Bethlehem Updates #20: April 12th 2009

Oh little town of Bethlehem….

…. Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass……. (Luke 2:15)

“Ahalan”, welcome, in Arabic is the immediate greeting to foreigners who come to Bethlehem. A city sacred to Christians in an area also important to Jews and Muslims, Bethlehem, Palestine may soon become one of Sacramento’s sister cities. That is the goal of the Sacramento to Bethlehem Sister City Initiative.

“Because of its historic significance, the name “Bethlehem” is known around the world,” says Brigitte Jaensch, a member of the Initiative. “Yet many people have no idea who lives in Bethlehem, what their lives are like, or how the policies of our government affect them.”

The sister city concept grew out of a “citizen diplomacy initiative” envisioned and encouraged in the years just after the traumas of World War II. Quite simply, these visionaries held the belief that regular citizenry could actually be more effective at diplomacy and “bridge building” than their respective governments.

“Sister City relationships help people understand each other better,” says Bethlehem Mayor Dr. Victor Batarseh. “They further the goal of peace not only for the two cities but all over the world.” Bethlehem currently has sister cities in 24 countries.

"Relating to Bethlehem as a sister city gives Sacramentans a chance to connect to people in a part of the world that is too often misunderstood here, often with tragic consequences there,” says Palestinian-Sacramentan Riad Bahhur, professor of history & coordinator of the international studies program at SCC

Beginning the Connections

Like most immigrants, Palestinian-Sacramentans share their culture, foods and customs with their community. This has included bringing the Ibdaa Dance Troupe from the Dheisha refugee camp in Bethlehem to perform in Sacramento in 1999, 2003, and 2005.

Sacramento is also home to children of Bethlehem’s current mayor, Dr. Victor Batarseh. During a visit in 2000, while visiting his family Mayor Batarseh spoke at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacramento.

In 2004, a Sacramento-based scholarship fund was established to help Palestinian students study at universities in the West Bank and Gaza. More than 70 students, a number from the Bethlehem area, have been awarded scholarships.

The idea for a sister city came after a plea from Bethlehem to the international community. As the Israeli government was finishing the Apartheid (separation) Wall around Bethlehem in 2005, Bethlehem found itself completely surrounded. Declared illegal by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the 24-foot high concrete Wall snaked into Bethlehem, cutting it off from Jerusalem, and wielding a devastating impact on the city’s business district and tourist industry.

“In a strict and literal sense, it is a ghetto wall, and Bethlehem is a prison town,” said Bethlehem’s Mayor, Dr. Victor Batarseh in a November, 2005 statement to the world. “We have reached a final, tragic level of absurdity that a nation created to free the Jews from captivity has built a prison for Christians and Muslims. “

Referring to the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, the mayor continued, “We are certain that the wall around our city will also fall. Until that day comes, we need to find a new energy within ourselves, to transcend our ghetto and connect to the world.”

In 2007, the Initiative began sending representatives to the Sacramento Sister City Council meetings. In 2008, a delegation with Sister Cities International (SCI) hand carried a letter from the Sacramento Initiative to Bethlehem’s Mayor Batarseh.

On the Ground in Bethlehem

Last fall, I came to Bethlehem with my partner, to experience life here and work towards a future sister city. With the help of the people of Bethlehem and Beit Sahour, other internationals and our fellow Sacramentans, our Initiative now includes email pen pals, a community garden and composting project, a Bethlehem artist exhibit, and an informational sign board for tourists.

Pen Pals

Pen pals, a long-used form of encouraging cultural exchange, have now become email pals. Currently, junior high school students in the Sacramento area are emailing with 7th and 8th graders in Bethlehem. This is done in the classroom with the help of their teachers.

“Having an email pal helps my students with their English,” says Jizelle Salaman, an English teacher at a local Bethlehem school. “And it gives them another reason to study hard, not just for good marks but so that they can write in understandable English to their new friends in Sacramento. You know, they have so many questions about life in America, they are curious, is life really like what they see on the TV?”

Bethlehem high school students are also very curious about life in the U.S. and would like to have American pen pals. But the Initiative is still searching for a Sacramento High School to support this activity.

When the Bethlehem high schoolers are asked what they what people in America to know about their lives they are quick to respond, “We don’t have freedom, the occupation controls our lives… If you are bored you can’t go someplace to have fun. We can’t go to Jerusalem anymore…. We can’t go to the sea…. The electricity and the water get cut off.” (Before 1967, Bethlehem got water from its own wells; now, Israel controls those wells and Bethlehem has to buy its own water back from Mekerot, the Israeli water company.)

These students are old enough to remember the 2002 Israeli siege on Bethlehem and the 40 days of military curfew.

“My cousin was killed,” says one of the students. “The Israelis told him to open one of the shops. He was very scared. They shot him and then said it was an accident.”

Another student says, “My uncle lives in America.” Searching for the name, “In Flint, Michigan. How far is that from Sacramento?”

Community Garden and Composting

In Sacramento, we are avid gardeners, so finding a way to get our hands in the dirt here was a must. Fortunately, one of our connections here was a young woman who I had met when she was studying at UC Davis. Today she works in Bethlehem at the SOS Children’s Village, a home for children coming from difficult situations.

At our first visit to the SOS, we met Abu Mahmoud who was in charge of the landscaping. On the site were old terraces which had been gardens at one time. It didn’t take much to get him interested in getting a garden going. Two young Germans, who were doing their alternative to military service by volunteering here, offered youthful muscle and energy to prepare the ground for planting.

Using Sister City Initiative donations, we funded a three-bin composting system. With the help of locals and other internationals, we did workshops for the mothers and children at the village. The village is also undergoing renovation which will include innovative water conservation and solar, funded by international donors.

Bethlehem artists included in Second Saturday

At the initiation of Sacramento artist Janice Nakishima, we solicited paintings from Bethlehem artists to be included in her show opening May 9 at the Axis Gallery, 1517 19th Street.

“The reason I want to display some work by Palestinian artists is that I have known of their isolation and some of their difficulties for years,” says Nakashima, “I invited these artists, none of whom I know, to put their artistic expression on a small card. The theme they were asked to respond artistically to was ‘My Life’. I was very pleased with the pieces I received and I hope some day to meet these artists.”

The Bethlehem artists were excited about the display. “We would like to do more of this,” said one. “We are so interested to see what she will do,” said another. “We want to see her work too.”

Tourist Display

One of the many things damaged in the 2002 Israeli invasion of Bethlehem was a large sign board in front of the Bethlehem Peace Center on Manger Square. We proposed to the Mayor and the Bethlehem Peace Center’s director that we renovate the board and install a display to educate tourists about the occupation. They agreed and after many hours of many people’s time, “A Tourist’s Guide to the Occupation” in seven different languages is now being read by tourists from around the world. The sign board and accompanying brochures were funded by donations from people in Sacramento.

Future Plans

We hope one day to bring a delegation of Sacramentans to Bethlehem. It would be great to include teachers, health care providers, lawyers and even students.

We also are excited about a future Palestinian film festival in Sacramento currently under discussion.

A message from Bethlehem

Last December, while Israel was bombing Gaza, I asked the women in my English conversation group what they would like people in Sacramento to know. They gave a response that is almost as common here as the “Ahalan” greeting: “Tell them we are not terrorists… Tell them that we want the occupation to end… Tell them we just want to live our lives and have a good future for our children.”

The Sacramento to Bethlehem Sister City Initiative is one step toward that good future.