GAZA (Dispatches) – For many women in Gaza, finding out that they have breast cancer is not the worst news. Realizing that they won’t be able to get treatment or the medicine they need, because of the Zionist regime’s siege on the enclave, is far worse.
This is the focus of the documentary Doomed in Gaza, which was released in late 2022 and kicked off the Mediterranean Cinema Week festival, held during November in Al-Quds. The film was also screened in Gaza, Ariha, Ramallah, Al-Khalil and Nablus.
The documentary, which was made by Spanish directors Beatriz Lecumberri and Ana Alba, sheds light on the isolation and misery many women suffering from breast cancer in Gaza face when they are unable to get the right treatment.
The Zionist regime’s Israel’s suffocating siege on the Gaza Strip, which is now in its 15th year, often results in delays in treatment for patients, prevention from travelling outside of the strip and difficulty sourcing medication.
According to the film, in Spain, the survival rate of women with breast cancer is 90 percent after five years after diagnosis, while for women in Gaza it stands at around 65 percent, while some NGOs put the figure at around 50 percent.
Despite Lecumberri not coming from a film background herself, she felt that the story needed to be told visually after meeting women who were diagnosed with breast cancer in Gaza, and were struggling to get medicine.
“When Ana and I met the women, we realized that this story is too compelling to be a radio report or newspaper article… we concluded that it would be preferable to produce a film,” she told Middle East Eye. “It’s vital to see the women’s faces and give them an opportunity to share their experiences,” she added.
The pair were both working as journalists in Al-Quds, and saw first-hand how often women were prevented from accessing treatment by the Zionist regime.
Lecumberri and Garcia decided to base the film’s main character on Neveen Habub, 42, who discovered she had breast cancer in 2012. After undergoing surgery, the cancer then went on to spread to her bones and brain. Due to the lack of chemotherapy in Gaza, she was in constant agony.
After being refused a permit and constantly having to wait to travel to Al-Quds in order to get treatment, Habub passed away.
For Lecumberri, conducting interviews for the documentary was difficult at first.
“Sick women initially felt they had nothing to say, but we met them multiple times and spent several days with them,” she said. “They gradually felt at ease and started to share their story,” she added.
During the screening of the documentary at the Cinema Week Festival, the audience were visibly moved, many of them shedding tears.