A new medical fellowship for Project Rozana
Saaed Maasarwe, the father of murdered Melbourne exchange student Israeli Palestinian Aiia Maasarwe, will be in Australia next month to commemorate his daughter’s memory, thank the people of Melbourne for their support and launch a medical fellowship in her name.
Aiia Maasarwe
Aiia Maasarwe was killed in January 2019 as she returned home from an evening out. Her death sparked an outpouring of grief in Melbourne, with thousands attending a vigil in the CBD and rallying around Mr Maasarwe when he came to Australia to return his daughter’s body to Israel.
Arrangements are currently being finalised for a permanent memorial for Aiia in Melbourne.
During his visit, Saeed Maasarwe will launch the Aiia Maasarwe Memorial Medical Fellowship for Project Rozana, an organisation that builds understanding between Israelis and Palestinians through health initiatives.
In his darkest despair, Mr Maasarwe has said that he wants his daughter’s memory and legacy to spread love and hope.
With the Maasarwe family’s consent, the Aiia Maasarwe Memorial Medical Fellowship will provide financial support to young Palestinian physicians training in Israeli hospitals, so they can address the needs of their people.
The inaugural Fellowship will be awarded to Dr Khadra Salami, a senior paediatrician in haematological-oncology. Dr Salami will undertake a two-year paediatric bone marrow transplantation training program at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. The aim is to enable complex transplantation surgery to be undertaken at the Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem, where she is based.
Dr Salami will be in Australia for the launch of the Aiia Maasawre Memorial Medical Fellowship.
During his visit Mr. Maasarwe will invite the public to contribute to a crowdfunding campaign for both the Aiia Maasarwe Memorial Medical Fellowship and an Australian charity that supports women who have been victims of violence (yet to be designated).
The Chair of Project Rozana Ron Finkel told J-Wire: “Project Rozana was inspired by day to day reality at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem (the Hospital was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2005).
It became an important issue from 2010 onwards when the Palestinians started to actively pursue their strategy of non-normalisation with Israel. Over the ensuing years, health became the only sector where every minute of every day Israelis and Palestinians interacted positively on a significant scale. It is the space where people from both sides can get to KNOW the OTHER.
From the beginning, Project Rozana was set up as an independent entity. It has a Board reflecting Australians of various backgrounds. Its donors are from across the communal spectrum.
Project Rozana’s Medical Fellowships support the treatment of diseases in the Palestinian population and build Palestine’s health capacity.
In 2017, Dr Mohammed Majed Rabee Skafi from Hebron was awarded the two-year fellowship for residency in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at Hadassah Hospital, Jerusalem, and Dr Majed Dabur from Ramallah was awarded a two-year residency in anaesthesiology at Sheba Hospital in Tel Aviv.
In 2019, Dr Khadra Salami, senior paediatrician at Augusta Victoria Hospital, East Jerusalem, will begin her two-year Paediatric Bone Marrow Transplantation specialisation training at Hadassah Hospital, Jerusalem, bringing her expertise back to the children’s cancer ward at Augusta Victoria Hospital.
For more on Project Rozana http://www.jwire.com.au/hand-in-hand/
