Riding to Gaza

An inspiring case of how individuals are taking the tragedy of Gaza into their own hands; governments are failing to act:

Waterford native Eoghan Quinn was first diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of four, and found out he also had coeliac disease just nine months later. Now aged 21 and a student in Glasgow, Eoghan refuses to let his health affect his highly active lifestyle, a lifestyle so active that he is currently in the midst of a 4,000 mile cycle to the Gaza strip in the hope of raising money for medical aid in Palestine.

Along with his brother Gearóid, Eoghan dreamt up the idea of cycling to Palestine last September when he became aware that medical aid and supplies were being restricted from reaching the civilian population in Gaza. Imagining what life could be like for him if he had been born in a different part of the world, Eoghan decided to do something about it.

“I started to put myself, as someone who has diabetes, in the position of those who weren’t getting medical supplies, which had ceased to get into the country. If I had diabetes out there, I wouldn’t actually live. Without medical supplies, I’d have no possibility of living. That’s how I started thinking about it, by putting myself in their position,” Eoghan said.

Text and images ©2024 Antony Loewenstein. All rights reserved.

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