The divided Bethany is one of the main stops on the Holy Land Coordination's annual trip to the Holy Land. In addition to Gaza, Ramallah and East Jerusalem, this group of bishops from Europe and North America wanted to return after ten years to see the kindergarten run by the Comboni nuns, which is literally behind the separation wall built by Israel. Sr ALICIA VACAS Superior of the Middle East of the Combonian Sisters "I'd say the situation hasn't improved. 10 years ago we were still hoping that the wall would open, that at some point they would at least do a checkpoint, a military checkpoint, that they would find a way through this wall. But in the last few years the wall has closed down for good, and children from the other side - from the Palestinian side - no longer have access to school." The nine-meter high concrete columns and barbed wire did not stop the small community: part of the nuns moved beyond the wall to continue serving the people of Bethany, in Arabic Al-Azariya. Sr ALICIA VACAS Superior of the Middle East of the Combonian Sisters "It is not easy to live in a tense situation, to find yourself trapped between these two peoples that we love and of which we are a part, but who nevertheless confront each other in our house, right in our garden. I think it is very important that the bishops know the situation as it is, without partial interests... that they know the life of the people, and in this case our life, as it is. We have a story to tell, the story of this little piece of wall, but the wall is more than 800 kilometres long and every little piece has its own story." The work alongside the Bedouin children who live in the surrounding hills in real sheet metal huts is another of the activities of the Combonian nuns, told to the bishops not without emotion. HE Mgr RICHARD GAGNON Archdiocese of Winnipeg – Canada "They are working with the people in the neighbourhoods, they are building bridges, they are trying to live the Gospel, they are not getting involved in political parties and ideologies, and so their witness is very important in the Holy Land, it is a voice that needs to be heard, and their example speaks very strongly." HE Mgr RODOLFO CETOLONI, ofm Bishop of Grosseto – Italy "This being there in spite of everything, this being there for people who are living in a situation for which it seems that there are no solutions, is important. At the moment there may not be any solutions, but these people have to live, so they need someone who lives with them, who helps them in their needs, who shares their life with them. This is a sign that no war, no wall, no hate can break down." The main theme of the week's visit was the younger generation: the Holy Land Coordination also went through the Gaza Strip, Ramallah and East Jerusalem, welcomed by the local Church. HE Mgr PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA, ofm Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem "The aim is to listen, to know, and then return to their countries and give voice to the needs of the Church and its future." Rev MARK MADDEN Secretary-General of the Holy Land Coordination "I think it’s easy for us in the West, especially in places like England where I am from, to bury our head in the sand, to think that - you know, we live thousands of miles away - it doesn’t really affect us. But I think that many of our Christian communities back at home are now becoming more and more involved, and are becoming more concerned." Read More