| Our
trip began at 11 PM on December 21 when ten of us left to go to the bus
station. |
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Our
trip got off to a troubled start when our van showed up late, but we still
left Dawson Hall on time to catch the bus and arrived in Taba very early
the next morning. You might remember Taba from the terrorist
bombings at the Taba Hilton a couple months ago and we were able to see
the hotel, which is being repaired. From Taba, it was a 15 minute
walk to the Israeli border at Eliat, where we were questioned and
searched, but granted entry into Israel without too much trouble,
considering how tight security is right now! |
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Taba
Hilton (left)
The Israeli border (above)
Waiting by the ocean for a taxi (right) |
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By
the time we arrived in Bethlehem, it was 4 PM and we had spent 17 hours on
four buses and a taxi, not to mention quite a bit of walking! We
went to the Casa Nova guest house, attached to the Church of the Nativity
in Manger Square, took a nap, did a little exploring, and had a very late
dinner before bedtime.
Christmas tree
in the Casa Nova lobby (left) |
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The
next day, December 23, we started being tourists in the morning with a tour of
Shepherd's field, where the angels appeared to the shepherds to tell them
about the birth of Christ. Today it isn't much of a field, but
a series of caves and ruins and a small chapel overlooking the hills of
Bethlehem. |
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The
chapel at Shepherds' field
Images
painted on the walls (right & left)
Matt playing (lower left)
Chapel alter (lower center)
View of Bethlehem
(lower right)
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| There
was a cave under part of the ruins at Shepherd's field and, of course, I
can't resist the temptation to crawl into dark, underground spaces. |
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| For
me, one of the highlights of our time in Bethlehem (and a most eye-opening
experience) was a visit to a
Palestinian refugee camp. The camp is half a square kilometer and is
home to about 11,000 Palestinians, Christian and Muslim, whose land and homes have been
destroyed or confiscated for Israeli settlements. The images below are painted on the walls in
a stairwell of one of the buildings and depict the Palestinians struggle
to retain their rights and to live peacefully amidst the conflict that
surrounds them. |
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| A poem
written by a Palestinian boy and painted on the wall with the murals:
Peace
If I could change all the world
I'd dismantle all the bombs
I'd feed all the hungry
I'd shelter all the homeless
I'd make all people free
I can't dismantle all the bombs
I can't feed all the hungry
I can't shelter all the homeless
I can't make all the people free
I can't because there is only one of me
When I have grown and I am strong I will
find many more of me
We will dismantle all the bombs
We will feed the hungry
We will shelter all the homeless
We will make all the people free
We will change the world
Me and my friends together, together at last
~Jojo, age 11 (killed at age 23)
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Our
guide told us the building to the left had been bombed two weeks before
our visit by Israeli police, who showed up at 2 AM, giving all the
residents 10 minutes to leave their homes. The blast destroyed the
home of a Palestinian man who had been previously arrested. The
guide believed the Red Cross tent (far left) across the street was
sheltering his family following the loss of their home. The adjacent
homes and a preschool were also damaged. |
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This
refugee camp is extremely overcrowded and 60% of the residents are
children, most of whom were born in the camp and have never known any
other reality. Palestinians in Bethlehem are not allowed to leave
the city without a special permit, so for most people, there are few
alternatives to this life. |
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| One
of our friends from the seminary in Cairo is Palestinian and her family was kind
enough to invite us to their home in Beit Jalla later in the afternoon. They
haven't seen their daughter in three years because she cannot return to
Palestine until she finishes school. The next door neighbor's
daughter and her rabbit entertained us. |
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Later
that night, we went to a great concert at the Lutheran church before
heading back to the Casa Nova. |
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