Dear friends, Giving hope to the people of Middle East Caritas Jerusalem was honoured to host friends from Spain and Poland. Caritas Internationalis conference 15- We were also honoured to participate 17 September-Rome in a meeting in Rome hosted by Caritas Internationalis. It was a privilege for us to meet colleagues, partners and friends from all over the world and discuss the crises in the Middle East in general and the Gaza strip in particular. Exchanging cultures, ideas, tradition is very important for the youth for they can act as a bridge between cultures and serve as key agents in promoting peace and intercultural understanding. Caritas Internationalis invited other Caritas Jerusalem is always ready to Caritas organizations to Rome to cooperate and coordinate with partners discuss a coordinated regional and who are interested in giving the people global response to the crises in the of the Holy Land a helping hand. Middle East. Fr. Raed Abusahlia Caritas Internationalis Secretary General Director General Michel Roy said, “Our duty is Caritas Jerusalem to give hope to communities in the Middle East. As well as providing aid, Caritas organisations will work at a national, regional and international level to call for a Middle East open to all faiths, where human dignity and rights are respected, and everyone has the freedom to live in peace with their neighbours.” Keynote speaker, former government “Christians in the Holy Land live minister Damianos Kattar from under the shadow of Christ on the Lebanon explained that the needs are Cross, a symbol of suffering in the so overwhelming that meeting them Middle East,” said Fr. Raed will be impossible. Abusahliah, who went on to say the exodus of Christians from their In Syria alone, if the war stopped homelands will be a tragedy for all today, it would cost more than a $100 faiths in the region and for the world. billion and 15-25 years to rebuild the country. Extremists in Iraq and Syria Msgr Walduni of Caritas Iraq: “We are carrying out widespread ethnic and want the freedom to practise our religious cleansing in the large areas religion. We want our human rights. under their control. Palestinians are We pray to Christ on the cross to living in an open prison in Gaza and deliver us.” are denied their dignity, land and rights in the occupied territories. As well as the persecution of minorities such as Christians and Delegates heard from Bishop Shlemon Yazidis, a key concern was the Warduni, President of Caritas occupation of Palestinian territories Iraq, Caritas Jerusalem Director Fr. and the blockade of Gaza. Raed Abusahliah, Bishop Antoine Audo, President of Caritas Syria and Faced with the scale of the crisis, from representatives in Jordan, Caritas organisations say they must Lebanon and Turkey. build more resilient communities through interfaith reconciliation and Voices from the region predicted the community empowerment. humanitarian crisis in Syria and Iraq will get worse in the immediate future Caritas delegates agreed on a long- as conflict escalates, fuelled by term work plan that will focus on inter- weapons from foreign governments. religious cooperation, community The collapse of millennia old pluralist peacebuilding, strengthening national communities was highlighted. Caritas organisations and working more closely with Church and other “Life and death are at stake,” said faith-based groups. Bishop Shlemon Warduni of Iraqi, urging for the human rights and Archbishop Youssef Soueif, President freedoms of all peoples be protected. of Caritas Cyprus and board member of Caritas Internationalis said, “This forum will help us to strengthen our humanitarian aid, to do more to advocate for the dignity of all human beings and to promote peace and reconciliation based on the Christian message of love for your neighbour.” At the Representative Office of Palestine in Rome, Italy “The key to world peace,” he concluded “is peace in the Holy Land. When we have peace in Palestine, we will have peace on earth.” The meeting has come to its conclusion by an interview with the local media and reception in the embassy’s garden. Empower women End poverty Rome, 18 November 2014- Fr. Raed and hunger Abusahlia the general director of Caritas Jerusalem was invited to the Palestinian embassy in Rome to talk about the situation in Palestine and the Christian presence in the Holy Land. Many personalities attended the lecture, among them the ambassador H.E. Ms. Mai Al Kaila, Fr. Humam Khazouz Fr. Aktham Hijazeen and most reverend Excellency Mons. Hilarion Capucci. “I am proud of taking this course and being able to help my family and at the same time revive the Palestinian heritage” stated Janet one of the beneficiaries. In 2013 Caritas Jerusalem started a program for the economic empowerment of women (in line with the millennium development goals) in East Jerusalem, Ramallah and Throughout all of his presentation Fr. Bethlehem which enabled us to train