Injured children from Gaza receive medical care in Switzerland

A special medical flight from Cairo to Geneva brought four Gazan children (aged 14 months to 17 years) and three mothers, on the initiative of Dr Raouf Salti of the "Children's Rights for Healthcare" association. Nicolas Dupraz pour « Le Temps »

Four young victims of the Israeli-Palestinian war, aged between 14 months and 17 years, arrived in Geneva this week from the Gaza Strip to get medical treatment. They were granted a Swiss visa for 90 days. 

Marking a step in non-governmental collaboration for aiding war-affected children, the four injured children are scheduled to have surgical procedures at a private clinic. Among them are two sisters, aged six and seven, with fractures and second- and third-degree burns with necrotic skin, and a 16-year-old requiring plastic surgery after losing his calf in an explosion, Swiss public broadcaster, RTS, reported. 

This initiative is the result of a collaborative effort by three NGOs: Children’s Right for Healthcare, Caravanes Solidaires, and UOSSM International (the International Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations). This distinguishes it from government-led efforts in countries such as France and Italy, which have pledged to welcome 50 and 100 children, respectively. UOSSM International has launched a fundraising campaign to garner support for this initiative. 

Humanitarian mission 

Raouf Salti, founder and chairman of Children’s Right for Healthcare and a Geneva-based urologist, has been a key figure in initiating this. He was born in Damascus, Syria, to Palestinian refugee parents of the 1948 war; he completed his studies and practised medicine in France before relocating to Switzerland at the end of 2011. His deep-rooted connection to the region and its inhabitants is significantly shaped by his family’s history of displacement. 

In 2018 Salti found himself trapped in Gaza during a mission at Al-Shifa Hospital amid the outbreak of war. Witnessing the devastation and loss of life affected him. “When I see what’s happening there now, I put myself in the shoes of a small child and imagine what they must be feeling,” he told SWI swissinfo.ch. 

Raouf Salti, founder and chairman of Children’s Right for Healthcare and a Geneva-based urologist. Nicolas Dupraz pour « Le Temps »

On November 24, 2023, Salti travelled to Cairo to meet Yvonne Baumann, the Swiss ambassador to Egypt. “The ambassador’s cooperation was instrumental in making this project possible, marking the first time children from Gaza have been brought to a European country for medical treatment,” he said. 

The selection process for the children was meticulous, based on the medical interventions Salti could provide, and required continuous coordination with Gaza. 

Visa challenges 

The process of securing visas for the children from Gaza and their mothers to enter Switzerland for medical treatment was marked by intense and continuous communication with the Swiss government’s services. A breakthrough came on December 22, when the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) agreed to issue visas. 

Salti insists the visas issued for the children from Gaza are intended for medical treatment rather than being classified under humanitarian grounds. Confirming this information, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) told SWI via email that “the visas issued in this case are not humanitarian visas per se, but visas for medical reasons limited to 90 days”.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, as the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) reported in July 2022, Switzerland also demonstrated a willingness to provide care for injured civilians, including both children and adult non-combatants. The SEM told SWI that the situation in Ukraine cannot be compared to the situation in Palestine. “Ukrainians do not need a visa to stay for 90 days in the Schengen area and can therefore move freely,” it said.

Raneen Annaba, a 23-year-old Palestinian, plays with her five-month-old son Sanad Baraka as they rest at Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip, January 10, 2024. Keystone / Haitham Imad

Initially, 15 children from Gaza were to be brought to Switzerland. However, owing to various reasons, including health conditions requiring immediate attention, some children being evacuated to Egypt or Turkey, and others dying, none of them could travel to Switzerland. A new list was prepared, which also saw reductions owing to similar tragic circumstances, leaving ten children. At the time of the interview, four children had already arrived in Switzerland, with six more expected, pending clearance from Israeli authorities, Salti told SWI. 

‘Horrific prison’ 

The children are staying with host families, and medical interventions have been scheduled. Raouf Salti’s project aims not only to provide medical treatment but also to offer these children a way out of the “horrific prison” of their circumstances and to encourage other European countries to assist these victims. 

“I urge Europe to differentiate between humanity and politics,” he told SWI, calling on other nations to “stop silently witnessing and start helping”. In an interview with RTS on Wednesday, Tawfik Chamaa, a physician with the Union of Syrian Medical Relief Organizations who assisted in bringing the four young Palestinians to Geneva, expressed hope that more injured children would follow. He also wished for Switzerland to lead the way for other European countries. He believes that caring for wounded children should become a principle. 

“We are at the bedside of our humanity. Children are dying owing to lack of medical care,” Chamaa warned. 

Edited by Reto Gysi von Wartburg/ts/livm