Lenten Journey Begins with a Nightmare in Ramallah

by Maria Khoury

It is not unusual to see Israeli soldiers outside my office window. Since they have re-occupied the Palestinian Territories in 2001, the Israeli army can attack anytime and any place. It is part of the instability and the unknowing that we try to accept every day. It can be a lovely sunny day with people at work and children in school but within seconds it could turn into a nightmare if the Israeli army invades Ramallah like last Wednesday (25 Feb) making the following day look like World War Three happened. The soldiers will pull in with their armored jeeps and guns and the Palestinian youth will start protesting their military presence by throwing rocks resulting in another outbreak of violence supported by American tax payers' dollars. And of course, innocent people always get hurt being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Sometimes, however, we long for peace and for democracy especially as we start this holy and glorious Lenten season walking the footsteps of Christ, we hoped for a better future in this sacred land where Christ was resurrected. Many of us were exchanging our good wishes in person, on the phone, by email that this Lenten Season may grant all of us many fruits of the Holy Spirit. It was Ash Wednesday for the Latin Church. Fr. Ibrahim mentioned that less than ten people showed up for Mass because they were scared to death to leave their homes.

It was the feast of St. Meletios for the Orthodox Church. Fr. Meletios of the Ramallah Orthodox Church spent his name day right outside the church yard following the Divine Liturgy because the army invaded the Convent and declared it a military zone. Even the Greek Consul general of Jerusalem attempted to help but the Israelis have a reputation of not listening to anyone. I kept calling Fr. Meletios checking on him and hours after hours I was completely shocked he was still outside.

I actually escaped from my office at about 2 p.m. demanding it was my international right to pass since I am the holder of a foreign passport. At first the soldiers insisted that it was a military zone and no one can pass but finally the captain could see that I am an unarmed civilian with no threat to anyone. The soldiers raided my husband's building from 6 pm until midnight according to Issa who had stayed in one of the apartments with his three children thinking it would be safer than trying to go back to the village of Taybeh. The children were scared to death and it was an awful experience listening to shooting, gas bombs and sound bombs all night. The main heavy duty multi-lock door was bombed open and the pressure or the power of the explosion shattered all of the windows of four floors leaving thousands of glass pieces scattered from the top to the basement including damage to the elevator doors.

The next day I picked up bullets off of my son's bed since we also have an emergency apartment adjacent to the office to use for military closures. I kept thinking how grateful I am that Constantine was not in his bed. I thanked God and prayed all day. The door of the apartment had fifty bullet holes. First, I thought it was about 30 then out of curiosity I counted everyone of them. As I was cleaning up the cement pieces and rumble off the floor, I was trying to imagine what were the soldiers most offended that caused them to do all of this shooting. I can't imagine they did not like the beautiful icon of the ever blessed Theotokos that I have on the wall or the picture of my daughter smiling. I figured it must have been the World Council of Churches (WCC) slogan: "End the Occupation."

I am so lucky that I have a great view of Ramallah on the third floor of my husband's building thus the soldiers selected to ransack my office while they were shooting at young men on the main street. The only problem is they also caused great damage to the Episcopal Church and compound standing right next to the building. Furthermore, they invaded the Medical Relief Offices across the street and evacuated the medical workers at gunpoint affecting their ability to carry out their vital humanitarian roles. It is such a problem when soldiers need houses or offices as observation stations causing the occupants at times to be locked up in bathrooms or outside for over eight hours. All types of bizarre stories have occurred during military invasions. We need these attacks to stop.

The reason the army invaded Ramallah was to protect the Israeli bank experts that wanted to enter three Arab Banks and download programs and bank account information. The bank employees were ordered at gunpoint to stop working but not turn off their computers. Over seven million dollars was reported missing from the banks following the invasion. People were panicked and had no idea what was happening. Now, doesn't this event reflect the type of democracy Israel is practicing?

In the last four years I have witnessed how American tax dollars are used to completely destroy the Palestinian people, culture, education, economy and land itself and how Israeli military policies create "suicide bombers." I have tried to bring awareness that military aid to Israel is not just being used for "security" as Israel continues to innocently claim. I do feel like I am a voice in the wilderness but when pure destruction takes place all around me, I am going to keep making noise about it. During this Holy Lenten Season, please pray for peace in Palestine. Through prayer recognize and feel God's presence in your life with all of the blessings the Lord offers no matter how great or small they might be. You are still better off than 3.5 million Palestinians that have no basic human rights.