Download Statement for press conference%2c June 1%2c 2017

STATEMENT FOR PRESS CONFERENCE RE
SITUATION OF CONCORDIA GRADIATE STUDENT
AND CANADIAN CITIZEN, BISSAN EID, WHO IS
REQUESTING SUPPORT TO LEAVE GAZA AND
RETURN TO CANADA
JUNE 1, 2017
My name is Kevin Gould. I am an associate professor in the Department of
Geography, Planning and Environment here at Concordia University.
As is well known—for many by experience—giving birth and the early
weeks of caring for an infant present challenges for a mother: rapid and often
painful changes in a woman’s body, exhaustion from breast feeding every
few hours, day and night, and often anxiety about how to meet the needs of a
nearly helpless new baby. These would likely have been the main challenges
that Concordia Master’s student Bissan Eid would have faced had she
delivered her high risk pregnancy here in Quebec on May 7 as she desired.
However, these normal challenges have been greatly magnified for Bissan
because:
First, she and her daughter have been essentially trapped in the Gaza strip
since December 2016 despite multiple requests to the authorities to leave.
The Gaza strip has been subject to a land, sea and air blockade by Israel and
Egypt and has been bombed repeatedly including during the period of
Bissan's pregnancy.
Secondly, during the pregnancy and now while caring for her infant daughter,
she has been forced to spend her energy and resources trying to get home to
Canada. Despite being a Canadian citizen, when she has requested help from
the Canadian consulate, they have offered little support, telling her to follow
instructions from Israeli and Jordanian governments which are demanding
that she obtain exit visas not required of Canadian citizens.
Thirdly, because she has been unable to return to Canada, Bissan has been
forced to rely on medical facilities in the Gaza strip which are understaffed
and underequipped because of the military blockade.
Thus, Bissan is in a highly vulnerable position and her daughter even more
so, and that is a challenge for all of us. As is often said, “The moral test of a
government-- and by extension a society-- is how it treats its most vulnerable
members.” As part of Quebec and Canadian society, the Concordia
community has a responsibility to support Bissan and to do everything in our
power to secure her release and safe passage back to Canada.
Along with other academic units, student groups, and civil society
organizations, the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment has
published a collective statement in support of Bissan Eid. In the statement,
the full time faculty members in my department “express our deep concern
about the well-being of Bissan.” Further, we “support Bissan's right to
freedom of movement as well as her right to adequate healthcare… and we
call on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and all accountable parties to act
without delay to secure her safe return home.”
Finally, as a member of the department I draw attention to the wording of that
final demand—“that all accountable parties act without delay.” I add my
voice to that of Bissan and her family and to many students and faculty
across the campus. I ask that our president and the leaders of the full time
faculty association (CUFA) be accountable to the needs of our student, end
their silence, and publically support Bissan Eid and pressure our government
to do the same.