Life and Struggles in the Holy Land
'Sacrament of hope' helps the only priest in the Gaza Strip cope
Marylynn G. Hewitt, SFO of the Michigan Catholic
Published December 22, 2006
Photo by Marylynn G. Hewitt, SFO
Msgr. Manuel Musallam says it is not easy being the only priest in the Gaza Strip but says he knows he was called by God to be there. | Gaza, Gaza Strip In this Israeli-occupied territory, on the land where the Holy Family traveled during their escape to Egypt, there are 1.5 million people. The majority of the population is Muslim. There are about 3,000 Christians, 200 Catholics and one priest. His name is Msgr. Manuel Musallam, though he jokes that he's also called the "pope of Gaza."
"To come to Gaza is to be a hero," he says of his assignment. It was a position for which there were no other contenders. Patriarch Michel Sabbah brought him into Gaza three times between asking if he'd be willing to take the post and before making the assignment. "When I said 'yes,' he was very perplexed," Msgr. Musallam, 68, recalls.
The Gaza Strip is fortified on three sides by a double prison fence reinforced by guard towers. The fourth border is the Mediterranean Sea. There is one entrance at the north border (Eretz) and one at the south (Rafah). He's been pastor of Holy Family Parish since August 1995. His Israeli identity card expired at the time he moved to Gaza and says the Israeli government refuses to renew it. As a result, "since that time ΄til now, I have had the opportunity to go twice outside."
Walter Warren | The Michigan Catholic | He was not granted permission to leave to accompany either the body of his mother, who died in 2000, or the body of his father, who died in 2002, as they were moved to their hometown of Bir Zeit, near Ramallah, for burial.
Yet, he stays, he knows he was called by God to be a priest and called by God to be the priest in Gaza.
"How I do this work, I do not know. But I am a priest, and because I am a priest, I am a sign of the Church among the people. So you will never find me hopeless. I struggle with my whole force. I work the whole time," says the priest, who was ordained in 1968. "I am imprisoned with my people. I haven't one day of holiday in the year.
I am busy as a priest. I work for God and I work for men."
Still, he maintains, peace is possible.
"You see, as Christians we say that there are seven sacraments in the Church, but in Gaza and in the Holy Land, we say we have eight sacraments. The eighth sacrament is the sacrament of hope. Without this sacrament, you cannot survive in this land."
This is a land he loves, filled with a people he loves. It is not easy being a priest here, he says. It is not easy living in the Gaza Strip.
"I cry at times against the crimes of the war," he admits.
Photo by Marylynn G. Hewitt, SFO
Young boys play near a bombed-out ministry in Beit Hanoun near the Eretz border crossing.
|
Photo by Marylynn G. Hewitt, SFO
Fresh floral funeral wreaths are available throughout Gaza. | "We cannot go. We cannot come. Everything is closed. It is a big prison. Fear, stress, hunger, lack of work, lack of electricity, lack of water. And more. Lack of police, lack of law, lack of justice, lack of freedom.
"We haven't a government. The government is tired now between Hamas and Fatah and we know that a kingdom which is split in two will not survive. We know that. And this is what we are living.
"Now, we haven't food. We haven't water. We haven't money. We haven't work. We are in prison. We count on providence only. But this is the situation," he says.
"This is the main crime of war. It's a crime of war because this innocent people to punish by hunger, by thirst, by lack of food, by lack of medicine, by lack of care.
 Conflict in Palestine Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, a member of the Fatah party, was elected in 2005.
Hamas took control of the Palestinian legislature and cabinet in January elections. Hamas is considered an Islamist terrorist organization by the United States.
Abbas favors peace talks with Israel. Hamas does not.
When Hamas came into power, Israel, the U.S., and other countries cut aid and other funds. As a result, the Palestinian government has been unable to pay full salaries to the estimated 165,000 employees in the West Bank and Gaza.
In addition to the conflict between Palestine and Israel, members of Hamas and Fatah have turned to violent clashes, particularly in the Gaza Strip. | "Perhaps a human court will not judge on these criminals, but the divine court one day will judge them. It's a terrible situation, you see."
