Success stories of Palestinian achievers from all over the world

Eyad al-Sarraj

Personal Info

  • Country of residence: Palestine
  • Gender: Male
  • Born in: 1944
  • Age: 73
  • Curriculum vitae :

Information

Eyad El-Sarraj "born in 27 April 1944 − 17" was a pioneering Palestinian psychiatrist. He was a consultant to the Palestinian delegation at the Camp David 2000 Summit.

He was a recipient of the Physicians for Human Rights Awards. He was featured in a book by journalist Barbara Victor about Palestinian female suicide bombers, Army of Roses.

In the Palestinian elections of 2006, he headed the Wa'ad list. He died at an Israel hospital, Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem.

Eyad El-Sarraj was born in Beersheba, Mandatory Palestine to a Palestinian Arab Muslim family. His family arrived in the Gaza Strip as refugees in 1948.

Sarraj wrote a personal reflection in 1997 about "Why We Have Become Suicide Bombers: Understanding Palestinian Terror" in which he delineated several factors including living "under Israeli occupation." Among other things, he wrote, it means travel restrictions, having an undefined nationality, being asked to spy on your family, dealing with checkpoints, being belittled and seeing the prophet being humiliated.

Sarraj was concerned about the "mental health damage caused by political oppression and challenged both Israeli and Palestinian abuses", having been imprisoned at various times by both Israel and by Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority.

On 29 June 2009, El-Sarraj appeared before the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict. He appeared as a witness on behalf of the "Gaza Community Mental Health Programme" stating that 20% of the children in Gaza suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The "Gaza Community Mental Health Programme" (GCMHP) was founded by al-Sarraj, and has 40 members on staff.

El-Sarraj was President of Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian Peace International, and a member of many other health organizations.

El-Sarraj was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2006. He went through Stem Cell Transplantation. Upon a relapse he had in 2013, he sought medical treatment at Hadassah Hospital Medical Center in Israel. He died on December 18, 2013.

El-Sarraj was married to Nirmeen Kharma, with whom he had his youngest son Ali. He has two sons from his first marriage, one of whom is the writer and mental health professional Wasseem El Sarraj.

In November 1998 El Sarraj was awarded the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders.

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Achievements and Awards

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