Christmas Appeal: Hope for the children of Bethlehem
In the midst of conflict between Palestinian militants and Israeli soldiers, committed teachers are transforming pre-school education in the occupied territories.
By Donald Macintyre
There is a little Christmas tree in the second-floor flat where Sana Dawabshe, a former nursery teacher, lives with her husband and two small sons. There is also a figure of Santa Claus, behind which a painted glass sign proclaims “Merry Christmas”. Nothing surprising about that, you might think, particularly since she lives in Bethlehem. But Sana is a Palestinian Muslim.
Sana explains. Her neighbours are Christian Palestinians and her sons - five-year-old Eyal and three-year-old Ebal - did not want to be left out. But there is more to it than childhood peer pressure. “I don’t think there is a real difference between Christians and Muslims,” she adds reflectively. “This is a great thing for tolerance.”
Sana’s belief in tolerance, which extends well beyond her Christian neighbours, is something of a triumph of the human spirit. You only have to step outside the steel-panelled front door of her apartment building - which is wholly deserted apart from her family and that of her Christian neighbours - to realise that there is probably no bleaker corner of the town where Christ is said to have been born 2005 years ago tomorrow.
Overlooking the door are two Israeli military watchtowers, covering a desolate stretch of wasteland. Just 10 metres away, not far from Rachel’s Tomb - the religious monument that Jewish worshippers visit in armoured buses - there are two sections of Israel’s controversial wall, in grey concrete 30 feet high.
For much of the past five years, moreover, the Israeli army has occupied the roof of Sana’s home. The soldiers at first stipulated that Mr and Mrs Dawabshe could have no visitors at all. Then they had to give advance notice of their guests, and provide details of their ID. [more]
February 12th, 2008 at 4:48 am
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