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span class="inline inline-left">Humanitarian work: Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) chief president Sarbini Abdul Murad (right), accompanied by executive secretary Rima, talks about the Rp 30 billion Indonesian hospital construction project in Gaza during their visit to The Jakarta Post’s office on Wednesday. JP/NurhayatiThe construction of a hospital, fully funded by the Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C), in the Gaza Strip is nearing completion, chairman of the humanitarian outfit, Sarbini Abdul Murrad, said on Wednesday.

“We will start furnishing the new building in May before installing the German-made medical equipment. Hopefully, we will be able to complete the process by the end of this year and the hospital will begin operations in 2013,” he said.

Sarbini added that the hospital was aimed at treating and rehabilitating trauma patients, as well as providing first aid and care for those living in the Gaza strip.

Gaza regularly sees outbreaks of violence, the result of a stand-off between the Israeli government and Hamas, the local Palestinian authority in the territory.

The hospital, which began construction last year on 9,000 square-meters of land donated by the Palestinian Authority, is located only three kilometers from the Israeli border.

“We hope that with the hospital, people will no longer need to leave the Gaza Strip for treatment,” he said.

The hospital, a pentagon-shaped building designed by an Indonesian architect, also serves as a token of friendship between Palestine and Indonesia and is a symbol of pride for Indonesians.

“That’s why the name we’ve adopted for the building is Hospital Indonesia,” Sarbini said.

The cost of building the hospital amounts to approximately Rp 30 billion (US$3.26 million).

MER-C collected money through fund raising to cover the construction costs.

“Up to now, we have collected approximately Rp 21 billion. All [the money] has come from ordinary Indonesians; nothing has come from the government, although the President made a promise that he would help with the financing.”

In May 2010, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made a pledge that Indonesia would build a hospital in Gaza worth Rp 20 billion. Yudhoyono made the promise during a joint press briefing with the Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, at the Presidentual Palace.

“But the money [from the government] was hard to get,” Sarbini said.

During the construction stage, Sarbini said that MER-C encountered almost no glitches.

“The Palestinian government has been very helpful in providing materials,” he said.

Sarbini added that the construction of the hospital, which is purely aimed at providing humanitarian assistance, has been made easy by the local authority.

He said the MER-C did not come into contact with the Israeli government, liaising only with the Egyptian government, which controls access to the Gaza Strip.

The two-story building is due to be fitted with 100 beds and will be staffed primarily by Palestinians with a few Indonesian volunteers.

The Indonesian government has made it known that it supports Palestinian statehood, although it is yet to establish an embassy on Palestinian territory.

Over the years, Indonesian volunteers have traveled to and from Palestine, including members of the MER-C. Earlier this month, 15 Indonesian volunteers from the Asia-Pacific Community for Palestine left the country for the Gaza Strip.