London - During a Christmas tour organised by Amos Trust, Euro-Med Monitor’s project We Are Not Numbers participated in raising over £70,000 (about 86,000 USD) in donations for the breast cancer screening programme at Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Project members took part in a three-week advocacy and fundraising tour of the United Kingdom, which included stops in eight cities there. Members spoke to parliamentarians, human rights and community activists, academics, journalists, and international organisation workers about the effects of Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip since 2006, as well as the challenges faced by cancer-stricken women—particularly those with breast cancer—who are unable to obtain Israeli permits to leave Gaza for treatment.

The tour was produced in conjunction with the global UN campaign 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. This year’s theme was “Orange the World: UNiTe! Activism to end violence against women and girls”. All of the money raised by project members during the UK tour will be donated to the breast cancer screening programme at Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza.

We Are Not Numbers Board Member Ahmed Alnaouq said, “The campaign comes at a time when tens of thousands of women with breast cancer are dying slowly, while Israel refuses to allow the vast majority of Gazans to exit the Occupied Palestinian Territory or travel to third countries for breast cancer screenings or treatment.”

It is worth noting that Alnaouq’s own mother suffered from breast cancer and died because Israeli authorities delayed her permit to leave Gaza for treatment.

“This tour was carried out in accordance with Euro-Med Monitor’s strategic plan to support women in conflict areas, as they, along with children, are the most affected and harmed by the restrictions imposed on civilians,” Alnaouq added.

We Are Not Numbers was launched by Euro-Med Monitor in January 2015, just a few months after the 50-day Israeli military attack on the Gaza Strip in July-August 2014; the attack caused the deaths of 2,147 Palestinians, the vast majority of whom were civilians, including women and children.

Through training young victims in journalistic and nonfiction writing, including poetry, and connecting them with English-speaking international writers and experts from around the world, We Are Not Numbers aims to tell the human stories behind the numbers in the news about victims of rights violations.

The advocacy tour is scheduled to last until mid-December and will visit London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leicester, Durham, Leeds, and Bristol.