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December 11, 1998/ 22 Kislev 5759, Vol. 51, No. 12
Family falls victim to politics over land
GIL SEDAN
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
JERUSALEM - The story of Alla Ghneim is about tragedy and hope - and frustration. It's also about how individuals can fall victim to the unintended consequences of Israeli-Palestinian politics.
In March 1995, 5-year-old Alla and a friend were crossing the main road passing through her West Bank village of Al Khader, near Bethlehem, when a cement truck ran over the two girls. Her friend died immediately. Alla was rushed to the Hadassah Medical Center in the Ein Kerem section of Jerusalem. The lower half of Alla's body was totally mutilated. The doctors at Hadassah had to amputate Alla's lower torso from the hips down.
"The doctors had lost hope and had asked for my opinion," recalled Alla's father, Mohammad, a construction worker. "They told me that in similar cases in America and Europe, the parents do not want to accept children in similar circumstances, that they prefer that they die. But I told them: As long as the head is there and she can talk to me - I want her."
Two months after the accident, she was out of danger of death.
"Mentally, Alla remained a totally healthy child," said Dr. Shirley Meir of the Alyn Rehabilitation Center in Jerusalem. "The natural drive of a child, ever since birth, is to get up and do things on its own. We took advantage of that drive.
"When Alla came to us, she was a frightened little child, but on the day she managed to sit by herself, that was the day she began to smile."
Allin's physiotherapists worked day and night to adjust the girl to her new life. They trained her to move using her arms; they taught her how to swim. "I accepted the fact that one should not cry over this and that," recalled Alla, smiling. "I realized that one must try and change things."
But when Alla returned home from the hospital, another difficulty emerged - a financial one. Despite her handicap, Alla insisted that she go to school. Alla's three brothers carried her every day by chair from the third floor of their building and then walked with her for 30 minutes through the dusty paths to school. Taking care of Alla was now a full-time job. Mohammad missed several work days, and Alla's mother, Nawal, could not work at all.
Their medical and rehabilitation costs amounted to more than $1,000 a month. Mohammad's income from construction work could not cover the costs, and he was forced to take out several loans. He was not too concerned - eventually, he believed, insurance would reimburse him. But it turned out to be not so simple.
In September 1995, Israel and the Palestinian Authority signed the second of the two Oslo accords, which expanded Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In December 1995, Alla's village was divided into three sections: some of it fell into Area A, under total Palestinian control; some became part of Area B, under Palestinian civilian control but Israeli security control; and the rest became part of Area C, under total Israeli control. The driver of the truck that ran over Alla and her friend did not have the proper license, and as a result, his insurance company refused to compensate the girl and her family.
In Israel proper, the family would have been compensated by the state-run Karnit insurance company. But representatives of Karnit appeared in court and demanded that its Palestinian equivalent take care of the compensation and rehabilitation costs. "According to the legal opinion of the Israeli Civil Administration, the accident took place in Area A," said Lifa Lior, a lawyer for the insurance company.
For a year, the parties debated who was in charge of that specific part of the road. Finally, when the story appeared on Israel Television, the public responded. Viewers from all sectors of Israeli society phoned in to offer contributions. A week after the story aired, enough money was collected to buy Alla a specially designed wheelchair. But the legal battle continues.
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