Gaza patients throng for Chinese acupuncture

by Hamada Hattab, Osama Radi

Dozens of patients gathered outside a small room at the European Hospital east of the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, waiting for a Palestinian orthopedic physician, who is specialized in Chinese acupuncture therapy, and has just arrived from Germany.

With big smiles, Sofyan Abu Obied received his Gaza patients, who gathered outside his small clinic waiting for their turn, while young local Gaza doctors came to Abu Obied's clinic to learn from his long experience in curing his patients with the famous Chinese needles.

Patients, who suffer from severe pains, get into Abu Obied's clinic with only a table, a bed and two chairs. They start first talking about their pain history, then Dr. Abu Obied asks them to rest on the bed, stings needles in a certain part of their heads for 30 minutes, and then the pain will be over.

Palestinian physicians said that it is the first time ever of using the Chinese acupuncture therapy in the hospitals in the poor and densely populated costal enclave of the Gaza Strip, which has been ruled by Islamic Hamas movement since it seized control of it by force in June 2007.

Abu Obied has been working as an orthopedic physician, who is specialized in Chinese acupuncture therapy, for several years at German hospitals. He arrived at the Gaza Strip two days ago and will stay in the enclave for two weeks to remedy the pain of hundreds of Gaza Strip patients.


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