I saw this graphic on Facebook recently. It was posted by a “friend of a friend,” a
Palestinian woman from England who, like many, cannot visit her homeland. With her permission, I had the graphic
printed on Christmas cards, which I am sending to people who will understand
the message, as well as to people that I hope will at least try to understand
the message.
Most of us will sing – or listen to someone sing (even if
it is the Muzak in the mall) “O Little Town of Bethlehem” at this time of
year. For most, the vision that it
brings is the one at the top of the card – the slumbering village, the starry
skies. But for me – and for those, like
me, who have spent time in the “real” Bethlehem – the image is very different.
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| The Wall |
When I think of Bethlehem, the first visual image that
pops into my mind is the encircling wall.
No, it’s not a “fence” or a “security barrier,” it’s a WALL! Maybe because so many visitors enter Bethlehem
in spite of the wall, the wall here is a colorful canvas for a variety of
graffiti artists to ply their craft.
Don’t be fooled – it’s still a wall, and it still keeps people imprisoned
behind it!
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| damaged statue at Church of the Nativity |
Another image is the Church of the Nativity – not just as
a place of holy pilgrimage, but as a place of siege where, during the Second
Intifada, Palestinian civilians were barricaded behind its walls while Israeli
soldiers fired live ammunition, hurting people and damaging walls and statues.
And then I think of the children. The school children in Tuqu’, who needed protection
from soldiers and settlers as they went to school – protection that was
provided by my EA teammates. The babies,
who are born, not in a peaceful manger but at checkpoints, where their mothers
were denied access to the medical care on the other side.
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| School children in Tuqu' |
One final image, the most horrific of all, is the
checkpoint. One of the busiest
checkpoints in the West Bank, every morning thousands of men (and not a few
women!) must pass through this cage-like structure to get to jobs in
Israel.
In short, the reality of Bethlehem – circa 2013 – bears
no resemblance to the Bethlehem of 2000 years ago, when a baby lay in a manger,
and angels sang overhead. This holiday
season, when you think about that first Christmas, and that tiny baby in his
Bethlehem manger, please spare a thought for the people of Bethlehem and their
struggles to survive in the face of oppression and occupation!
p.s. I made a donation to MAP (Medical Aid to Palestinians) as a thank you to the artist who created the Bethlehem graphic. If you’d like to do the same, their website
is http://www.justgiving.com/MAPChristmas
