I remember when I studied in Guatemala, and spent the day learning about the 30 year civil war, and would go home at night to jump out of my skin at the sound of fire crackers going off next door. My host family would laugh. There are always fire crackers going off to celebrate birthdays or weddings or Tuesdays. But here in Bethlehem, whenever a clown's balloon pops, or the wind hits the stage microphones wrong, there is a collective duck. It passes quickly, but it is noticeable.
The Bet Lahem Live Festival recruits local volunteers to assist with the massive operation. A dozen high school students from Bethlehem work with us from morning to night, preparing the streets, store fronts, and stages. Many of these volunteers live in the refugee camps. They were born there. And while the festival is an intense time of work, it is compounded for these folks by what is happening in the camps at night.
Soldiers come into the camps regularly - at least twice a week. Typically, a few dozen come in at a time for training purposes.This last night, our friends told us it was thousands. They had never seen such a large operation, and were up all night as the soldiers went from home to home, and room to room.
More stories fill the news. Three hundred thousand Palestinians are under curfew. Many more are limited in their ability to travel. There are many reports of soldiers taking money, from peoples homes, from their wallets. Non profits are being ransacked and closed, including a children's home. Thousands of buildings have been damaged. Nearly 500 Palestinians detained. More Palestinians shot and killed, including a thirteen year old boy, and a mentally ill young adult who was trying to get to his mosque. An older man died of a heart attack when soldiers broke through his door. Palestinians are beginning to throw Molotov cocktails with their rocks.
I tossed and turned last night, thinking about the parents of the missing Israeli youth. Are the boys alive? Will they see them again? And if they do, will they be the teenagers they were a few weeks ago? I cannot fathom the fear or sadness these parents are experiencing. But what is happening throughout Palestine can't be the solution.
The Bet Lahem Live Festival recruits local volunteers to assist with the massive operation. A dozen high school students from Bethlehem work with us from morning to night, preparing the streets, store fronts, and stages. Many of these volunteers live in the refugee camps. They were born there. And while the festival is an intense time of work, it is compounded for these folks by what is happening in the camps at night.
Soldiers come into the camps regularly - at least twice a week. Typically, a few dozen come in at a time for training purposes.This last night, our friends told us it was thousands. They had never seen such a large operation, and were up all night as the soldiers went from home to home, and room to room.
More stories fill the news. Three hundred thousand Palestinians are under curfew. Many more are limited in their ability to travel. There are many reports of soldiers taking money, from peoples homes, from their wallets. Non profits are being ransacked and closed, including a children's home. Thousands of buildings have been damaged. Nearly 500 Palestinians detained. More Palestinians shot and killed, including a thirteen year old boy, and a mentally ill young adult who was trying to get to his mosque. An older man died of a heart attack when soldiers broke through his door. Palestinians are beginning to throw Molotov cocktails with their rocks.
I tossed and turned last night, thinking about the parents of the missing Israeli youth. Are the boys alive? Will they see them again? And if they do, will they be the teenagers they were a few weeks ago? I cannot fathom the fear or sadness these parents are experiencing. But what is happening throughout Palestine can't be the solution.
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