On the afternoon of Tuesday 14 November 2000, a group of 250 people, members of the Japanese organisation Peace Boat, a partner organisation with UNESCO for the International Year for the Culture of Peace, visited Bethlehem. Organised jointly with Bethlehem 2000 Project, the visit was a gesture of solidarity with the Palestinian people at a time when the collective trauma of Israeli military aggression has reached peak levels.

Bethlehem 2000 Project arranged for a Peace March from Dheisheh refugee camp to Aida camp where an interactive cultural event entertained guests from both camps, especially for the children. In spite of the uncertainty of the situation and the difficulty of coordination, it turned out to be a great success. For one whole afternoon there was a sense of festivity in the air and, for the inhabitants of Aida camp, it felt like a holiday.

The speeches on all sides were poignant. While the Peace Boat representative asserted the group’s support for the Palestinian people and their legitimate quest for independence and dignity, representatives of both refugee camps expressed their deep appreciation of this support and called on the need for more such gestures from the international community. Jack Persekian, Director at Bethlehem 2000 Project, thanked the friendly guests for this expression of solidarity and for the gifts they brought to the children of the camps. He also stressed the importance of carrying on with cultural activities as a means of cheering up children and youth and alleviating the psychological damage inflicted on them as a result of the Israeli military aggression.

The Peace Boat group performed the fishermen’s dance, a Japanese dance adopted by the organisation as a symbol of the importance of creative physical expression in harnessing the energy of the youth. This was followed by a rendition of the Peace Dance, performed at the United Nations in New York as part of the Millennium Peace Day Celebrations. Ibda’ group from Dheisheh camp and Al-Ruwad from Aida performed exerpts from a a folkloric song and dance programme.

The informal atmosphere and the general cheer of the mixed crowd were remindful of last September’s events when the children of Bethlehem and other Palestinian cities participated in a series of cultural activities as part of the Bethlehem 2000 Project. Since then, daily life has taken quite a turn and the effects of the current situation, with constant exposure to Israeli shelling and fire, will have a lasting effect on their psyche.

But last Tuesday provided a momentary beak from this harsh reality and excitement was high for the right reasons. While the Peace Boat group adorned the leis of paper doves, gift of the children of Aida, around their necks, Palestinian boys were skipping about with bandanas tied around their heads, Japanese style. Most remarkable of all were a bunch of little girls who were at their sixes and sevens: in honour of the occasion, they had braved the cold and wore colourful summer frocks and little lace socks and put shiny barrettes in their hair. The cameras were clicking and the video films were rolling. The party would have gone on were it not for the tight schedule of the guests who brought to this shell torn camp, if only for a few hours, a touch of humanity.

Bethlehem 2000 Project, expressing its appreciation to the Peace Boat delegation who overcame many obstacles in order to reach out to the children of Bethlehem, appeals to all justice and peace-lovers of the World to follow suit and break the siege imposed over Bethlehem and all the Palestinian cities, towns and villages, and reaffirms its determination to continue its effort to serve the Bethlehem community, as part of the Palestinian society, despite the prevailing constraints.