Filmmaker Paula Whetu Jones has travelled back and forth to the Occupied Territories for around 18 years to follow cardiac surgeon Dr Alan Kerr as he performed operations on Palestinian children in acute need.
The Doctor’s Wife is a film which gives viewers an insight into a people and place so often reduced to headlines.
Through the eyes of Alan’s wife Hazel, viewers are introduced not just to the political and geographic confusion of the region, but to the beating heart of its people.
Jones recounts her own personal impressions to Te Ao with Moana, including the bewilderment she felt when upon landing.
“The occupation was confusing when we were there, like on the ground…we were told, this is Palestine, this is Israel, that the war separates Palestine from Israel," Jones says.
“But then we find it doesn’t. The wall separates Palestine from Palestine.”
The blurred boundaries were more than political, they were physical and emotional.
Jones describes her time in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, illuminating how geographically close and yet how separated, people’s lives are.
“East Jerusalem is here. West Jerusalem is on the other side of the road. So that’s Israel, this is Palestine. There are a lot of people in Ramallah that have never been to Jerusalem because of the West Bank IDs.”
When asked what else struck Jones, she pointed to the daily lives of Palestinian families and the quiet resilience that defines an existence surrounded by giant walls.
She described how during Ramadan, the Kerrs, she and her crew were invited to join a hākari at the hospital.
“The janitors, the orderlies, the nurses and the doctors would all eat together. Everybody would just give whatever they had. It was about whānau and manaaki.”
As a Māori woman, Jones found unexpected familiarity in the shared struggles and values.
“We have the same issues. We have the same issues with our parents. We have the same issues with our teenagers. It was interesting with the kids because they were aware of the soldiers, but it’s just... that’s what they’re born into. It’s normal.”
She notes that children often have to pass through checkpoints just to get to school, that tamariki learn at an early age how to be patient. It was a characteristic Jones witnessed as she followed two young boys having cardiac surgery.
“They don’t cry. They just have to find a different way of doing things. They just have an understanding about the situation that they’re in.”
Jones puts it down to children watching their parents and grandparents handle the most incredibly stressful situations.
Hazel Kerr, who narrates ‘The Doctor’s Wife” recounts the issues faced by medical workers who arrive into Jerusalem.
“The staff at the hospital…have to suffer every time they come in. Every time they go out. But coming in is the worst. Most of our staff come from Bethlehem or Ramallah and are held up queuing at checkpoints.”
Hazel’s husband Alan talks about the impact.
“They generally have to leave their homes about six in the morning to get there at 8:00. It’s a 20 minute journey. Sometimes they don’t get through or are delayed and don’t get there until late. And they arrive frustrated and angry.”
The documentary, as Jones describes it, was born out of a sense of duty, a response to those who said no one cared, and a tribute to an elderly couple, Alan and Hazel, who committed nearly two decades to humanitarian work in Palestine.
“It was my commitment to them. They’re just good people... and so it was my responsibility to make sure that people know about the work that they do.”
The film is completely funded through the generosity of individuals and community.
“And we’re using it to raise funds for Alan and Hazel’s charity which is still performing heart surgery for Palestinian children.”
In the end, Jones’ message is simple and powerful.
“All these people want is to be free and to be able to live their lives like we live ours.”
The Doctor’s Wife is a film about humanity, the kind – and kindness - that endures, resists, and persists in the face of impossible circumstances.
Whitiora Productions are hosting free screenings in cinemas, churches, halls and retirement villages throughout the country.
All koha go towards funding future visits by medical teams from Aotearoa to continue cardiac surgery in the Occupied Territories.
By Moana Maniapoto of Te Ao with Moana
