The language of charity

While the big powers parley, the little ones act. That’s what springs to mind in the light of the decisions contained in the joint Italy-USA statement issued at the end of the summit for peace in Lebanon held in Rome on 26 July. Many hopes, many proposals – a lasting ceasefire, a humanitarian corridor, an international peacekeeping force – but few concrete facts. The language of diplomacy, somewhat abstract, and necessarily forced to weigh every term and every word, contrasts with the practical and concrete language of those who strive, in the theatres of war, to alleviate on a daily basis the sufferings of the populations. That’s what is happening in the Holy Land where various NGOs and European Caritas agencies have long been working with local partners. For them Rome is far away… BETHLEHEM. July is the fifth month since international funds for the Palestinian government were suspended. As Caritas of Jerusalem has already denounced on various occasions during this period, “there’s not only the South of Lebanon and Galilee, where the war between Hezbollah and the Israeli army is raging, but also the Palestinian Territories and Gaza”. Here the situation is critical due to the lack of work, food, water and medicine, and the population is on its knees. In these conditions CARITAS SpaIN is trying to help: through the local Caritas of the diocese of Jaca, it is working on a project for job creation, together with Catholic Action in Bethlehem. The project consists of the animation of the summer centre of the Palestinian city where many children, who have difficult situations behind them and no prospects due to the poverty of their families, are welcomed and helped. In particular, the two agencies organize recreational and sporting activities, such as swimming competitions. They can count on the help of local volunteers. Thanks to the project, many children are given a chance to visit places outside Bethlehem, a city they have never yet set foot outside. WEST BANK. The effects of the unemployment emergency are also being felt in other areas of the West Bank, where another project for job creation, implemented by Caritas Jerusalem and Caritas BelgiUM in partnership with the HumanitariAN OFFICE OF THE EUROPEAN Commission (Echo), was inaugurated just over a month ago, though news of it is just beginning to trickle through. The point of departure of the project is the creation of a data bank to collect information on the various job-creation schemes in progress in the area, ranging from the repair and maintenance of houses to the design of small-scale infrastructures, from the development of cooperation with local communities to initiatives run in partnership with organizations in various fields of work. All the labour possibilities that respond to the criteria laid down by ECHO will be involved in a pilot project aimed at the creation of new jobs. Zebabdeh. Brushing one’s teeth and having good dental hygiene are now common practice. But if one lives in Zebabdeh, a Palestinian town in the district of Jenin, the practice cannot be taken for granted. The crisis that is sweeping through the Palestinian Territories does not permit families to care for their children with the necessary attention: due to the lack of quality food and the absence of proper hygienic conditions, children grow up with vitamin deficiencies and are consequently exposed to the risk of succumbing to pathologies throughout their life. That explains why CARITAS GERMANY has been promoting, together with a local school, a programme of oral prevention and education in Zebabdeh since 2004. It consists of three main aspects: provision of quality food for 4-6-year-old pupils at the school; providing information on the importance of health both for children and for their families; and medical screening with the aim of preventing and treating any pathologies that might seriously affect the health of the children”. Some 180 children are incorporated in the programme each year, together with 9 adults who are called to assist in the programme and who are paid a wage. Caritas Jerusalem has started a collection to fund the project: 50,000 euros are needed. Ain Arik. Ain Arik is a small village close to Ramallah where a cultural and sports centre has been active since April 2005. Established thanks to the initiative of the ITALIAN SPORTS CENTRE (Csi) together with Caritas and the civic authorities of Modena and three associations, including the NGO Overseas, the centre is not just recreational but also runs programmes for education through sport. The facilities for soccer, handball and basketball, the gymnasium and dressing rooms, and a multimedia laboratory have been erected on a site donated by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which has become a partner in the project. Helped by local volunteers, the centre is open on a regular basis and is freely available for use by the local community, which thus has a chance to practice sport, meet together, organize cultural events and thus improve its quality of life, compromised by the socio-economic situation. CARITAS ITALY , meanwhile, has appealed for an end to hostilities in the three areas in conflict, Northern Israel, Lebanon and Gaza, and asked that “the conditions be created for dialogue to achieve a ceasefire and guarantee humanitarian aid”. Humanitarian interventions have been stepped up in the above-mentioned areas, to which over 2.5 million euros have been allocated in emergency aid.