Reflection : 2 Stories on Chrismas in Gaza. The first story is reported by a Christian Reporter of Al Jazeera, Vacy Vlazna in 2013 when she cried to Pope Francis how the world forgotten the suffering of Gazan people in Chrismas season while they in other parts of the world celebrated happily... And by Gazan people, she meant both the Christians and the Muslims... The second story is reported by a Muslim Reporter of Al Akhbar English, Ruqaya Izzidien in 2011 where she described how chrismas season is like in Gaza through the eye of a christian student in a Gazas university. She pictured how Palestinian Muslims and Christians mutual respect in their religious values.... -------------------------- 1st story : Gaza calling: A Christmas appeal to Pope Francis By: Vacy Vlazna (2013) Calls on Pope Francis to mingle with his flock and help alleviate the suffering of Gazans. Your Holiness, Pope Francis, At Christmas, as you say, we contemplate the faithfulness and tenderness of Boundless Love. This holiday also embraces the season of refugees recalling The Holy Familys flight to Egypt to escape Herods massacre of the innocents. Their journey from Bethlehem meant passing through Gaza, which, since 1948, is itself in a wretched refugee limbo. Families in Gaza have no escape. Its borders are hermetically sealed and bound by Israel and Egypt. Gaza needs your help. In December, in desperation, a campaign was launched appealing to you to give a helping hand to release the suffering people of Gaza from the genocidal strangulation of Israels seven-year blockade. There is no world leader other than yourself who possesses the moral strength, the political freedom and the spiritual imperative to help Gaza. There is none of global influence to whom the Gazans can turn except Your Holiness. Through your words and actions, we see the same star that heralded the advent of Gandhi, of Mandela, of Jesus. Its light - the spiritual simplicity of love for the human family, for the oppressed, for the poor - is again penetrating human hearts and consciences. It shone bright when you went to Lampedusa, the refugee purgatory, drawing the worlds attention to the globalisation of indifference. We are a society that has forgotten the experience of weeping, of suffering with: The globalisation of indifference has taken from us the ability to weep! ...We are accustomed to the suffering of others, it doesnt concern us, its none of our business. ...Herod sowed death in order to defend his own well-being, his own soap bubble. And this continues to repeat itself. Todays Israeli Herods have systematically made Gaza a hell on earth by imposing a blockade in violation of international law that has made Gaza an open air concentration camp imprisoning 1.7 million innocent people, half of whom are children. As the world makes merry this festive season, the people of Gaza have deliberately, cruelly, been deprived of fuel by Israel for two months: They suffer in freezing temperatures, with no electricity, no light, no heat, scarcity of food, no essential services. When the waste water treatment plant stopped functioning sewage flooded the streets. Then kicking families while they are down so low, Israel opened dams east of Gaza drowning hope and the last vestiges of normal life. Imagine, truly, if this Christmas you were in Gaza, suffering with Gazan families, and you have no place to run, cant get medical help for your hungry and cold children, cant cook, clean their clothes, keep them dry, warm, safe and happy. Meanwhile the Christian kings of the free world, Obama, Cameron, Merkel, Hollande, Abbott will attend Christmas mass under a blaze of cameras and their own sinful hypocrisy in full knowledge that the Gaza humanitarian disaster, unlike the Philippines, is man-made. Herod-made. Nor will they lift a finger to bring the gifts of justice, compassion and love to Gazas immiserated manger. Speaking of manger, doesnt it strike you as bizarre and un-Christ-like that Christians have for decades, overlooked, ignored or tolerated the sacrilege that Bethlehem, the birthplace of the Divine Child, is in illegal occupied territory and surrounded by the illegal annexation/apartheid wall enforced by the Israeli military? And speaking of Palestines military occupier, unconscionably, Israeli Herods sow death to raise the profits of Israels armament juggernaut. In his recent shocking documentary, The Lab, Yotam Feldman exposes how Palestinians have been dehumanised as sacrificial guinea pigs: I think the main product Israelis are selling, especially in the last decade, is experience… the testing of the products, the experience is the main thing they [customers] are coming to buy. They want the missile that was shot in the last operation in Gaza or the rifle that was used in the last West Bank incursion. Inevitably, profits soared in 2009-10 after surgical strikes by F16s, attack helicopters drones, and phosphorous bombs slaughtered 1,400 Gazans, one-third of whom were