“The American Psychiatric Association Shows It’s True Colors.”
by Mona Zuhairi a psychologist and a human right activist.
According to the Ministry of Health: the death toll in Gaza has risen to over 2,808, including 853 children and 636 women, and 10,850 others injured as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza strip.
Jerusalem24 – Palestinian Psychologist and human rights activist Mona Al-Zuhairi responds in her own way to the statement issued by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in which they condemn in what they described as the “recent attacks in Israel”, including sending the ultimate support “for all those affected in Israel and around the world.”
By “around the world” did they also mean the people in Gaza?
Without any mention to the continuous Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the non-stop Israeli airstrikes launched on residential buildings, homes, mosques, churches, hospitals, and medical headquarters.
The following is the statement the APA published followed by Mona Al-Zuhairi’s response:
The American Psychiatric Association shows its true colors
By: Mona Zuhairi; psychologist and human right activist.
On October 11th, 2023 the American Psychiatric Association (APA) stated that the “Association condemns the recent terrorist attacks in Israel.” Aside from this condemnation, they also stated that “Antisemitism and all forms of prejudice and hatred are unacceptable, and we stand with the Jewish people, now and as always.”[1]
As of October 16th, 2023, the death toll in Gaza is 2700 dead, where over 1000 were children.[2] According to the news, the death rate increases by the minute, with five days of bombarding that have killed civilians and the houses that once had been full turned to ashes, yet there is no condemnation statement from APA about the killing of Palestinians!
The question is why? It is not a one-line answer, it is a history of racism and bias, despite the fact of their five principles in their Code of Ethics:
- Principle A: Beneficence and Non-Maleficence
- Principle B: Fidelity and Responsibility
- Principle C: Integrity
- Principle D: Justice
- Principle E: Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity
The APA violates at least four of their own codes, how? Their statement shows how indiscrete this association is by ignoring the fact that people in Gaza have been under blockade for 17 years now. They failed to name the trauma for thousands of families who are living with cross-generational trauma as a result of 75 years of occupation. They failed to name how deprivation is part of degrading people from their human rights.
Recognizing the existence of transgenerational trauma on one side, we must also recognize that on the other side of the spectrum, there is transgenerational racism.
The APA was founded by white men, who are mostly likely settlers themselves, and who look down on people of color as the carrier of white genes.
In 1904, G.Stanely Hall, the founder of APA and a pioneer in adolescents studies, published the following in his advancement of the idea that people of color, “Africans, Indians, and Chinese, were members of ‘adolescent races’ in a stage of ‘incomplete growth.’” The fact that between 1900-1925 most psychology studies focused on race hierarchy and many psychologists were involved in the eugenics proves that psychology is built on racism, one of the main pillars of oppression.[3]
Furthermore, the APA failed to apply “Do No Harm,” the main principle in the mental health domain by playing a part in advocating for genocide in Gaza with such a discriminatory and polarized statement. The APA failed to stand on the principle of justice and that “Mental Health is a Human Right,” proving that APA is so soaked in racism that they cannot see thousands of civilians being bombed, whose only mistake is that they have dark skin.
