Feeling foolish

Spent some time researching options for going to Church while I am here. Apart from the Church of the Nativity, which is Greek Orthodox, I could not find any on the web. This seemed strange, especially when I read that Beit Sala, one of the cities within Greater Bethlehem, and close to where I am living,  has 70% christian population. 

So I walked to Beit Sala, which I discovered was on the next mountain! To my surprise, I found lots of Churches and they were beautiful, for example, the Church of the Annunciation, St Mary's Church, the Lutheran Church and the Church of St Nicholas. 

The picture is of the Lutheran Church. The reason that I could not find anything on the web is that all the services in all these Churches are in Arabic - I know now that I should have realised that. Hence there is nothing about them in English on the web. I called there and they told me that if I came, they would translate part of the service into English - cannot imagine translating our service into Arabic for a Palestinian calling at St Johns!

The only English service I have found so far is in Jerusalem, so I will go there again tomorrow. I am going to do some more research next week to find out whether there are English services in Bethlehem. 

A walk to Solomon's Pools

Today my family has a rest day. I decided to take a walk to Solomon's Pools. These are three absolutely massive reservoirs that supplied water to Bethlehem and Jerusalem. They date from Herod's time rather than Solomon, but that still makes them 2000 years old. They hold 200 million litres. 

After about an hour walking south from Bethlehem centre, I came out into open countryside. The mound on the left of the horizon is Heridian, King Herod's summer palace. It was very warm walking, so I was grateful for the barber who invited me to come and sit down and share a coffee with him.

I walked down the steep valley through Artas, one of the oldest towns in Palestine, dating from the iron age. This is also the site of the really beautiful Convent - Hortus Conclusus. 

At this point I had no idea which way to go. The people of Artas do not generally speak English and no-one could understand me. Just as I was starting to worry, a nun appeared. She gave me precise directions and I was so grateful. Someone always appears to help me when I need it. 

After a very steep climb I arrived at these incredible cisterns. I was fairly exhausted, but was called over by a family on an outing from Hebron who were having a bar-b-cue. They immediately found me a chair(!) and something to drink. Then they brought over the local equivalent of a hamburger. I had brought lots of things for me lunch and yet again people feed me. I had to have my picture taken with all the children. 

Unfortunately, the occupation is never far away. On this hill overlooking Artas is fence, and some pylons. What happens is that a few Israeli settlers make a temporary encampment on a hill. Then the temporary encampment is provided with small housing units. Next the water and electricity comes, and the encampment is surrounded by a fence. A new road is build and then the temporary housing units are systematically replaced by new houses and you have a settlement - on Palestinian land. Meanwhile only 3kms of the 12kms of roads in Artas have been paved. 

It is puzzling that the israelis keep complaining about Palestinian attacks on the settlements, but they still keep building them closer and closer to the Palestinians. Seems that they would be much safer in their own country.

Alongside this (once popular and now deserted) tourist attraction is a beautiful new congress centre. I felt a sense of pride for the Palestinians in building this magnificent centre. And when I got home I read the following:-

"Rarely does a night go by without the sounds of the Israeli army’s shells and rockets shattering the peacefulness of the once tranquil and serene village of al-Khader, where Solomon’s Pools are. The Pools are located at the southern edge of Bethlehem in Area A, which is under the control of the Palestinian National Authority. A major Palestinian historical site in Bethlehem, and one of the most unique and attractive locations in the whole of the Palestinian territories, the Israeli army has kept the Pools under fire since January 2001 causing a great damage to the historical site as well as to the new Convention Center and the Crafts Center that are part of an ambitious project designed to attract new types of tourism, i.e. conference tourism. "

I felt foolish because I had just walked through the site without realising the family having a picnic were such a threat to the Israelis. 

Met Sami Awad

Had lunch and a good talk with Sami Awad, the CEO of Holy Land Trust. Enjoyed talking to him.

Washing Day

Today the water is on and so Ayed tells me it is a good day for washing. I washed my clothes - Tracy will be delighted that I have learned a new skill. See the cloudless sky. It is really warm. I am thinking about the UK - people here would love some rain, if you have any to spare. Arrived in the office at 10am, just in time for second breakfast - am getting used to life here!

Note that the towel hides the view of the tower. Last night Ayed told us that it was from this tower that an Israeli soldier sniper shot Ayed's nephew. The bullet passed straight through his trunk and he survived. The children were playing with toy guns on the balcony. We are never far from a story here.

The Holy Land Trust

I thought that you might like to see what the Holy Land Trust looks like. Let's start with the most important part - the people. From the left - Marwan, Dima, Rana, Elias, Osama and Rafat. We usually share lunch together here. 