children, and again in November 2012 - business as usual for the Western Caesars of Profit who have swept with their wars and political subterfuge through the Middle East like locust plagues devastating the lives of our Christian and Muslim brothers and sisters in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Iran. The blockade of Gaza is the crime of the 21st century and is integral to Israels 65 years of war crimes, crimes against humanity, apartheid policies, state terrorism and illegal colonisation perpetrated against the indigenous people of Palestine. Gaza/Palestine is also the great lament in the sacred heart of humanity. The blood and weeping never dry up in the Gazan soul. It is crying out. Will you respond? Please. In your Lampedusa homily, you pose two questions that call our spirit to live in solidarity with the poor, with the oppressed, Adam, where are you? Where is the blood of your brother? These questions are versions of the quintessential question, Who am I? And in this instance who is Pope Francis? Whose shoes do you step into - The Fishermans or Caesars? The signs of your papacy are hope-filled. The 1968 film, The Shoes of the Fisherman, based on Morris Wests novel, portrays a spiritually pragmatic pope of profound compassion who sells off the Vaticans treasures to alleviate the lethal poverty of Communist China. The film also drew inspiration from the Archbishop of Venice, the beloved Albino Luciani, who later became, for a shimmer of time and light, Pope John Paul I. Over the years, Luciani had condemned the hypocrisy of the Vatican treasures. (White Light, Dark Night, Lucien Gregoire) Of Luciani and Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II), Gregoire writes, During the 20 years they served as bishop and cardinal, each of their countries suffered from an immense orphan problem - about two million in each country. During that time Wojtyla built and dedicated 53 churches and not a single orphanage. Luciani, on the other hand, built and dedicated f4 orphanages and not a single church. Like Luciani, you, Pope Francis, mingle with your flock and criticise the idolatry of money and the new tyranny of capitalism. Gandhi fasted and marched with humility for justice. Mandela, with humility, sacrificed 27 years for justice. So when you see the glittering lights of the Christmas tree in St Peters Square, may you reflect on the wretched darkness in Gaza and know that peace on earth doesnt exist without peace in Gaza and all of Palestine. Peace for Palestinians is your and our business. Gaza doesnt need Vatican treasures; it needs liberation to live fully and humanely. We, who respect justice and human dignity, have just lost the presence of Mandela but, InshaAllah and God Willing, we have gained you, Pope Francis. m.aljazeera/story/2013122212323472366 ----------------- 2nd story : Christmas in Gaza By: Ruqaya Izzidien (2011) This Christmas marks the third anniversary of the 2008-2009 Israeli war on the Gaza Strip; a winter in which 19-year-old Ramy El Jelda saw his home bombed just two days after Christmas. He returned to the site a couple of days later to find his Christmas decorations scattered across the road. “The baubles and bells were on the floor. The tree had been blown out of the house and was in the street. We cried. That is how we celebrated Christmas in 2008.” Today the small number of Christmas trees that grace Gaza are primarily plastic and limited to Christian households, hotel lobbies and uptown restaurants. The Israeli blockade leaves Christmas tree fairy lights in a ghostly darkness during the daily eight-hour rolling blackouts. For Ramy and the 3,000-strong Christian community in Gaza, festive Christmas celebrations go hand-in-hand with isolation and travel restrictions to Bethlehem, despite Israeli public claims to the contrary. But this year holds hope for a happier occasion, despite the obstacles that Palestinian Christians in Gaza continue to face. “Christmas helps children remember they are young,” explained Ramy, describing the traditions of the Greek Orthodox community, which celebrates Christmas on January 7. “On Christmas Day we go to our grandmother’s house and my whole family has lunch together. It is a small Eid (feast) but we celebrate for three days, visiting each others’ homes.” Jaber El Jelda, a distant relative of Ramy, is the director of the Orthodox Church, one of Gaza’s few churches, along with the Baptist Church and Holy Family Catholic Church. He explained how the Orthodox Christian community marks the occasion. “We organize a party on the first of January and offer children gifts, celebrating Christmas with songs and folklore and the traditional Palestinian dabka dance. We, and members of the Baptist and Catholic churches celebrate in each others’ celebrations. We’re like one.” Although Christmas in Gaza bears a resemblance to its portrayal in other countries, the echoes are overwhelmingly superficial, as Ramy explained, “We put up a tree in the