The Separation Wall
We finished our evening today shopping for local handicrafts at a store near the separation wall in Bethlehem.
This is the Palestinian side of the wall. As you can see it is covered with graffiti. Many of the messages on the wall are pro-Palestine, anti-war, or about the heartbreak of separation from loved ones. Unfortunately, there are also some hateful, messages written as well.
The Israeli side has no graffiti on it. Anything painted on it, is painted over soon after.
The posters you see here were writen by local women affected by the separation wall. The three posters here read as follows:
"Sign of hope for all people in this country"
"MAGICAL
Each Christmas the good tidings to the shephers are commemorated at the Shepherds' Firleds in Beit Sahour. As a child it was magical for me. I remember the candle light processions to the Shepherd Fields in the middle of the night. There we sang, prayed, ate together and made a big fire. Afterwards we attended mass in the church and had breakfast with chocolate and wine. We visited out family and friends to wish each other Merry Christmas. There was no Wall and no checkpoint. No one would say: 'You are not allowed to enter this place.' Things could not be more different now!
By Farida, from Beit Sahour"
"NOT AS A FAMILY
We have an aunt living behind the wall, on the Jerusalem side. Before they built th wall we used to visit her all the time but now we can only go when we have a permit, maybe at Christmas. But then most of the time they only give me a permit and not my husband, or the other way round. But we want to go as a family, to feel freedom, to go and see the sea, for instance. The children ask me, 'Mama, we want to go and have fun, why can't we go?' I tell them that we cannot go because we are living in a prison and do not have permission to leave. We cannot go because we are controlled by the Israelis. I tell them because I think they need to know.
By Mira, from Bethlehem"
LOCATION:
Separation Wall, Bethlehem, Palestine
DATE TAKEN:
November 29th, 2017
The Separation Wall
We finished our evening today shopping for local handicrafts at a store near the separation wall in Bethlehem.
This is the Palestinian side of the wall. As you can see it is covered with graffiti. Many of the messages on the wall are pro-Palestine, anti-war, or about the heartbreak of separation from loved ones. Unfortunately, there are also some hateful, messages written as well.
The Israeli side has no graffiti on it. Anything painted on it, is painted over soon after.
The posters you see here were writen by local women affected by the separation wall. The three posters here read as follows:
"Sign of hope for all people in this country"
"MAGICAL
Each Christmas the good tidings to the shephers are commemorated at the Shepherds' Firleds in Beit Sahour. As a child it was magical for me. I remember the candle light processions to the Shepherd Fields in the middle of the night. There we sang, prayed, ate together and made a big fire. Afterwards we attended mass in the church and had breakfast with chocolate and wine. We visited out family and friends to wish each other Merry Christmas. There was no Wall and no checkpoint. No one would say: 'You are not allowed to enter this place.' Things could not be more different now!
By Farida, from Beit Sahour"
"NOT AS A FAMILY
We have an aunt living behind the wall, on the Jerusalem side. Before they built th wall we used to visit her all the time but now we can only go when we have a permit, maybe at Christmas. But then most of the time they only give me a permit and not my husband, or the other way round. But we want to go as a family, to feel freedom, to go and see the sea, for instance. The children ask me, 'Mama, we want to go and have fun, why can't we go?' I tell them that we cannot go because we are living in a prison and do not have permission to leave. We cannot go because we are controlled by the Israelis. I tell them because I think they need to know.
By Mira, from Bethlehem"
LOCATION:
Separation Wall, Bethlehem, Palestine
DATE TAKEN:
November 29th, 2017