Silence has replaced the joy of waiting in the city of Bethlehem as we approach the Christmas holidays. Feelings of frustration and isolation prevail following the total closure of the city, imposed by the Palestinian Authority to limit the spread of the pandemic. At Christmas the eyes of the whole world turn to Bethlehem, the place where the Lord Jesus Christ was born. A different Christmas, however, compared to other years. For this reason, the cameras of the Christian Media Center captured the suffering of the local community, afflicted by the absence of pilgrims for more than nine months, with negative consequences on social and moral life, given that eighty percent of the inhabitants of Bethlehem depend on Tourism. RONY TABASH Handicraft store owner – Bethlehem "All of these closed stores you see are craft stores, which depend on tourism for revenue. About 4,000 tourists used to pass through this street every day. Bethlehem has gone through difficult circumstances in the past, but this period is the most difficult of all, because of the pandemic. Our store has been closed for nine months." VICTOR TABASH Handicraft store owner – Bethlehem "We hope that God will have compassion on us. Not for the sake of us elders, as we have made our way through life, but for the sake of our young children and grandchildren who are preparing for the future." DUHA AL BANDAK Director Grand Hotel - Bethlehem "When you can't find work, there's no income, security or stability, it all leads to thinking in another direction. The concern is not for people like me who already have their own lives, but for our children who have actually started to think about looking for a place elsewhere that offers dignity to their lives; they have started to think about emigration." SAMEH AL YATEEM Restaurateur – Beit Sahur "I am the head of the household and I have two daughters. I have a small restaurant and I live off its earnings, but now it is closed, how can I live? I have no income and my wife is an employee who receives 60% of her monthly salary. I have to pay bills and have other obligations besides the needs of the girls. There are many people who do not have money for a piece of bread and others who can't pay for electricity, what can we do?" The John Paul II Foundation has helped some of the city's neediest families in a variety of ways, and has decided to retain its employees, artisans, despite the lack of sales. The "Piccirillo" Center has thus become a place that has welcomed people from Bethlehem in their time of greatest difficulty. Br IBRAHIM FALTAS, ofm Holy Land Custody "This project is one of many in the John Paul II Foundation. The Ceramics project is really a very nice project, and everyone who works here is someone who needs our help, because, as you can see, they are deaf-mute." The John Paul II Foundation manages many projects, including: that of the processing of olive wood or mother-of-pearl, the production of Italian artisan ice cream, as well as the project of producing the "Christmas Panettone." It is difficult to live without hope , which can help ease the pain, especially on the threshold of the Solemnity "of Hope and Faith". Br IBRAHIM FALTAS, ofm Holy Land Custody "From the Basilica of the Nativity, the place where the Prince of Peace, Our Lord Jesus Christ, was born, from the place where He gave hope and joy, I hope that next year will be better than this one. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. As you can see, we are alone in waiting for Christmas, we miss the pilgrims. We raise our prayers so that this pandemic will end soon and we can return to normal. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year to everyone."