Our Brothers and Sisters in Christ

Our Brothers and Sisters in Christ

[Monday, June 19th 2006]
Bethlehem

Today our team had two emotionally charged experiences that I want to share with you. Our visit to the Aida Refugee Camp and our tour of the Wall.

Most of our morning was spent visiting the Aida Refugee camp, which was built in 1950 and is home to 4,500 Palestinian refugees. The camp consists of old brick buildings--two to three stories in height--and very close to one another. The camp is over crowded and run-down but the refugees have no choice but to live here as they can not afford to move. There are no trees here, or grass or flowers. The refugees look out their windows and only see concrete walls--walls of the other houses within the camp and the Wall.

The entrance to the camp is about 10-15 feet from the Wall that prevents Palestinians from freely moving around Bethlehem. The Wall is guarded by Israeli soilders and as our group travels throughout Bethlehem--to the Basilica of the Nativity and Shepherd's Field--the Wall can be seen towering over Bethlehem like a gigantic prison.

Gail, our HCEF guide, took us to the home of a Christian family that is nearly closed in by the Wall--three of the four sides of the house look out onto the Wall. We were told that once completed the Wall will be taller than this house. The idea of one's home being fenced in by a concreate wall touches all of us. We also learned that Palestinian land was taken to build the Wall, olive trees were uprooted and destroyed to make room for the Wall, and it is the Palestinians who are employed to build the Wall because they need the work to provide for their families. To the left is a picture of the wall surrounding olive groves which the Palestinians depend on as a major source of food and income. Once completed, the Palestianians will no longer be able to get to these groves to maintain the trees and harvest the olives.

After our somber tour of the Wall, Gail took us to meet the Arab Orthodox Scout Troop--a group of Palestinian Christian girls and boys (in their late teens and early 20s). Gail, Sarah, and Rula (pictured to the left... Rula is awesome!) organized us and paired each person from our VIM team with a scout for an overnight stay. But before we were invited into the homes of the scouts, we all walked from the scouts lodge to the "club." The club is an outdoor arena were with a big screen and several small TVs. It is here that our team saw our first (and second) World Cup games. To everyone's disapointment Tunisia lost but we had a great time watching the games, eating ice cream, and getting to know one another. Our hosts were terrific!

Beverly stayed in the home of a girl whose father is in an Israeli prison, while Katie and Karen stayed in the home of the scout leader--a musician, who taught Katie how to sing "This is the Day the Lord Has Made" in Arabic.

While we all stayed with different Palestinian Christian families in different homes we all drew from the expererence a unified feeling of frustration, faith, love, and perserverance. We were all asked to tell America about the Wall. We promised that we would. And we will.

We invite you to visit the following sites: www.openbethlehem.org, www.stopthewall.com, and www.arij.org. During our powerpoint presention in July we will talk more indepth about the Wall.

We are tired, amazed, frustrated and in awe of all that we have seen and learned. This is a beautiful land and a troubled land. We ask that you keep our brothers and sisters in your prayers. --Anne