World News, August 23, 2006
Surgeon recalls violence in Lebanon
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
For Ang Swee Chai, an orthopedic surgeon based in London, Israel's deadly offensive against Lebanon is not
dissimilar to the massacre in Sabra and Shatila 24 years ago.
In 1982, Israeli forces dropped bombs on cities in southern Lebanon causing immeasurable destruction. The United Nations did nothing and the Muslim world stayed helpless.
"The incidents drove me to join the medical team. I joined the Palestinian Red Crescent Society to help the people," Swee Chai said during the launch of the Indonesian version of her book From Beirut to Jerusalem in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Under the new title Tears of Heaven: Kisah Pengabdian Seorang Dokter
Perempuan di Kamp Pengungsian Palestina (A Story of A Dedicated Female Doctor in Palestinian Refugee Camps), the Indonesian version is published by Mizan.
The 656-page book is translated by Dina Mardiana and edited by Andityas Prabantoro.
The book, first published in 1989, is Swee Chai's memoir as a volunteer who helped war victims, especially Palestinians displaced by the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The situation in Palestinian refugee camps in Sabra and Shatila worsened when Israel forces with the help of militants killed civilians, including women and children.
The Gaza Hospital in the
refugee camp where she worked was flooded with patients. The deadly incident was known as the Sabra and Shatila massacres.
Swee Chai said that she was a devout Christian who often taught at Sunday schools. Growing up in a Christian tradition she saw Israel as the good people and the Palestinians as terrorists who planted bombs everywhere.
"My experiences in Sabra-Shatila have shown me that Palestinian people are human beings. How could they be the evil ones if they are victims of injustice?" Swee Chai wrote in the epilogue of her book.
In addition, Swee Chai said that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory was like a neighbor who forces a family to leave its house.
Swee Chai said that Israel should have apologized for its occupation of Palestinian territory. "If possible, Israel should ask for permission to share the home and to live together.
"Security does not come when you destroy your enemy. Security comes when your enemy becomes your friend."
Columnist Farid Gaban who was speaking at the book launch said that From
Beirut to Jerusalem was an important book because it was written by an insider who was neither an Arab nor a Muslim.
"It shows that not all Christians or Jews support the use of violence by Israel," Farid said.
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