The building before renovation

The Holy Land Trust moved to a renovated two-thousand year-old building in the heart of Bethlehem’s Old City, in May 2012. The building’s five floors provide ample space for the continuation and growth of HLT’s projects, beginning with the development of a Peace Research and Learning Center (PRLC) to create a Bethlehem-based gathering place for global research, publications and learning on issues of peace, nonviolence, conflict resolution, transformation and healing. Scholars, experts, and peace studies students from within the community and from around the world will bridge theory with practice in one of the world’s most volatile and complex conflicts.

This is where I hang out, usually at the desk on the right of the picture. 

How is this for a rooftop view. We are only a few minutes from Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity.  

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink

One of the rather strange things here is that you can always tell, whether in Israel  or the West Bank whether a house belongs to a Palestinian family or an Jewish family. Around 20% of the population in Israel is Palestinian so this is not a territorial thing, it is an ethnic phenomenon. Israel takes 90% of the available water in Israel and the West Bank for Jewish families. Palestinian families,wherever they live have to survive on the remaining 10%. While Israeli houses have unlimited supplies, Palestinian families have less than the WHO's minimum standard. 

Hence every Palestinian home has one or more black water tanks on the roof. In the picture above you can see the black tank on the house in the foreground. The houses in the background are Jewish. 

What makes this worse is that the Annexation wall snakes around the main aquifers in the West Bank to enable Israel to control them. Of course, this is a violation of International Law, but others countries seem not to care enough to make Israel stop stealing water.

This was brought home to me when Ayed my host told me yesterday that this house gets water one day every fortnight! Each suburb of Bethlehem gets water like people in the UK get rubbish collection. Ayed checks every day if the "mains" water is on, and when it is, he pumps the water up to 6 large tanks in the room. For the rest of the time we use the stored water. In the height of the summer, there is even less and Ayed has to buy water from a water tanker. The water is also sometimes switched off by the Israelis for security purposes. If the security issue affects a single house, a soldier may just shoot a hole in the black tank!

So just remember that when you leave the tap running to clean your teeth and turn off the tap to remember people who depend on others for their water. 

The title courtesy of the "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

... and family number 2

In 2005, Waled and his wife Abeer were happily living in their home in Wadrahal, within the district of Bethlehem, where their families had lived for generations. Abeer was expecting their first baby, due in a few weeks. 




Then a letter arrived to say that the Israeli Military had deemed the house a security threat and would be demolished. Waled needed to go to the court in Ramallah on the following Thursday if he wished to challenge this order. Waled was on his way to Ramallah when the bulldozer arrived and destroyed his house and the one next door - shown in the picture.

Abeer was at home alone and was so traumatised by the experience that she lost her baby. The family were forced to live in a tent among the ruins for 5 months. Then Abeer's sister offered them one room of her two roomed house. 





The Holy Land Trust decided to rebuild the house. In 2008, they organised international volunteers to pay a share of the cost and to come and work on the rebuilding. It took 45 days to build the new house. 


Since then Abeer has had two delightful twins - Fatima is in the picture with her mum. 

However, life is still complicated. Waled has a job in Jerusalem and so has a permit to travel into the city each day. Unfortunately, being Palestinian, he has to travel into Bethlehem and queue at the checkpoint. He leaves at 3am every day to join the queue of thousands who wait for the checkpoint to be opened. He gets back home between 8 and 9. 

In 2005, the nearest Israeli houses were over 2 kilometres away. Now the new settlement of Efrata can be seen just a few hundred yards in front of Waled and Abeer's house. A new road from the Efrata settlement gets the people living there into Jerusalem in about 20 minutes using special roads and tunnels available to Israelis only. 

The annexation wall will soon be extended and pass in front of the homes in this village, thus taking more land into Israel and making it more difficult to get around Palestine. 

An emotional day

I visited two families today. This is the story of the first family, the Hejazy's.

Salim Hejazy and his wife Neama live with their seven children in Thabra, a small community in the hill country south of Bethlehem, between Bethlehem and Hebron. The family has lived in a tiny single shack for the past 25 years.

In 2002, their son, Amer, at the age of 5, developed a fever and needed urgent medical attention. Neama carried him all the way to Bethlehem, a distance of 8-10 kilometres. 

Unfortunately the 2^nd intifada was at its height and Israel had in progress, and closed down all the Palestinian towns and cities, including Bethlehem. She was not permitted to enter by the Israeli military, so she carried Amer all the way back home. In desperation, even though it was even further, she decided to set off carrying him to Hebron. But the army had also closed roads around Hebron and threatened to shoot her if she tried to continue. She had to return home. Soon after Amer had an aneurism, which left him severely brain damaged. Now, at the age of 17, he really needs special care, but the family cannot afford this. Amer can only eat special food, which costs 66 Shekels per day – about 2/3 of the amount that Salim earns working at the local quarry.

