Religion Is Not Doing What It Is Supposed To Do

[Friday, January 15]

Our Thursday started with our concern for Haiti and the Haitian people but also, of course, for our colleagues in other aid agencies on the ground in that country who are unsure about the safety of their own people there.

Our Canadian Global World Relief Global Encounter group began the day with an Israeli guide. He had been an officer in the national police force and provided some perspective from the Israeli point of view.

He showed us Israeli communities which had been under attack in both 1948 and 1967 and resulting Israeli response. In a discussion of the wall, known as the security barrier to Israelis and separation barrier to Palestinians, he told us that Israelis feel much more secure because of its presence. He admitted that many knew it caused inconvenience to Palestinians. In fact he mentioned how it could be even more than an inconvenience. The example he used was a woman giving birth at home who encountered complications and required emergency care might be only a few minutes away from a hospital but might be 45 minutes or more away because of the barrier, and that might be too long.

We were then taken to Palestinian communities in East Jerusalem. The difference between Israeli communities was stark. There were no sidewalks, no sewer service, limited or no water service even though these people paid taxes. He estimated that only about 10% of their taxes were returned in infrastructure improvements.

Schools were a particular problem. Our guide said the government’s estimate was that there was shortage of about 1,000 classrooms for Palestinian children in Jerusalem. When you consider the average class size is about 40 children, there is a large number receiving inadequate or no education at all.

We then travelled to the Tantur Ecumenical Institute for an interfaith dialogue and panel discussion. Surely this three-way discussion between a Jewish representative from the Council for Jewish and Christian Relations, a Palestinian Christian member of parliament and Muslim intellectual would bring us some signs of hope for solutions to the disturbing problems in this part of the world. Not so.

While there is discussion taking place through earnest and sincere dialogue, the general feeling was that it was not really going anywhere. All agreed that the problem is that religious leaders are not decision makers. While similar dialogue in our North American setting brings understanding between communities, such is not the case in the Middle East. For us it is much easier since we work, play and pray in the same community but with the political realities in the Middle East, such familiarity is not possible.

They said religion is not doing what it is supposed to do.

The Palestinian Christian said, “We can only be free when we are able to be ourselves, rather than labelled as Jew or Muslim.” He added, “labelling people leads to each one stereotyping the other.” There is no common ground for interreligious discussion but that does not mean that it shouldn’t continue to take place. All three agreed to this.

-Tom Brook

All Hearts Turned Toward Haiti

[Thursday, January 14]

As our bus left the hotel this morning on our way to visit Palestinian communities within Israel all our thoughts were with the people of Haiti. Reverend Gerhard Wilch led us in prayer as we proceeded towards the first check stop in the separation wall.

We saw and learned a lot in our travels today, but that report can come later. At this time we are encouraged by the immediate response of all in the aid sector. Those of us on the Global Encounter who are members of the CLWR staff are concerned for our colleagues and the extra burden they must bear assisting donors in directing aid to those who are so much in need.

The same technology which brought the bad news so quickly has allowed CLWR Executive Director Robert Granke to remain in touch with the situation and direct CLWR’s efforts from the Holy Land.

More on today’s activities at a better time.

Real Life is Different Than Dreams

[Wednesday, January 13]

After a day of touring sites such as Masada and Qumran and having a little float in the Dead Sea (no cameras allowed), all of us participating in the Canadian Lutheran World Relief Global Encounter came down to earth with an early morning visit to the Aida Refugee Camp and the Lajee Center.

The first sight was a large archway in the shape of a keyhole with a huge key on top. It symbolizes the loss of Palestinian homes in 1948. Many refugees still wear the key of their  old homes around their necks in hope of regaining ownership again some day.

Five thousand Palestinian refugees live in the Aida camp in an area of about one square kilometre. In all there are 25,000 people in three camps in the Bethlehem area. People in the camp lived in tents for the first 10 years beginning in 1950. The British built three metre by three metre cement cubes to house the refugees and construction took almost another full decade. Since then most of the refugees have succeeded in constructing their own homes through money they have earned or from remittances of relatives overseas.

These new houses are always unfinished. They are constructed so that supports for an additional floor are above the last finished floor. A parent builds the house and then adds a floor for children and they add a floor for their children.

Living conditions leave a lot to be desired. Water is available for about two hours a week at this time of year and can often be withheld for weeks during the summer. When water is available the householders have to pump the water into tanks on top of their homes and that supplies them until water is available again. The World Health Organization estimates a person requires 100 litres a day and at very best, a refugee gets 60 litres a day.

Playgrounds for the children were destroyed when the separation wall was erected. But the worst problem is the random firing of bullets into the camp by security forces. The United Nations school in the camp was badly damaged by gunfire and 27 people have been killed by these random shootings since 2000, many of them children. There was a time when the children used a Radar O’Reilly sense and could hear the soldiers’ Jeeps coming before anyone else could. Now the wall is right beside the camp with six gun turrets within a few metres of all the activity.

