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The Independent, in an article titled “All You Can Do Is Survive: Half a Bleak Winter for Christians in the Middle East,” noted that among the rubble of destroyed buildings, the Church of Our Lady of Liberation in Beirut has become a ray of light for its children who come together to celebrate Christmas Eve. He pointed out that the people of that church and its worshipers live a few hundred meters from the destroyed port of Beirut in the poor neighborhood of Karantina, and many of them miraculously survived the explosion on August 4, which was described as the non-nuclear explosion. largest in modern history.
However, the British newspaper noted that many people had no choice but to remain in the remains of their destroyed homes, unable to repair them amid an unprecedented financial collapse that pushed more than half of Lebanon to the poverty line. He claimed that amid all this destruction, there was a ray of hope, thanks to a local charity, and dozens of volunteers and specialized architects, that the century-old church, which at one point in its history was a historic quarantine point for the Maronite nuns on their way to Rome, has been restored.
He said the restoration of the church was done in time to open its doors on Christmas Eve. Therefore, Christmas was not completely canceled. “This neighborhood has been through many difficult times and was the focus of battles during the 15-year civil war,” said Elie Makhlouf, 45, who lives near the church in an apartment that was destroyed by the blast. “This church was destroyed and rebuilt several times during the war, and it means a lot to us that this has happened again.”
The newspaper noted that across the Middle East and North Africa, Christians, who make up 5 percent of the region’s population, hold quiet celebrations amid one of the toughest holiday seasons as families battle the epidemic. as well as conflicts and other disasters, such as the explosion of the port of Beirut. Poverty got worse.
In the Lebanese capital, the blast shook some of the city’s most notorious Christian neighborhoods, killing 200 people, injuring thousands and initially displacing more than a quarter of a million people.
And “The Independent” noted that in Bethlehem, residents told The Independent that they are also in excruciating pain at the end of a miserable year. Most of the usual celebrations in Bethlehem, including the gathering around the huge Christmas tree in Manger Square, were canceled for fear of the spread of a new, more contagious type of Covid 19. She noted that, “Usually, thousands of foreign visitors and pilgrims descend on the Palestinian city. The closure of the Israel International Airport to foreign visitors and the announcement of a new national closure, starting Sunday, have kept tourists away this year. “
With the number of COVID-19 cases rising to 129,000 and the death toll to 1,243 in the Palestinian territories, last week the Palestinian Authority banned travel between cities in the areas it manages in the occupied West Bank, leading to the deportation of local visitors as well.
Under dark, rainy skies, residents who rely heavily on tourism during the Christmas period say the city is deserted and the local economy is collapsing.
Back in Beirut, at the Church of Our Lady of Liberation, parishioners say the work done to restore their church was a major victory at a dismal time.
“It is a message of hope for a day that is supposed to be a day of hope,” Mark Turby, 33, president of the “Over Goa” charity, which rebuilt the church, told the newspaper. “Even the simple act of celebrating Mass on Christmas Eve would have a tremendous moral boost.”
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