In thy dark streets shineth
The Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation embodies the spirit of Christmas – and it needs our help.
As always at Christmas, we celebrate Bethlehem, the holy birthplace, the town that changed the world. But if we want to be true to the place, and its real legacy, we need to set aside the sentimental images of the Christmas cards and see it for what it is.
The people of West Bank Palestine, of which Beit Lehem is part, are among the most oppressed in the world. Living, as they do, under occupation, they have almost no rights. Nearly one-third are refugees in their own country, their homes long demolished, and the right of return to their historic land denied. Agriculture, trade, tourism, employment in general, health-care and education all have frustrating obstacles placed in their path. The notorious restrictions on physical movement, the appropriation of land for foreign settlers, the wholesale demolition of houses, the uprooting of olive groves, the rationing of water supplies, the dumping of toxic waste, arbitrary denial of medical aid, deliberate interruption of students` courses of study, harassment of school-children, and the systematic use of violence and imprisonment, shame both the perpetrators and those who acquiesce.
Yet Bethlehem will celebrate Christmas this year. Neon-lit stars and reindeer will decorate the lamp-posts, Mass will be sung in the Nativity Church and carols will sound in Manger Square. For Bethlehem, despite all the obstacles placed in its path, remains a place of hope. And despite all the institutional violence it suffers, it remains a place of reconciliation, where people can, and do, come together.
The magnificently kitsch Shepherds` Tent restaurant at nearby Beit Sahour brings Christian and Muslim families together from all over the area. The hill-top Bethlehem University, its walls still marked with bullet-holes, is a Catholic foundation, but has a majority of Muslim students, most of them women. The 19th century Cremisan winery, built by Don Bosco`s Salesians on the ruins of an ancient monastery, employs workers of all faiths. The Salesians also run a technical college in the city. Round its quiet courtyards, Christian and Muslim students are still taught olive-wood carving, a Bethlehem speciality for centuries – though the visitors who buy it are much fewer now. Here too is the bakery which gives daily bread to the poorest families of the city, irrespective of race or religion – a service which continued, during the Second Intifada, through two solid months of curfew. And the hospital of the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation, in its cluster of white, modernist buildings, is a Christian organization giving medical help to the disabled of all religious groups, both adults and children.
BASR, of course, is familiar to Hampstead Parish Church. Members of the congregation have visited it on various occasions. It is one of the charities which we support financially, in particular for its vital work of mending bodies and minds traumatised by the seemingly endless political turmoil. Its inspirational director Edmund Shehadeh is always looking for ways to develop this centre of excellence, but the gap between the needs and the means of meeting them is always widening.
The Church Times has reported on the consequences of the recent UNESCO vote to recognise Palestine, namely the USA`s withdrawal of previously promised funding for Palestinian organisations, one of which is BASR. `Collective punishment` for political reasons is already illegal under the 4th Geneva Convention, but it is doubly reprehensible when the victims of the politics are disabled children. Our support for BASR is now more urgent than ever. If you wish to find out more, please visit the web-site at www.basr.org. Edmund, who sends our parish his Christmas blessings, can be contacted direct on [email protected]. He will give you an idea of what help he needs. And if you go to the West Bank, visit BASR and you will always be sure of a welcome. This is one of the places where the light of Bethlehem shines.