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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.