BOULDER, Colo — Paramedics at the east side of Askar refugee camp in Palestine are celebrating the arrival of their first ambulance. The ambulance was purchased by the Boulder-Nablus Sister City Project (BNSCP).
The nonprofit, founded in 2011, is a cultural exchange program of sorts between Colorado and Palestine. The group previously raised $15,000 for an incubator sent to a Palestinian hospital. During a meeting with their delegation in Askar, the group decided their next project would be an ambulance.
“The eastern side of the city of Nablus doesn't have any hospitals,” said Essrea Cherin, the co-founder of BNSCP.
In the past, ambulances from the west side of Nablus had to travel across Israeli blockades to transport patients. People with emergencies often used private vehicles to reach the hospital.
Abu Ahmad, a paramedic in Israel, spoke with BNSCP about the need for an ambulance.
"We need this ambulance to have an ICU because it is difficult for us to transport the injured from the camps to the hospitals in the city," Ahmad said. "We are isolated and don't have the means to rescue the injured."
Ahmad told BNSCP about a recent case, where a child was shot during a skirmish.
"He needed an ambulance because the bullets were inside him and he needed to be operated on," Ahmad said. "The ambulance took more than 25 minutes to arrive, so it was too late. It was too late.”
It's an issue that has reached a breaking point, as the Israel-Palestine conflict escalates. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, according to Gaza's health ministry. Cherin said that the need for proper medical treatment is at an all-time high, but the resources are limited.
In the West Bank, Israel is restricting movements and 507 Palestinians have been killed. Twenty-four thousand Palestinians live in the east side of Nablus, which went without an ambulance for years. Although transports can happen in private cars, Cherin said ambulances have a higher chance of making it through the Israeli blockade.
“It's going to save lives," Cherin said. "This isn't really a divisive idea. Anyone can get behind saving lives with an ambulance."
Cherin hopes the ambulance will at least allow paramedics to treat people in the field with proper technology. The new ambulance includes equipment from an intensive care unit.
BNSCP originally thought it would take years to raise the required $75,000, but they managed to reach their goal in just nine months. The ambulance was built in Turkey, where the manufacturer gave the group a $17,000 discount. Additionally, BNSCP found a shipper who agreed to send the ambulance to Palestine pro bono.
"Normally that would've cost five or $7,000," Cherin said.
The ambulance was shipped in the nick of time on May 2 — the day before Turkey ended trade with Israel.
In addition to the ambulance, BNSCP is working to establish a medical clinic at the Askar camp.
