We look to the west and we are
looking at Palestine. Gosh, where to begin there? Hala, the boys,
and I just came back from ten days in the West Bank. Hala wanted
to take the chance to visit family while the boys have their winter
break from school and I had meetings with the Palestine Joining
Hands Against Hunger networks. Hala had originally wanted to stay
for two or two-and-a-half weeks, but found the situation so depressing
that she decided to return to Amman with me ten days after our
arrival.
People are depressed to the point of tears, unemployment is at
65 percent or more in most areas and people are finding it more
and more difficult to feed their families. Many that we meet have
not paid their rent in over a year if not more, amd many, many
people have not paid their utilities in just as much time. Luckily,
the electric company has been ordered not to turn off people’s
electricity. Many families are also in such a position that they
cannot pay school fees for their children. The schools do not
close, but the quality of education has sunk below sea level.
Added to that, most people believe that the situation will only
be getting much worse. In the last two and a half years, over
500 Christian families have left, immigrating to other countries
in search of a better life. Pretty soon, there will be very few
Christians in the Holy Land.
The Israelis are pushing through with their plan to imprison
the Palestinian population behind a 20-foot wall around the entirety
of the West Bank, except, of course, for the illegal settlements
that are built on confiscated Palestinian lands. An added piece
of news happening in the Holy Land is that the Israelis are now
getting ready to put into place a law that will require all visitors
to the Holy Land to have written permission from them to enter
any area of the West Bank. That means that any Christian tourist
coming to visit the holiest sites in Christianity will have to
get this little not-so-easy-to-acquire piece of paper to visit
the Church of the Nativity and Bethlehem. It won’t be difficult
if you are on an Israeli-organized tour or on an Israeli tour
bus to get this piece of paper, but otherwise it will be very
difficult. If you are caught in the West Bank without this permission,
they are threatening immediate deportation, with no hope to visit
again. It seems that the Holy Land is not so holy. If any of you
feel particularly incensed about this latest Israeli “rule,”
please write to your congresspeople and to the PC(USA) to stand
up and voice opposition.
Looking to the south in Egypt, thankfully, there is a better
picture there. The political unrest and violence is not present
as in other countries of the Middle East, but there is remarkable
poverty and numerous social problems. This year, the JHAH network
in Egypt will be putting together its first core program to look
at the root causes of hunger in Egypt. There are grassroots organizations
from up and down the Nile in the network, which is called “‘Together
For Family Development.” To learn more about my mission
work and the work of the JHAH program in the Middle East, you
can look to our Web site at www.pal-egypt-jhah.org.
We would love for all to take a look and to tell us what you think.
Thank all of you for your continued prayers for us as a family
and for our mission here in the Middle East.
With the Peace of Christ,
Chris, Hala, Nadiim & Adeeb
The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, pp.
318, 321, 323
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