Msgr. Musallam, in poor health with what he says are "bad legs," says he is determined to stay, knowing this is where God wants him.
In addition to being pastor, he oversees two Catholic schools run by Rosary Sisters.
One, at his parish, has 650 students in first through 12th grade. One hundred of the students are Christian, the rest are Muslim. At the second school, offering kindergarten to 10th grade, there are 550 students 35 are Catholic, the rest Muslim. Through his years in Gaza, the school enrollment continues to increase even though boys and girls share the same classrooms, "a first in Gaza and the only one," he says.
He also works with the Missionaries of Charity, started by Bl. Mother Teresa, who operate a health clinic, a house for disabled children and a home for older women.
As a priest, he says, it is difficult to "convince people to remain faithful, to accept the Word of God, to accept the Gospel, to accept the principles of the Gospel which are so hard."
Forgiving, willing to be persecuted for your faith and loving your neighbor as Jesus does are not easy realities when you face them day after day living in a war-torn occupied territory.
He can ramble off story after story of atrocities that have happened to him as well as those he knows.
One parish employee, he says, had just gotten home when a bullet ripped into her home, hit her in the chest and killed her.
One of his teachers works despite having a bullet lodged in his thigh.
One of his 10th grade students was eating with his family in their home in the Jabalya refugee camp when he was hit by two bullets one in his arm and one in his chest.
"I am the hope of my people. I cannot give up. If I stand, my people will stand behind me. If I am pessimistic, all of my people will be lost behind me. If I am sick, all my people will be sick. If I sit down, all of them will sit down. I am a leader.
"I keep my faith, my hope, my charity toward everyone everywhere. I preach peace, I preach hope, I preach charity and I preach faith."
He says he keeps going knowing "I work for God and for men. And I know people pray for us. Please pray for us."
Young adults speak out
Two thousand years after the birth of Jesus, heralded as the Prince of Peace, the place of his birth still struggles for peace. Michigan Catholic managing editor Marylynn G. Hewitt, SFO, visited the Holy Land last month with Catholic Relief Services as a winner of the Egan Award for Journalistic Excellence. She and the three other journalists were able to visit with teens and young adults involved in programs that benefit from the work of CRS, the U.S. bishops' international relief and development agency.
 Rehaf Abublassanein, 14, has two brothers and would like to be a communication engineer.
Is peace possible? No, because there is no agreement (between Palestine and Israel and in Palestine between Hamas and Fatah). We have war here.
What do you want American teens to know about your life here? How we suffer here. My aunt's son was killed in the camp two months ago. He was going to the pharmacy to buy medicine and was shot when Fatah and Hamas were fighting.
 Joseph Hodali, a Catholic, is a student at Bethlehem University. He lives in Beit Jala, a part of Bethlehem. All of Bethlehem is being surrounded by the 25-foot security wall.
Is peace possible? Yes, but there is no peace process now. People are not seeking peace very easily because the Israeli army is killing innocent people.
Have you known anyone who died? During the invasion (by the Israelis into Bethlehem) in 2000 my father's friend, who was a doctor, went down to help and he was killed. They did not shoot him with bullets, but with rockets. That same night, my friend was killed. He was at his house and suddenly a missile hit his house.
What do you want young adults to know about your life here? Three years ago they started building the wall and taking so much land. People here cannot forget that. It is mostly like putting people inside a big jail and killing them on a daily basis. Every day people from Palestine die. It has to stop some day.
 Anjy Jnana, 14, has five brothers, and would like to be a lawyer.
Is peace possible? No. Our children at home are divided (between allegiance to Fatah and Hamas) so it is a hard problem.
What do you want American teens to know about your life here? We can't go outside or anywhere. Our family is afraid that any day it (violence) may be possible.
 Mohammad Abedeljawwad, 23, has six sisters and is a member of the Save the Youth Future Society, helped by Catholic Relief Services. He lives in Beach Camp in the Gaza Strip with 70,000 other refugees.
