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AEI-Open Windows News
Pax Christi France Visit to the AEI-Open Windows
Pax Christi France funded the travel of
two of the AEI High School Youth Group to
participate in the World Youth Days in Cologne.
On Monday the 8th August
2005, around twenty five French young men and
women visited the AEI-Open Windows new premises
at about 2:00 pm. We were surprised of their
coming yet it was such an impressive meeting
where we introduced the AEI-Open Windows'
mission, programmes, projects and activities,
especially the "Living in the Holy land:
Respecting Differences".
This followed a very interesting
discussion about the impact of our work on the
society. It was clearly noticed how much
important the work of the AEI to the Palestinian
community in general and the Bethlehem community
in particular by breaking down the stereotypes
between the Christians and Moslems especially
those who live in closed societies.
Pax Christi French members were also
very interested in knowing how the AEI-Open
Windows functions. The AEI functions through its
school network in Bethlehem, Ramallah and
Hebron, as well as through its six groups (Kids,
High School, University, New Graduates and Young
Employees, Women, and parents) when they heard
that the AEI possesses these groups they were
very interested in why do they come! They
realized that they come because in Bethlehem
there is no place, where the youth can attend
for their waste time, they have a need - lack of
knowledge especially out of curricula- in
addition to the facilities the AEI offers for
free.
The Pax Christi French group had to
leave and to come back at 5:00 to watch the
performances of the people who are participating
in the World Youth Days in Cologne. The parents
group was also invited to this activity. At the
beginning the group perfomed a drama entitled
"Saint George the Green" which is about
a group of
Palestinian peasants (males and females) are
farming their land. Settlers attack these
peasants with the support of Israeli Occupation
soldiers, and they kicked them out off their
land, and the same action happened on the second
day. The Palestinian peasants gather at night
and pray to God and ask for St. George’s
protection in order to keep their land from the
on going attacks of the settlers. At night St.
George appears, he notices that the Palestinians
are a group of peasants that live on farming,
and there is no body to defend them. On the
other side, there are the settlers who keep
attacking the peasants with the back up of the
Israeli solders. St. George encourages the
Palestinians and asks them to stay in their
land. And he instills in them hope and reminds
them that they have a just and right cause, and
that God will grant them freedom regardless of
the continued attacks on them. The World Youth
Days people performed a number of folkloric
songs followed by Dabkah Dancing. The French
group also performed a song
in French.
All of the gathering people were invited
to eat some of the home made cookies by the some
of the women. The AEI also offered some of its
publications to the French group. The Pax
Christi French group went back to Jerusalem with
a big smile on their faces. |
