Ganaim: relieved center will stay open for his son
Sharon rescues Arab autistic center
After hearing of impending closure of Israeli Arab community's only autistic shelter, prime minister Sharon orders aides to solve problem
When Prime Minister Sharon heard about the impending closure of a center for autistic children in the Israeli-Arab community, he decided to become involved.
“The prime minister has instructed everyone in his office to make every effort to solve our problem,” Moayed Ganaim yold Ynet.
Ganaim’s son, who suffers from autism, lives in the only emergency shelter for people suffering from autism in the Arab sector. The center is based in Nazareth, and is faced with the threat of closure.
Since the publication of the story of the shelter on Monday in Ynet, the family has received many offers of support, and many have expressed a wish to donate large amounts of funds to the center.
“The adviser to social welfare issues in the Prime Minister’s officer, Vered Swed, called me in the afternoon and told me that the prime minister is personally following the story until it is solved. She gave me her personal phone numbers so that I could reach her if any problem arises, and even invited me for a personal family visit to the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem.”
“We very much appreciate the intervention of the prime minister,” said Ganaim. “We hold him in high esteem and we are very moved. We knew that only one person, with that standing, can solve this problem. We received very warm and humane treatment from the (Prime Minister’s) Office, and I have no doubt that he will keep to his commitment. This is a man who knows how to promise and keep true to his word.”
On Monday, Ganaim said he would march to the Prime Minister’s Office if the shelter would close on August 15 (as previously announced), and threatened to go on a hunger strike.
Ganaim’s wife expressed the extent of her frustration with the closure by saying she would burn herself if the center closed.
But after Sharon sent word to the family that he would ensure the shelter stayed open, “my wife has been extremely happy with the prime minister’s personal commitment. She sees in final closure to the problem and she knows she trust the man,” said Ganaim.
Ganaim said he saw the prime minister’s decision to become personally involved in a broader context.
“The personal intervention of Sharon has given much honor to the family, but also for the entire Arab community. It really does something for me that I, the small citizen, am receiving this kind of treatment from the most powerful man in the country. Its good that people will know that there is a father in the right place who can help them and take care of them.”
Swed told Ynet that Sharon sees social concerns as a major priority, and that he has instructed his advisors to treat and work on every case that reaches his office.
