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Remember the Innocents Club Honors
"The student performers dedicated this year's event to Christine George Sa'adeh, their 12-year old classmate who was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers just 10 days earlier, and to the memory of all Palestinian children injured and killed during the Israeli occupation. During the performance by Christine's class, the students remembered her by placing a burning candle in an empty chair. Maria Canavati (15), another RTI Club youth leader, remarked that "You could see the sorrow in their eyes; she was just like us, we miss her."
Born during the first Intifada, the members of the RTI Club are experiencing the pains of the second "uprising." A refugee from the Dheisheh Camp, Nidal says, "My father and grandfather never lived a thing called peace. We can't describe everything about what is in our minds, in our memories. Anyone who wants to understand the situation must come and see it for themselves. " Maria adds, "And our children will live as we do, if we don't do something now to change our situation. We want peace, our rights and a country like any other person."
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"We wanted to show the world what Palestinian children can do with just a little support, even under occupation," explained 14-year old Nidal El Ayasa. Nidal is one of 12 youth leaders of the Holy Land Trust's Remember the Innocents (RTI) Club. He and many of the RTI Club members organized a cultural event at Bethlehem's Peace Center to commemorate the International Day of the Palestinian Child (April 5). The performers where third to twelfth grade students from 15 schools in the Bethlehem District. Free to the public, the two-hour program included Dabkeh (traditional Palestinian folk dancing), modern dance, singing of traditional and original songs, poetry reading, speeches and orchestral performances. Local Bethlehem TV aired the program in its entirety.
Both Nidal and Maria emphasize how important this event was to the children of Bethlehem. "We live under tremendous pressure; we think about tanks and how to get food. We have been damaged because we live in a difficult situation. Before the Intifada, we never would have imagined we would spend another three years under occupation. We need this chance to express ourselves, to think about something else, something that makes us happy; we are talented but buried." They emphasized that they made good use of their time during curfew when each was imprisoned in their homes both day and night. Maria learned needlework and how to cook but also describes simply drawing circles on paper. When the electricity was cut, Nidal said, "We turned into chickens, going to sleep at sunset and waking up at sunrise. It was like a vacation when we could sneak outside to play on the pavement in front of our house. We became grateful when the curfew was lifted for just four hours."
RTI Club is youth-led and directed, providing a venue for Bethlehem's young people to create their own program, based on their own interests and talents. Future RTI Club activities are focused on providing enrichment and recreational opportunities for Bethlehem area children. Members are planning an Easter picnic for 110 elementary school children and a summer concert tour of West Bank refugee camps by Reem Al banna, a famous Palestinian singer from Nazareth. They would like to produce radio and television programs by and for children as well as publish an RTI Club newsletter and magazine. HLT staff member Awni Jubran supports the RTI Club in all its activities.