Christmas in Gaza

For Gaza Christians, Christmas season means anxiety,fear and uncertainty.Approximately 2,500 Christians live among 1.5 million Muslims in the Gaza Strip; the largest number of Christians belong to the Greek Orthodox Church.

JERUSALEM (CNS) - For Christians in the Gaza Strip, this year's Christmas season is filled with anxiety and uncertainty.

A Christmas party for children Dec. 23 at Holy Family Parish was held under the watchful eye of two police cruisers, which circled the block "to keep (the people) safe," said Father Manuel Musallam, pastor.

Desperate to not feel alone during this holiday season, all 300 members of the parish showed up at the party, he told Catholic News Service in a telephone interview. He said he was able to distribute sacks of rice and coupons for an eight-pound chicken to each family for their holiday meal because of a donation from Europe and a small fund from the Vatican.

Even on weekdays, about 100 parishioners attend the afternoon Mass and catechism classes in order to be strengthened by their community bond, but they all leave before sunset, the priest said.

He said there was no midnight Mass scheduled for Christmas, only an afternoon Mass.

"No one would come for midnight Mass. They are afraid after dark of the whole situation. They are afraid of crime, of being raped, of being arrested, of their homes being attacked while they are absent ... they are anxious. The (Palestinian) extremists are very strong," said Father Musallam.

In addition, he said, Israeli aerial attacks against Palestinian militiamen -- which have left at least a dozen dead -- take place at night.

Approximately 2,500 Christians live among 1.5 million Muslims in the Gaza Strip; the largest number of Christians belong to the Greek Orthodox Church.

The Islamic militant group Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June. The takeover politically split the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza. The two territories are separated geographically by about 30 miles of Israel.

Father Musallam said although Jerusalem Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, two bishops and the papal nuncio visited his parish the weekend before Christmas, the atmosphere in the parish and the school -- normally joyful at this time of the year -- was "a catastrophe."

Normally adults distribute sweets to children for the holidays and men visit their female relatives, giving them a symbolic financial gift, but this year, since people cannot afford to give any money and there are no chocolates to be found in Gaza, they have refrained from making the traditional visits, said Father Musallam.

"Also at the parish, instead of presenting chocolates to the patriarch with his coffee, I passed around strawberries, which we grow here," said Father Musallam. "We can't export them so we have lots of strawberries."

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Children also received strawberries in lieu of their traditional Christmas treats, he said.

The priest said there were no Christmas trees, decorations or singing at the parish school and there had been no shared meal between the Christian and Muslim children celebrating Christmas and the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

"This year there was not one sign of (the holidays) in school," he said.

After a year that included several attacks on Christian churches, schools and other institutions and the October murder of the owner of a Christian bookstore, Christians are fearful, he admitted. Add to that the general living conditions of Gaza with no work, a stifled economy, little food and an undercurrent of political tension and the tiny Christian population is living in a desperate situation, he said.

"Things are not turning well for the Christians," said Father Musallam.

He denied reports by The Associated Press attributed to him that he knows of seven families who have sold their properties and left the area and that 15 more are planning to do the same.

"I know people are trying to leave and want to leave, but wanting is one thing and (doing) that is another," he said.
One young Catholic who was waiting to cross from Gaza into the West Bank for the Christmas holiday told CNS from his mobile phone that he did not know of anyone who was planning to relocate.

"Life is different in the West Bank. It is expensive. Some Gazans stayed last year, too, but eventually came back because it was hard, and the people teased them and made fun of them," he said.

Israel, which controls Gaza's borders, said it would issue more than 520 travel permits for Gaza Christians who wanted to visit Bethlehem and their families throughout the West Bank. The permits are valid from Dec. 24 to Jan. 2, said an army spokeswoman. She said all requests for travel permits were being filled unless a security check revealed concerns.

Father Musallam said although Gaza Christians do not necessarily feel abandoned, they "are not blessing the world."

"(The world is) not planting in the hearts of the people a tree of joy and happiness. There will not be fruits of peace. In Gaza, we are not preparing a good future," he said. "We are preparing a violent people, a very violent people."

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Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops