(Image via Shutterstock)

Dear Jad, (Haemophilia Twinning Project, Palestine and UK)

How are you?

I watch with increasing despair the actions of Netanyahu and this new Israeli government and fear the ever growing impact on Palestinian haemophiliacs.

As you know I have been involved in the Infected Blood Inquiry under Sir Brian Langstaff in the UK, fighting for truth, justice and accountability for my late husband and others that were given contaminated blood, many of whom are now dead.

For the last four years, I have been threatened and cancelled out of mainstream media as “punishment” for my support for Palestinians like yourself living under occupation and subjected to conditions of apartheid but this only makes me speak out louder. Fortunately local media still interview me. You are a strong example of having to deal with apartheid medical treatment regarding haemophilia and your courage and strength is an inspiration to me.

Unfortunately my own interview and article that I wrote with you some years ago is so longer online as the Christian Aid publication Ctrl Alt Shift no longer exists. However this is a very good article below in the much respected Palestine Chronicle.

Right to Health is a Right to Palestinian Hemophiliacs Too (Palestine Chronicle, March 12^th, 2021) which can be found online, though the link will not open on wordpress.

In 2021, I approached Dame Diana Johnson (Labour, MP) who campaigns on haemophilia issues in the UK raising my concerns regarding the treatment of Palestinian haemophiliacs, asking why she did not speak out as she is a member of Labour Friends of Israel and has had a funded trip to Israel, however she then falsely accused me of “antisemitic conspiracy theories” and threatened to block me. Her comment is absurd as I have daily contact with non-Zionist Jews and Jewish groups that like myself, stand against apartheid and to uphold the rights of Palestinians as equal members of society. They are also being attacked with fake allegations of “antisemitism”.

Anyway all is not lost. I wanted to ask you if your organisation for Palestinian haemophiliacs would like to twin with our UK Haemophilia Society which I believe would have benefits for both. Therefore I am introducing you Jad, Director of the Palestinian Society For Bleeding Disorders (PSBD) to our Kate Burt, Chief Executive Officer of our national Haemophilia Society who can help make this happen. I have discussed this with her and copied her in to this e-mail, so you can look at this together. My fellow haemophilia campaigner, Colette Wintle, is also copied in. I admire your work very much and would be delighted if you would accept.

You are often in my thoughts and I will not stop fighting at my end to help end the cruel and brutal system of occupation, oppression and apartheid.

Palestine WILL be free!

Best Wishes

Carol

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  She was a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.