (including the donation in kind from the Jobst company for the special suits she will need), Malak could be admitted on Dec. 15.

Now we needed an official letter from the hospital for the army. Permits had to be prepared for Malak’s mother so she could accompany her daughter. We could not reach the family, so the good news was delivered by phone; they were getting ready for the pickup on Sunday.

Thursday: all the papers arrived and a letter was send by fax to the army for permits. The letter included our request for right of passage, a copy of the hospital’s letter and a copy of Um Wa’el (Malaks’ mother's) identity card, and the girl's birth certificate. The civil administration in the army said it would take until Sunday to prepare the permit. But about an hour later they called that it was ready, we could come to get it. A fax copy of the permit would not suffice at the checkpoint. The woman officer in charge of permits for medical patients asked if we would be paying for the treatment.  For a moment I thought that maybe we had worked too hard, and that the army would cover the cost, but this was not her reason for asking.  She said, "If you are planning to bring someone to the hospital without paying for her, I will call and tell the hospital". She definitely managed to surprise me: though in Israel it seems there is no limit to the army's control over civil life, it exerts almost total control in Palestine.

Sunday: Two people left early to go to the civil administration in Beit El, which is North of Ramallah, in the West Bank, on apartheid roads, only traveled by settlers in armored vehicles. It was very dangerous and scary, but we had no choice. We had the cell phone number of Gal’on, a Meretz parliament member who promised to help us if we were not able to reach the army base. The permit was given to us, but only for one week. Soon we will have to start the process again. We told the women in charge that we will not come again, we are not settlers (like them) and we don’t have armored cars. They said they might consider bringing the permit to Jerusalem for us. They would not consider giving us a permit for the two months of hospitalization.

At 9:30 AM two more people went to the Taisir family.  It was heartbreaking to see the whole family parting from Malak and her mother, who left six children at home in the care of their father and relatives. We all met at the checkpoint.  The soldiers let the two Palestinians pass and even wished them luck. We were on our way. Malak was excited as we passed the airport; she loved seeing all the planes. She was standing looking out the window; I later understood that she couldn’t sit, because her leg is stuck at about 45 degrees. We got to the hospital and were admitted.  Everyone was waiting for us.  The children’s ward is new and beautiful, and Malak shares a room with another girl.

What comes next?

Now we are busy with finding the rest of the money.

The whole community has promised to help with daily visits with food for Um Wa’el. We need to arrange the permit with the army.

We are working on a donation of a cell phone for the mother so she may keep in touch with her children and with us. It is lonely in the hospital; none of the staff speaks Arabic, though there are other Arab children with their families in the ward and soon, we hope, they will get to know one another.

There is a lot to be done, to support Malak and her mother, from the expression on the face of the doctor who examined her, she has a long and painful way to recovery.