In spite of all this and so much more, we heard of how people at the Lajee Centre are bringing hope to the youth of Aida camp. The main aim of the Centre is to provide refugee youth with cultural, educational, social and developmental opportunities. Its programs are designed in response to the particular needs of the children and the skills and abilities of its members. With use of film, photography, art and dance the centre is teaching young people to express themselves through all these media. They are encouraged to learn that they can resist without throwing stones or picking up arms. We saw the results of their artwork and the kinds of exhibitions of their work that are displayed world wide.

“We are not politicizing these young people,” said one of the workers. “If you have grown up with walls around your house, soldiers shooting at you, checkpoints which turn a five minute trip into 90 minutes, and being denied the most basic of human rights, you are already politicized.” He said any twelve year old in the camp could give you a complete lecture in human rights in twenty minutes. You can learn more about the Lajee Centre at lajee.org.

Twenty year old Kholoud Al-Ajana in her posted documentary which tells of broken dreams concludes, “real life is different than dreams.” Still there is hope amid all the despair and this centre is working hard to bring that about. For her, she may not become the scientist she dreamed of being but is on her way to becoming an accomplished producer of documentary films.

As we left the camp, I was personally struck by all the graffiti on the wall. This on, in particular, stood out for me, “Victory attained by violence is equal to a defeat for it is momentary – Mahatma Ghandi.”

They Blew My Socks Off!

It is sometimes forgotten that the Reformation was as much concerned with school as it was with church and home. Appreciating the role of education in directing church and society back to the source of the Christian faith, the reformers were committed to the schooling of the young. One of Martin Luther’s first acts as a reformer was to propose that monasteries be turned into schools, while one of his last was to establish a school in Eisleben, where he died in 1546.

It is in that spirit that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land has established and maintained, with the help of church partners, a sophisticated network of private Christian schools. The Canadian Lutheran World Relief Global Encounter group visited two of those schools today.

The first was a school attached to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hope in Ramallah. The school was established in 1979. and currently serves 480 students. 60% of the students are boys. Girls are fewer because some of the Catholic schools take girls only and some parents prefer their daughters to attend those schools.

At one time Ramallah was 100% Christian, but today that has dropped to around 10%. About 30% of the student body is Christian. The curriculum is designed by the Palestinian Authority. Previously the curriculum in Gaza was Egyptian and that for the West Bank was Jordanian. In addition to the standard curriculum students learn English and German.

Separate classes provide faith training for Christian and Muslim students and also “dialogue classes” so that students can discuss differences and similarities in an atmosphere of respect and trust.

Children pay 70% of their fees while the remaining is paid by donor church partners. Support of these schools is a church priority project for the Evangelical Church in Canada.

During a time of coffee and fellowship, we were shown photographs of the 2002 damage to the school when Israeli troops broke into the school during a raid on Ramallah. This was the only school that was attacked.

We then made our way to the Beit Sahour region near Bethlehem. This is the area from which it is believed the shepherds who came to see Jesus were located.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church School of Beit Sahour prides itself in academic excellence. 278 of 298 graduates attended university and the only who did not go to university were young women who decided to get married. The school is rated number one in the percentage of students who exceed 90% in exams and overall fifth in academics in the region.

Both boys and girls basketball teams have been area champions for four years running and they are regular winners of the soccer tournament among Lutheran schools.

But you should have heard the choir and seen the dancers! The choir of about forty boys and girls blew my socks off. It was the Christmas moment I had not experienced this year – the one that makes you just a little (or a lot) emotional. The choir sang Christmas hymns for us in Arabic which could match any well trained adult choir. The sound was robust and full of harmony and it was terrific to see young men who enjoyed singing. The dancers, who were recently engaged by the Palestinian Authority to travel to Spain to promote tourism to Palestine, were phenomenal and clearly enjoyed their craft.

We concluded our visit with a bagged lunch with the students and a short tour of the campus.

–Tom Brook

The Power of Pain

[Monday, January 11]

“We are not doomed. We are not called to revenge. If you listen to the pain of another, they will listen to your pain and you can begin the long process toward reconciliation and peace.” That was the opening statement from an Israeli Jew at the beginning of a forum presentation made to the Canadian Lutheran World Relief’s Global Encounter team last Saturday evening.

Two men, one the Israeli Jew quoted above and a Palestinian Muslim told their personal stories of pain. For the Israeli, his fourteen year old daughter, known by all as “The Princess” due to her high level of achievement in academics, arts and sports was blown up in a suicide bomb attack. The Palestinian lost his father when he was shot at a border check point for no apparent reason. As a result, he had to go out and earn a living for his family and was denied the opportunity to pursue a higher level of education and the opportunities that brings.

Both are members of the Parent’s Circle – Family Forum Organization which advocates for peace through dialogue among those most affected by the political situation in this part of the world. The organization began in 2000 and since then there have been 7,000 families affected by senseless death. The organization sends pairs of members, one Israeli and one Palestinian to schools on both sides of the border to show that cooperation is possible. For many children of either country it would be the first time they would have seen an Israeli and Palestinian together, much less as friends and calling one another brother.

The organization also sponsors television series and children’s camps.