The shack has a single cold water tap and is in very poor condition. The ceiling in one of the rooms is collapsing, as the roof is weak. It is not suitable for 9 people, especially when one of them is severely disabled.

The Holy Land Trust has decided to provide some dignity to this lovely family by providing them with a home which is suitable for their needs. Work started in 2011 and has now reached the stage where the external structure is finished. Around 15,000$ is still needed to complete the work.

The hospitality of this family was humbling. We were provided with tea and coffee and freshly baked kras - pastry filled with spinach, onions and herbs. I could barely hide my tears for this wonderful family. 

And then went on to hear another story...

Palestinian Hospitality

One of the villagers at the house key ceremony yesterday invited us to tea. She had been the neighbour of Wafaa before the family moved. The hospitality of the people here is overwhelming. 

I am off out again today with Marwan, the field coordinator, who oversees the work of the Holy Land Trust in 19 villages around Bethlehem. He knows everyone and every day is an adventure travelling with him. 

Lots of tears of happiness yesterday

Yesterday's blog told the story but not the emotion of the day. This photo shows Wafaa and Abed, with their four boys, proudly welcoming everyone to their new home. In the morning I had watched a video of her talking in front of the pile of rubble that had been their new home in 2002, just complete one month earlier. Marwan from the Holy Land Trust, in the centre, works with such families to rebuild community and hope. The villagers turned out in force and shared the joy. There was not a dry eye anywhere. This incredibly beautiful village is 2000 years old and the people still work traditionally. It is a fertile valley, irrigated by ancient irrigation systems fed by strings. There is an Israeli proposal to extend the separation wall through the village - it is being fought in the courts now. That would take 40% of the land of the these people. They would look out on their windows not onto beautiful peaceful hillsides but at a 24 foot wall built within yards of the houses. Can this be just? We can only be happy that there is joy today and to see what tomorrow brings.  

Building houses - building hope

Today there was a huge celebration in Battir. A house has been finished. Wafaa and Abed have moved in with Abed’s mother and their four children.

How can this be news. Surely this happens every day you are saying.

What happened today does not happen every day. Now read the story and feel the joy.

Wafaa and Abed’s family have lived for many generations in the beautiful and peaceful village of Battir. The fertile lands around the village are filled with vegetables, fruit crops and olive groves, watered by ancient irrigation systems, built more than 2000 years ago. The family was growing and so they started to build a new house on their land in the hills surrounding the village. It took them four years and was finished in 2002.

Just one month after they moved in, the Israeli soldiers descended without warning on the village, closed the roads, and brought in bulldozers. With no court order, no warning, and while the family were out, they moved in a demolished this home, with all the family belongings inside.

Those who live in a just world will seek to find a justification for such action. Battir is close to the Green Line, the boundary established between Israel and Palestine in 1967. The villagers are perceived by Israel as a security threat, particularly as the nearby Jewish settlement grows ever larger and nearer to the village.

Can you imagine the distress caused to the family. Wafaa did not visit the site for 10 years as the pain was too great – she has since apologised to the house. Many officials came to visit and to talk to the family, but nothing was done.

Then The Holy Land Trust told Wafaa and Abed that they would work with others to rebuild the house. The work started in 2012. The word spread and others came to help, including the Amos Trust, based in the UK.

And today the keys were handed over to Wafaa and Abed and they have moved in. For today at least, everyone can celebrate and share the joy. 

Going through the checkpoint

In order to leave Bethlehem to go to Jerusalem, I have two choices. Internationals can use a bus that starts from Beit Jala and goes straight to Jerusalem. Palestinians have to walk through the checkpoint to catch the no 24 on the Jerusalem side. 

I chose to go through the checkpoint and found it a traumatic experience. It is difficult to describe in detail, but I felt totally humiliated by the process. I knew that, as an international, I would be permitted to go through, but I was still very nervous - I saw others who were taken aside and subjected to "thorough" searching. How people on both sides of the process can do this every day, I cannot begin to understand. Not only that, but I went after all the workers and they start queuing at 4am. Needless to say, photos are prohibited. Not surprised.

Of course, once through, I had a lovely morning. I went to Church at St George's Cathedral and the service was really uplifting. I met Naim Ateek and Hanni, our guide from the Pilgrimage with the Bishop last year. I spoke to lots of people and joined some of them to stroll through the old city before catching the bus back. Fortunately, going back into Bethlehem is much easier.

Back home the family prepared another delicious lunch for me and I heard one of the children read in English in the afternoon. 

The collect for today - very appropriate

O God,
you know us to be set
in the midst of so many and great dangers,
that by reason of the frailty of our nature
we cannot always stand upright:
grant to us such strength and protection
as may support us in all dangers
and carry us through all temptations;