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Like any territory in Palestine, living in Bethlehem is like living
in a prison under the open sky.
In order to get in and out, to go to work, to go to the doctor and
to provide one’s family with all the basic necessities, people have
to be subject to the mood and arbitrariness of those who detain the
keys of such prison, i.e. the Israeli army of the Zionist
occupation.
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If you do not hold a special permit, which is valid for only 2
months, you can forget about going to work. For instance, you will
not be allowed to travel to Jerusalem, which is only a few miles
away.
Furthermore, the renewal of the permit is always uncertain.
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General
trade and trade of crafts with Jerusalem have always been source of
work and survival for the Arabs living in the area. Olive
plantations also play an important role, as they are used for the
production of oil and timber for handcrafts. |
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Tourism and
pilgrimages have always been source of income too, thanks to the
services that are offered to those who visit the holy places, as
well as the sale of items produced by Arab families, both Christian
and Muslim. |
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However, as
the Israeli Zionist army is occupying the territory and
expropriating the land cultivated with olive trees, many families
have witnessed a rapid decline in their work and income. The wall
which traps the whole town is then the finishing stroke for an
economy which is already very unstable.
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As the sources of support are
at their minimum and the transit to and from the town is blocked,
hopes for the development and growth of new generations have been
greatly undermined, and many people are forced to emigrate.
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Nevertheless, many young people
and families are holding out in that land which they truly love and
has always been theirs and of their fathers.
A land which they love, as we
all love our own country.
What they are asking for is
simply to live, work and develop without a foreign army imposing an
undeserved punishment on them and on their children. |
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Thanks to our non-profit-making
support and solidarity, we are trying to help them to sell locally
made products, which are often true works of art of the poor.
By helping the survival of
many Arab Palestinian families, we are also trying to surmount the
material limits that the Israeli regime of apartheid is now imposing
on all citizens of Bethlehem, both Christian and Muslim.
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The profit coming from the sale
of handcrafts that we are importing, are partly reinvested in more
handcrafts (primarily of religious nature), partly used to help
children of needy families to continue their studies, and partly
assigned (when
finances permit) to the "Caritas Baby Hospital of Bethlehem". This hospital,
which is itself imprisoned behind the Wall of shame, is the only
hope for the survival of many children and their mothers.
RELATED:
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Thanks to
all our friends |
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