What is it like for a young person here? The fighting is so difficult. Our community here is so difficult. Young people here can't find any entertainment means so they face pressure. Everybody here is depressed. There was a settlement just behind my home. They (Israelis) came to our home and occupied my home for 24 hours. I hear lots of gunfire and lots of gunfire land inside our home. No one was harmed. It broke windows and walls. One soldier came to our home. They collect us all in one room and pointed their guns on us. All of us were full of fear.
Why did you want to become a nurse? When we were children we threw stones at the settlement. When I was a teen, I saw some of my friends killed by soldiers. I saw my best friend and a relative die. I ask, what can I do for them? So I decided to be a nurse. I work as a nurse at the hospital and in the Presidential Guard Clinic in Gaza. I want to help people.
Do you think peace is possible? I believe in peace. It is worse here now with the fighting between Fatah and Hamas. There is another way we can solve our problems discussions and negotiations. I want to live in peace.
What is peace? No fear.
 Wafaa Fteha, 14, has six sisters and two brothers and would like to be a doctor.
Is peace possible? No. There should be no more Hamas and Fatah. Just Palestine. No more. It is enough.
What do you want American teens to know about your life here? Our needs are not qualified because of fear all the time. Always bombing, rockets and guns.
 Abeer Adiad, 19, has two brothers and two sisters. She is a member of the Save the Youth Future Society, helped by Catholic Relief Services. She lives in Beach Camp in the Gaza Strip.
What do you want American young adults to know about your life here? Life is very difficult. We face many political pressures and social problems. Political life is not stable. We are afraid when walking to the university in case we are killed. One day there was fighting in the street behind my house and they fired and smashed the windows. It is a really hard situation.
Do you know anyone who has died in the violence? My dad was killed in 1996. He was on the street and the Israeli soldiers killed him.
How can you help? Organizations like our organization. This is the most important organization. We provide our society with help.
Is peace possible? We need peace. After my father died, I was angry at the Israeli soldiers. We can live in peace. And now after the settlement withdrawal, now we (Palestinians) begin to fight and fight. That's not right. There is no need to fight and fight. We need to be united and to get our rights.
What is it like after the elections? It is worse.
What is peace? We have our rights and it is quiet.
Brief overview
Palestine was placed under the administration of Great Britain near the end of World War I.
1922 to 1947, large-scale Jewish immigration. Numbers swell in the 1930s with the Nazi persecution of Jewish populations.
1937 Palestinian demands for independence and resistance to Jewish immigration led to a rebellion. Continuing terrorism and violence from both sides.
1947 United Nations Partition Plan creates two separate states, one Arab, the other Jewish. Jerusalem is to be an international city.
1948 In Arab-Israeli War, Israel expands to cover 77 percent of the territory and occupies larger part of Jerusalem. Half the indigenous Palestinian population fled or were expelled.
May 14, 1948, the Jewish population declared independence as the state of Israel.
1948-1967 West Bank and East Jerusalem ruled by Jordan. Gaza Strip under Egyptian control.
June 1967 Six-Day War. Israel occupies West Bank and Gaza Strip. An estimated half a million Palestinians flee.
Nov. 22, 1967 UN Security Council Resolution 242 called on Israel to withdraw from territories it had occupied in the 1967 conflict.
1974 UN General Assembly reaffirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, national independence and sovereignty, and to return.
In December 1987, a mass uprising against the Israeli occupation began in the occupied Palestinian territory (the intifadah).
1993 Oslo Peace Accords between Palestinians and Israel (the "Oslo Accords"), gave the Palestinians limited self-government in some parts of the Occupied Territories.
2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada starts after Ariel Sharon (later Israel's Prime Minister) and an estimated entourage of 1,000 armed border guards visit Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The site is considered holy for Jews and Muslims. Palestinian suicide bombings in Israel kill many civilians, and Israeli Security Forces invade killing Palestinian militants and many civilians.
2002 Israel began building a separation wall to separate itself from the West Bank. Israelis say it is for protection from rocket launchers. Palestinians maintain it is a "land grab" since in many places it intrudes, sometimes miles, into the West Bank.
Source: UN and other documents |
|