When asked why Israel acts the way it seems to do when Jews have been so deeply persecuted themselves, the Israeli representative said, “Israel acts like the battered child who turns into an abusive parent.” In a similar manner, the Palestinian said that many of his country people turn to radicalism and violence because they see no way out of their present situation.

Both agreed that they saw small signs of hope, particularly amongst the young. They said they are using the power of pain. It can bring revenge and bloodshed or it can bring peace and love through mutual understanding and empathy.

–Tom Brook

What A Way To Start The Day!

[Sunday, January 10]

It’s Sunday and if you cannot be in your home congregation, can you imagine a better place to be than The Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem? That is where the seventeen members of the Canadian Lutheran World Relief’s Global Encounter worshiped today. Although the lectionary for this service called on us to rejoice in the baptism of our Lord, it is still Christmas at Christmas Lutheran. This congregation not only celebrates the traditional Christmas but respects the Orthodox and Armenian Christmases as well so the Christmas tree and decorations will be up for a while yet.

Since the days of the first Pentecost, the Christians of Bethlehem and across Palestine have kept alive the faith of Jesus as heirs of the ‘first Church’. It is the oldest Lutheran church in Palestine and was founded by German missionaries in 1854.

The sanctuary is ringed with fourteen original stained glass windows. The one which carries the most powerful image to this congregation depicts Joseph, Mary and Jesus as refugees as they flee to Egypt. “Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt.” (Matt 2:13a) These words hit home here because fully 2/3 of the 200 member congregation are refugees themselves.

The organ, originally manufactured in Berlin in 1890, was recently rebuilt with the help of a generous financial gift from the Lutheran Church of Christ the Redeemer in Minneapolis. And what a sweet sound of peace and harmony as the Creed, Lord’s Prayer and the hymns were said or sung in Arabic and English simultaneously. And, since it is still Christmas at Christmas Lutheran, the sending hymn was “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” What a way to start the day!

–Tom Brook

Vocational training gives hope to Palestinian youth

[Saturday, January 9]

Canadian Lutheran World Relief Global Encounter participants had a unique opportunity to view the work of the Lutheran World Federation Vocational Training Program (VTP) first hand.

We walked through the various training shops and saw the tremendous skill young Palestinians were developing in areas of metalwork, woodwork, auto mechanics,  sheet metal, plumbing and heating, and telecommunications. We learned of the unique strategy of VTP to train young people between the ages of 14 and 18 in vocational areas which match employer demand. This allows the program to achieve employment rates among graduates which are the highest of all degree programs nationally; 73% of VTP graduates were employed or self-employed within six-months of graduation and 96% were actively engaged in the work force or seeking work compared to 44.7% of youth in the same age group nationally.

The VTP’s  efforts to  increase the enrollment of female trainees has been quite successful in recent years. The number of females participating has doubled with many young women graduating in the telecommunications field. Training leaders say these young women are terrific role models in their communities and are encouraging others to consider vocational training.

Six years ago a training center was established in Ramallah and it has graduated 220 students through a unique apprenticeship training course that provides a combination of classroom instruction and training directly on the shop floor of an industrial site. These young Palestinians are finding meaningful employment and driving economic growth in their own communities.

Canadian Lutheran World Relief provides modest support to these training programs. “We definitely want to do more,” said CLWR Executive Director Bob Granke. The annual cost to support a student with tuition, books, uniform and transportation is about $800. “This is the kind of program which many Canadians would feel makes good sense and I’m sure more support will be available as we engage people in this terrific story of success,” he said.

–Tom Brook

One Hundred and Seventy-Eight Steps

One hundred and seventy-eight steps. That’s how many steps to the top of the bell tower at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem. From that vantage point, you get the best view of the Old City of Jerusalem. The seventeen members of  Canadian Lutheran World Relief’s Global Encounter 2010 walked those steps today and had a perfect view of the rich array of religious life in this city held holy by Jews, Muslims and Christians. As well,  the view of the Mount of Olives and Augusta Victoria Hospital was spectacular.

But the real treat was an hour-long conversation with Bishop Hanib Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJH). Bishop Younan reminded us that the Christian accomplishments in this region over the last 2,000 years should never be forgotten. He spoke of the strategic use of education and how 45% of the 3,000 students in Lutheran schools are Muslim.

“We are not trying to convert these children to Christianity” Bishop Younan said.  “We are trying to make them good Lutherans.” By that he meant the church’s strategic purpose in the education field is to teach a way of moderation and cooperation.

He also emphasized the great works of diakonia being practices in the areas of health care and social welfare.

The ECJHL is the sixth largest Christian church in the region. However when asked how many members the church had he said, “Numbers  do not mean anything. The important thing is the strength of the witness.” There is no doubt that the leaders and members of the ELCJHL and their bishop are powerful witnesses to what can be accomplished with strategic thinking and strong focus.

Bishop Younan thanked the CLWR constituency for their strong support of the ELCJHL and its ministries and urged Canadian Lutherans to remain engaged in the work of CLWR and its partner, the Lutheran World Federation.

–Tom Brook