As Christmas approaches, Friends of the Holy Land is asking Christians to show their minds to town of Bethlehem, where the Christmas story first began, and the broader region as conflict continues.
For children internationally, the celebration of Christ’s birth will mean presents, nativity plays, and meals with family and friends, but children within the Holy Land will spend their Christmas worrying about bombing within the region and where their next meal will come from, says Friends of the Holy Land.
Speaking on the launch of its Christmas Appeal, CEO Brendan Metcalfe said that the Holy Land’s children are being robbed of their likelihood for a traditional childhood, and the continued conflict has denied children a lot of their basic needs.
It is proving unattainable to maintain children sheltered from the fact of the situation, with parents from across the West Bank reporting worrying signs of the heavy toll the ever-present danger is taking up children. Many experience nightmares fed by the fears they live with day-to-day, while others have lost their appetite and don’t even wish to play with friends anymore.
“My oldest daughter, only six and a half, asks me why they’re killing children in Gaza,” one father explained to employees visiting the office in Bethlehem.
“It’s unattainable to shield children from the horrors of war, and this constant exposure to death and destruction is severely impacting their mental health.”
Education has also turn into a casualty, with an entire generation liable to missing out on a few of their most childhood of faculty. According to Metcalfe, “Since October 2023, many children are unable to attend school because of travel restrictions, school fees, or because they’re just too frightened to go away their homes.
“On a visit to Bethlehem earlier this 12 months, a father in Bethlehem explained to me, ‘They are fearful that the military could come at any time.'”
Figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Education claim that there have been 69 attacks on schools and almost 2,350 incidents which have impacted students and teachers within the West Bank and East Jerusalem within the last 12 months.
“Our team on the bottom sees the impact each day. We have funded critical therapy and counselling services to supply regular interventions, equipping more children with the tools to navigate the continued trauma of their every day lives,” Metcalfe said.
“We proceed to fund school fees as many families, devastated financially by this war, are at breaking point and may’t afford these fees. This academic 12 months we’ve got committed to assist twice as many vocational students in each area of study where we all know there are labour shortages – 90% of our graduates find work.
“Through this work not only will we encourage in these students the hope of a brighter future, but we help construct a generation of expert young people, ready and equipped to rebuild their communities.”
Friends of the Holy Land has ongoing projects in Israel and Jordan, and is providing direct financial support to 2 churches sheltering Christians in Gaza City, enabling them to stockpile essential supplies.
Father Fadi Diab, Chairman of Friends of the Holy Land’s local committee, added, “While other international organisations may remain stuck at borders or struggle to determine local connections on the bottom, our local team based in our offices in Bethlehem and Ramallah know the families at breaking point personally.”
