Philly welcomes Palestinian refugee for medical treatment

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Cheers erupted as Tasneem Abbas exited the elevator at the baggage terminal at Philadelphia International Airport.  Abbas, a 16-year-old Palestinian bombing victim, is visiting the city for treatment at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia.

Abbas, who lost an arm in the attack, and her sister Ashjan currently live in Egypt, where they took refuge when the Rafah border last opened in May. They are expected to spend around six months in Philadelphia while Abbas undergoes several procedures.

Brendan Cook, a student at Swarthmore College, was among the several dozen people there to greet the pair.

“This is an incredibly powerful moment and I just really hope that they feel as welcome as possible,” he told WHYY News. “I imagine the large crowd is overwhelming, but hopefully it’s helpful to see that there are a lot of people in the area who care about you and what you and your people are going through and it’s cool to be a part of that.”

The trip was organized by the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF). Since 1991, volunteer-based PCRF has provided free care to Palestinian youth with complicated medical needs, setting up medical centers in Palestine and sending international doctors and nurses to the area. They have also transported more than 2,000 children to the United States and other countries for advanced care at hospitals such as Shriners and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Since the October 7th attack, the organization has helped more than a dozen young victims of the war in Gaza who have been maimed or otherwise injured by bombings or other attacks.

According to the United Nations, more than 45,000 people have been killed in Israel’s response following the October 7th Hamas attack, including 14,500 children. According to reports, tens of thousands more are missing or have died as a result of the attacks— starvation being one of the most prevalent causes.

Cook says that meeting Abbas has literally helped bring home the gravity of the situation in Gaza.

“People get very numb to all of those numbers very, very quickly and it’s hard to conceptualize what 40,000 or 400,000 dead looks like,” he said. “Having a face of someone who has been through it, who has lived through that and is continuing to live through that, can put it in perspective and help people understand the true scale of this.”

Shriners has partnered with PCRF and other organizations, providing treatment to hundreds of children who have lost limbs or eyes or suffered severe burns in international conflicts. Many such young victims have received prosthetics. As recently as September, the hospital treated another Palestinian youth who lost a leg in the war.

Raghed Ahmed, a volunteer with PCRF who organized the welcome party, said that the organization’s success in helping Abbas is providing a bright spot in an otherwise depressing time.

“I think I feel just as any other person with a heart and soul would feel watching the humanitarian crisis unfold with Gaza,” she said. “Of course it does impact me more directly because I’m Palestinian, because I have family in Palestine and I’ve been able to build a deep connection with my land and the people that belong there — but I’m very happy to be able to take the emotions that I feel right now and really put that into the work that PCRF and other organizations are doing to help save and to treat children like her.”

She said she is confident that Abbas will receive “the best possible care” at Shriners.