Visual Messages of Hope to Children in Gaza

Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, most of the news channels have focused on showing the results of Israel’s merciless assault.  Bodies of women, children, entire families; homes utterly destroyed; smoke billowing from endless fires.  Especially horrifying are the images of children who have been killed, maimed, or who have lost their families and homes.  The impact on the children of Gaza is staggering, but also in the West Bank the psychological effects of seeing these images is having an effect on children here, some of whom are old enough to remember the events of the Israeli siege of Bethlehem in 2002.

These pictures of death and destruction have been planted inside the minds of all Palestinian children, causing nightmares and depression.  The need is evident for some way to care for these children’s psyches, and to break the cycle of repetition of horrific images of war.  To this end, the Bright Stars Program has initiated a project to help children explore their thoughts, feelings and fears through visual art, and to send messages of hope to the children in Gaza.

The Bright Stars Program is coordinating with art teachers in schools throughout the West Bank to encourage their students to draw the images that are haunting their minds from the current war on Gaza and from previous experiences of conflict, in hopes that their minds and spirits will find freedom through creative expression.  The further goal is for teachers to encourage their students to imagine and portray images of hope and peace, since visualizing things helps them to become reality.  All of the artwork from this initiative will be collected and displayed in an exhibition, so that other children, parents, teachers, the media, and through them the outside world, might see the Gaza war through the eyes of children, and what the children hope for in the future instead of conflict.

On January 7th, Orthodox Christmas, the Arab Christian satellite channel Sat7 broadcast prayers from regional Christian leaders calling for peace in Gaza.  Please read Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb’s prayer and share it with your congregation.

We pray to God for the women, children, and the elderly people in Gaza who are suffering from a lack of water, electricity and are under attack. We pray to God for real peace in this land and for freedom for the Palestinian people. We also pray for the politicians to have wisdom to seek peace not war.
  
Christians in the West Bank pray day and night for the protection of the people of Gaza, Christians and Muslims, during these difficult moments. We ask our brothers across the world to join in prayer to put an end to this war. Jesus Christ by his death and resurrection changed this land from being a land of war to a land of peace and good news. We pray that He will do the same today in Palestine and particularly in Gaza. God, you are our refuge and to you all the glory and power.