Unheard stories and the Pope's visit

Within a few hundred metres of where the Pope will address the crowd on May 13th at Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem live two very different Palestinian families affected in different ways by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Christy Anastas' (19) family used to live on one of the busiest and richest streets in Bethlehem - Hebron Road. They used to own a thriving hardware shop and her father, a mechanic, used to buy and sell cars. They have lived in this house for almost forty years, a house which his father built. Christy tells the story, "In 2002-03 the IDF occupied our house for 40 days, they used the roof in particular. One night I remember waking up with a gun above my head. They went through the house, threw us out and occupied it. During this time I remember many nights when there was non-stop shooting. I also remember running away from approaching tanks and shooting soldiers. These things leave something in you." Within two days in 2005 the Anastas home was encircled on three sides by the 9m concrete wall that cuts through Bethlehem and scars the beautiful landscape. Businesses isolated by the wall gradually began to close after its completion in 2005, the Anastas shop also closed. Looking out the windows of the house now, all one can see is a concrete wall a few metres away. "It is like you are in a jail. There have been many threats to demolish our house but as yet we have not received a demolition order. They want the land our house is on to include it in the area they have restricted for holy site of Rachel's tomb."

Christy studies law in university and eventually wants to study international law. However she does not see much of a future for herself in Palestine. "My brothers and sisters want to leave too. The situation with our house is not good for Israel so I don't think it will stay like this. We are not comfortable, we are not feeling happy. Sometimes I ask why was I born in this country. I am only 19 once. But by time you grow stronger."

If one follows the path of the wall past the Anastas home you will see a variety of slogans and graffiti in different languages including words like 'Saoirse' and 'Siochain'. Shops with their shutters long closed stare blankly at the wall in front of them. Within five minutes you arrive at Aida Refugee camp. The camp is no longer one of tents but one of floors built upon floor as sons or daughters marry and more generations are born in the camp. Aida has been here since 1950. However, as one passes the various murals of the numerous villages that people fled it is clear that Aida is not home. We meet the al-Dibes family, now nine people but in October 2001 they were ten before Basama lost her husband. She tells the story – "The IDF had occupied the camp for 20 days. There was shooting, helicopters and tanks from 7pm to 5am. All ten of us were in the one room, it was too dangerous to go out or even upstairs. At 5am it became quiet and we eventually began to feel safe and went upstairs to get breakfast. My husband Salameh (38) was talking to our eldest son (16) about his studies for final year in school and said that even though it was very hard to study under these conditions he should try to do so. I was breastfeeding at the time. We then noticed that our daughter had opened the front door and strayed out onto the street. We were not too concerned but just to be safe my husband leaned out the window and called for her to come in. He slumped to the ground and the sound of the shot followed after he started to fall. I put my daughter on the ground and went to lift him. The bullet had entered and left his head. There was blood and food all over the floor. I started to cry and then some neighbours came.  My 1-year-old daughter whom I was feeding was on the floor playing with the blood. Her feet were covered in blood. He was taken in a car to the hospital, which was ten minutes away, we walked after the car to the hospital and when we arrived there we were told he was dead.

The official Palestinian explanation for Salameh's death is "died during shelling by occupation troops." There has been no specific Israeli explanation for his death. The family has felt it was never even a possibility to pursue justice through Israeli courts. Basama continues, "since then life has been very hard. The whole family of nine lives on 900 Shekels (about 165 euros) per month. In the evening I feed my children first, if they leave something I eat it, if not then I do not eat. There is no future for men here in the camp. My daughter is very clever, she wants to be something and go to university but her prospects are not good as university is too expensive." When asked if the Pope's visit means anything to her she says "I hope it can help, but what can he do?"