This story was originally supposed to be about the difficulty for Muslims to observe Ramadan while staying in an Israeli hospital in Jerusalem. The piece evolved to be about a specific patient in Alyn Hospital who was injured in Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip and is now being treated by the Israeli government. The Associated Press wrote a follow up story on the subject of the feature, see here.
This article was included in a digest published by the Neimen school of journalism at Harvard. See here.
As is common practice, my editor wrote the headline for this story without consulting me. I took issue with her choice of wording as the implication was that the Israeli government was going beyond its moral responsibilities by treating these victims, a position I disagree with. She also changed the lede I had originally written, I’ve included it below.
I also did the photography for this article, a selection of the photos can be seen here.
Equal treatment
Five-year-old Maria Aman is paralyzed from the neck down – a respirator breathes for her, a computer writes for her and a motorized wheelchair moves for her. Her smile is enchanting, and when she speaks her delicate voice seems to dance gently in the air.Sitting outside Alyn hospital in a rotunda, the rolling hills of Jerusalem in the background, a light breeze in the air, her father Hamdi Aman talks about the tragedy that struck his family on May 20. “We were driving in our new car in Gaza City, when a missile from a helicopter hit the car in front of us.”The helicopter attack reportedly assassinated Muhammad Dadouh, Islamic Jihad’s most senior militant. The debris and shrapnel shredded the Aman family car, killing Aman’s wife, his mother and one of his sons. Aman was struck by shrapnel in his neck and leg. Maria’s spine was fractured and both her lungs were punctured.According to Dr. Maurit Beeri, the head of pediatric rehabilitation day care, Alyn, a world-class pediatric rehabilitation center located in Kiryat Hayovel, is the largest facility of its kind in the Middle East. Founded over 50 years ago, Alyn is temporary home to 37 inpatients, and has 100 beds for day-care treatment and an out-patient clinic that sees between 4,000 and 5,000 patients a year. Children travel from Turkey, Jordan and Europe to be treated at the hospital.
Some patients, like Maria Aman, are from the West Bank and Gaza.
When Maria was first hospitalized, Aman struggled to get permission to enter Israel to see her. His uncle cared for Maria in the meantime. Eventually Hamdi received permission to enter Israel, but this permission was limited to the hospital grounds. Since June, Hamdi has lived at the hospital 24 hours a day.
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Original Lede:
Wearing oversized shoes and undersized overalls, standard red ball on his nose, the clown danced in front of the crowd with a sense of restrained jubilation. A smile, as oversized as the shoes, spread across the face of a boy in a motorized wheel chair, a breathing tube in his throat preventing the sound of laughter from echoing in the corridor. His father stood next to him, a look of pride on his face, his son was smiling!
This conflicting mixture of tragedy and hope pervades every aspect of Alyn Hospital. Alyn Hospital is a world leading pediatric rehabilitation centre, located in the Kiryat Hayovel neighbourhood of Jerusalem. According to Dr. Maurit Beeri, the head of pediatric rehabilitation day care, Alyn is the largest facility of its kind in the Middle East. Founded over fifty years ago, Alyn is home to 37 long term patients, and has 100 beds for day care treatment and an Out Patient Clinic which sees between 4000 and 5000 patients a year.
The story of Maria Aman captures the feeling of extreme tragedy and depressed hope that is Alyn. Five year old Maria is paralyzed from the neck down, a respirator breaths for her, a computer writes for her, a motorized wheel chair moves for her. Her smile is enchanting with its sense of purity and innocence, her delicate voice seems to dance gently in the air.