Raed Abusahlia was exciting and 80 women in embroidery, beauty inspiring. He talked about the therapy and office management injustices and explained his coping through different centers. strategies by helping Palestinians in practical ways. On the first of September 2014, representatives from Caritas Poland visited Caritas Jerusalem to evaluate the project. Marta the supervisor and Rafal the project coordination accompanied by Mrs. Mervat Naber the head of social services department visited the centers in order to monitor and evaluate the work on the ground. “These projects are essential for women in Palestine and we need to figure out how to start establishing small enterprises” Says Mr. Rafal the project coordinator of Caritas Poland. Moreover, they had a short meeting with the director of the Women’s Child Care Society in Beit Jala Mrs. Salwa Raba`, explaining more about the work of the society, “it is very important to educate and empower women, as when you educate a woman, she can educate a whole family” said Mrs. Raba`. The visit continued to other centers The visit came into its conclusion by where they met with directors, students attending the graduation ceremony of and beneficiaries. “I am very pleased office management training at the to know that Palestine has several YWCA in East Jerusalem. centers which give the opportunity for women to have new professional skills and help them to be financially independent.” Stated Ms. Marta the supervisor of Caritas Poland. Guiding Children to a Better Life Let the Children Play and Heal included playing, relaxation exercises, The war in Gaza has left 400,000 little dancing and drawing. “I am afraid to children suffering from psychological sleep and wake up to the booming traumas, fear and distress. It was very sounds of explosions”. Said Sami -the cruel which disregarded the natural ten year old child world and human life. “Our aim is to relieve the children of Gaza and reduce These activities helped the innocent the emotional pain through healthy children to feel safe, secure, and activities” Said Maha Al Omari – restore their self confidence. Caritas Caritas Jerusalem Social worker Jerusalem feels obligated to strengthen these unfortunate children and give them hope for a better tomorrow. th On the 30 of August 2014, Caritas Jerusalem implemented psychosocial activities with 65 children in Al Caritas Jerusalem’s social workers Sawarha Area in Gaza. These activities provided psychosocial sessions, orientation, and individual counseling. The day came into its conclusion by distributing colors and coloring booklets to the children. Exchanging cultures between Palestine and Spain Bringing People Together The purpose of the visit was to get acquainted with the Palestinian youth, culture and life in general and also to exchange ideas with Caritas Jerusalem Palestinian youth groups. From the 17th of July to the 3rd of August 2014 a group of ten young men and women from Spain led by Beatriz Seara, responsible for the projects in the Middle East visited Palestine to participate in summer activities, exchange cultures and experience with Upon their arrival, the youth had an their counterparts in Bethlehem Area. orientation session with Caritas This summer camp was the second of Jerusalem’s youth coordinators Mr. its kind where the youth were engaged Tony Abdo and Mr. Kassam Maaddi. in different community works and They were introduced to the challenges experienced the authentic Palestinian facing the youth in Palestine and the daily life by residing with individual Palestinian sensitive culture issues to families in Beit Jala. prevent misunderstandings while living with Palestinian families in Beit Jala. The two week visit was full of cultural activities and workshops. “We took our Spanish guests to visit many historical and religious sites around How can you help? Palestine, such as the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, the Nativity Church in Support our activities Bethlehem, and the Aida refugee Your support is essential to provide camp. Besides, they planted some trees long-term assistance to our and painted on the separation wall. beneficiaries. They also visited Ramallah and Please see below our bank details to implemented workshops with the make a donation: Palestinian youth in order to build bridges between different countries Bank Name: Arab Bank and cultures.” Stated Mr. Tony Abdo Swift Code: ARABPS 22110 Account number: 457793/0/510 USD Credit Account: Caritas Jerusalem Branch No: 9110 At Arab Bank in Al-Ram P.O.Box: 2445-Al-Ram Jerusalem Caritas Jerusalem’s volunteers programme started in 2005 with the objective of preparing young people to play an active role in an independent and democratic Palestine. We encourage the youth to become leaders of their community, driven by the spirit of social justice and tolerance. We also give them tools for succeeding in their professional life in a difficult economic environment. .