home and decorate it with bells. We put candles and holly around the house and children receive gifts of money, called eideyya.” Ramy considers Christmas in Gaza to be disconnected to festivities outside of the siege. “Christmas in Gaza is different; it is a local celebration, not connected to Christmas outside. We don’t really ‘do’ Santa and it’s not like I’ve seen Christmas celebrated in the movies.” Bethlehem off-limits: Israel’s Facade of Tolerance Christmas for Gaza’s Palestinians entails far more complications than complex wrapping and tree decorations. As a small minority in the coastal enclave, the Gaza Christian community would traditionally visit Bethlehem, Jerusalem or Ramallah for the festive season, joining their families and communities in a full celebration. Ramy described how all Christians used to be permitted by the Israeli government to visit the West Bank for Christmas. “Now they only give permission to a few people and you must be over 35 or under 16. Invariably, if parents receive permission, the children don’t and vice versa.” It is a loophole that many Palestinians believe is being exploited by the Israeli authorities. The Israeli authorities have advertised that 500 Christians are allowed to celebrate Christmas in their holy sites as a ‘goodwill gesture.’ But in practical terms, very few of those eligible are granted the right to make the fifty mile trip from Gaza to Jerusalem, and those who do have to sacrifice a Christmas with their families. Jaber has given up requesting permission because his sons are at university and therefore will automatically be denied travel rights. “My uncle and cousins live in Ramallah, but I can’t celebrate Christmas with them because my children are over 16 and are therefore too old for permits. How could I go out of Gaza to celebrate Christmas if I can’t take my children? It’s ridiculous.” Even the process of receiving permission is unreliable, Jaber explained. “My brother is 52 and wanted to go to the West Bank for Christmas, the Israeli authorities just told him that ‘although we know you aren’t a terrorist, we don’t want you in Israel.’ He had worked in Israel for about 25 years.” For this reason, Ramy considers the Israeli publicity machine to be exploiting the Christian community, “The Israeli government does this to benefit from us, so that they can say that they allow Christians to go to Bethlehem for Christmas, but really we can’t practically go. They exploit us to improve their image.” Jaber stressed how the Christian community in Gaza suffers at the hands of the Israeli authorities at other times of year too. “Our Greek priest and archbishop face problems getting to Gaza, even though they have diplomatic passports. They have to enter through Israel but sometimes access is denied.” Muslim-Christian relationship Ramy studies at the Hamas-run Islamic University, like a number of Christian students in Gaza. He was offered a place at Birzeit University, but he was forced to continue his education in Gaza, as Israel forbade him from studying in the West Bank. Despite this, he enjoys his time at the Islamic University and says he is exempted from certain classes, like Quran study, to accommodate his beliefs. “All my friends are Muslims. I don’t care if my friends are Christian or not. My Muslim friends here in Gaza also wish me Merry Christmas and come to visit me at Christmas. So what the media says about Arabs and intolerance isn’t true.” Jaber agrees that the relationship between Muslims and Christians is very good in general, although his church has experienced infrequent targeting. “Fourth months ago the cables for our church bells were cut, but now everything is good. The government told the community to leave us alone and this helped.” He stressed that such attacks are unpleasant but not representative of Gazan Muslims as a whole, “It’s a minority of people who create problems; most people understand us and believe that we have our religion, and they have theirs.” Rana Baker is a Palestinian Muslim who studied at the Catholic Holy Family School in Gaza City. “It was a great experience; at school, my Christian classmates fasted Ramadan with us and we celebrated Christmas with them. We had Islamic books and they had Christian books. I never saw any discrimination and, as a student, you were judged solely on your academic merit.” Rana remarked that, however small the celebrations, the festive season is one that is marked and enjoyed in Gaza, even for Muslims. “I really love Christmas, I like to hang out with my Christian friends at this time of year. I wish them a happy Christmas and they do the same for me on Eid. “The relationship between Muslims and Christians in Gaza is really good. Palestine is one of the few places left where Muslims and Christians are really close. We are brothers and sisters.” english.al-akhbar/node/2797
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 10:54:53 +0000
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