Palestinian Rani Burnat Desperately Needs a New Wheelchair

Meet Rani Burnat, a Palestinian man from the village of Bil'in, in the occupied West Bank.

In 2000, when Rani was 19 years old, he was shot by Israeli army snipers during a demonstration in Ramallah. Others were killed, and Rani was severely injured and paralyzed. Despite his profound injury, Rani did not stop his activism on behalf of his people. He played a central role in the village of Bil'in's struggle against the building on the "separation barrier" on village land. He got himself a camera, and was out in the forefront of the demonstrations, documenting them. He and others were again shot at, tear-gassed, victimized by IDF violence.

Later, against all odds, Rani started a family and became a father of three children. The living conditions in the village are challenging. To be a person with a disability using a wheelchair under those circumstances can be brutal. Rani's chair and other medical equipment require constant maintenance.

I know you are receiving near-constant petitions from Palestine for aid, especially from the people in Gaza who are suffering beyond measure. In the wake of that horror, the circumstances of the Palestinians of the West Bank has all too often gone underreported.

Please help purchase Rani a new, second-hand wheelchair. You can, with a small donation, make a profound difference in one man's life, and thus the life of his entire family.

(You can find out more about the struggle of the village of Bil'in in the film Bilin My Love, written and directed by Shai Carmeli-Pollak. https://vimeo.com/174579324?share=copy)