Aid to the Church in Need: Gaza Strip: The Holy Rosary Sisters in Tal Hawa

Gaza Strip: The Holy Rosary Sisters in Tal Hawa

Posted by ACN News on 23/10/2009, 4:42 pm
Message modified by board administrator 23/10/2009, 4:42 pm

Fearless and respected in a dangerous environment

The Holy Rosary Sisters in Tal Hawa

Tanks and grenade launchers, rocket attacks and aerial bombings, explosions and gunfire, dead and wounded, soldiers and civilians - even children killed and maimed. All these images are associated in many minds with the Gaza Strip in the Middle East.

Here, in immediate proximity to Israel, the ruling group is Hamas, the Palestinian wing of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. The name means "Islamic resistance movement" and also "zeal". The Gaza Strip, which it controls, is around 25 miles long and between 5 and 10 miles wide and is home to around 1.5 million Palestinians, overwhelmingly Muslim in population, but also including some Christians.

The reality of their daily life is increasingly overshadowed by violence. Most of them are never seen on our daily news bulletins however, or at best only on the margins. The same is true of the Holy Rosary Sisters of Tal Hawa in the north of the Gaza Strip. Their congregation was originally founded at the end of the 19th century in Jerusalem. Today there are five sisters living in Tal Hawa; three of them run a primary school and a kindergarten for around 500 children.

(The Holy Rosary sisters in their convent in the old city of Jerusalem)

In June 2007, during the civil unrest resulting from the internal fighting between the opposing Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah, the strongest faction within the PLO, their school came under mortar fire. The building, which is close to the scene of the fighting, was quite badly damaged – and then looted. A year and a half later, during the onslaught by the Israeli army against Hamas, which began at the end of December 2008 and lasted several weeks, the school was again hit and damaged.

Immediately after the violent infighting of 2007, Sister Iness al-Yacoub, the Superior of the Holy Rosary Sisters in Beit Hanina in East Jerusalem appealed to the international Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), for help. Describing the havoc wreaked by the looters, she wrote, "They desecrated the chapel, by destroying the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, ripping up prayer books and smashing the candles. The entire interior of the chapel was scattered everywhere, and the curtains and chairs went up in flames".

Father Manuel Musallam, the Catholic priest who worked as parish priest here in Gaza up till 2009, denounced the looting as a "barbarous act", but at the same time emphasised the good relations between Muslim and Christian Palestinians. "Our relations with the Muslims are not only good but even excellent. I do not believe these acts were sponsored either by Hamas or by Fatah". As to the Israeli air bombardments in January 2009, during which one of his young parishioners was also killed, this priest responded with an open letter in which he wrote among other things, "We had to endure phosphor bombs, which caused terrible burns, mostly among civilians. Like the early Christians we are currently going through a time of great oppression. The destruction and the injuries, to say nothing of the psychological trauma, are almost immeasurable".

ACN responded immediately to the appeal from the Holy Rosary Sisters in 2007. Many of ACN's benefactors were deeply moved by the plight of the sisters in Tal Hawa, and the funds for rebuilding the convent were quickly provided. Nonetheless, the repair work went ahead somewhat haltingly, since Israel has severely restricted the import of concrete and reinforcing steel into the Gaza Strip. Then with the outbreak of new hostilities in December 2008 the repair work had to be stopped altogether. And now of course the new damage has led to yet more delays.

In a letter to ACN in September this year (2009) Sister Davida Twal wrote, "The school lies in the heart of Tal Hawa, a densely built-up area that was exposed to heavy attacks during the ground offensive by the Israeli army". Parts of the kindergarten and school were destroyed by the shelling from the tanks, phosphor grenades and short range rocket fire. "We want to thank everyone who has helped us to repair the worst of the damage", she continued, adding that in due course the rest of the outstanding repairs will at last be completed.

Whereas the Holy Rosary Sisters now need above all patience, until their school and kindergarten are finally restored, there are others who still lack the money to carry out urgent tasks – especially in Galilee and the West Bank of Jordan, where the Christians are dependent on outside support. Speaking about these Christians, Marie-Ange Siebrecht, who is responsible for ACN's projects in the Middle East, remarked, "The people here are deeply committed to keeping their parishes alive. This was something that impressed me. For it wasn't simply a matter of "Please give us help", that we heard there. Of course the people are hoping that ACN will help, but they are also willing to play their part so that this help can bear fruit".

She continued, "Anyone who travels to the Holy Land should make it a point to visit not only the Holy Places but to visit the people - the 'living stones'. The people there are delighted when they see that other Christians want to share in their sorrows and joys. For despite all the setbacks, these are all truly living communities!"

To help this cause please contact the Australian office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148. Web: www.aidtochurch.org

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Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148 ABN: 62 418 911 594
Ph/Fax (02) 9679-1929 e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org web: www.aidtochurch.org