HOLY LAND: Children find refuge in summer camps amid the threat of falling missiles

Summer camps have provided a sanctuary for children in the Holy Land from the threat of falling missiles and rockets.

More than 600 young people across Gaza and the West Bank experienced “fun and freedom” thanks to summer camps supported by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem organises the camps in Palestine and Israel for young Christians every year.

But this year the start of the camps coincided with Israel’s conflict with Iran in June and the intense fighting that followed.

Father Louis Salman, chaplain to the Youth of Jesus’ Homeland (YJH) ministry, which ministers to young Christians in the West Bank, said: “The rockets started flying one day after our camp began.

“Of course, they were scared, and their parents were phoning us, saying they wanted them home. But we convinced them to let them stay.”

He said it proved to be a good decision.

He added: “We would get messages from the phone network 10-15 minutes before each strike, so we would gather them in the hall, and create a party environment, or talk to them about Jesus, so that they would not have to see the rockets overhead.

“It was better for them to be with us than to be at home, because we were there as a community, we were having fun and helping them not to be scared. But it was still a very strange experience.”

The YJH organises five different camps for 500 young people in different age groups, including one for young people under 22 who already work, giving young Christians in the West Bank “a taste of a different life”.

Fr Salman said: “It is so important, because they are breathing freedom. At home they cannot go and visit their friends, because of the roadblocks and checkpoints, so for them it is important to be there.”

More camps are also being organised in the Holy Land by the St James Vicariate for young Hebrew-speaking Catholics who face completely different realities and challenges.

Monika Faes, lay pastoral coordinator of the Vicariate, told ACN: “Most of the children who go to the camps are undocumented migrants.

“They are already traumatised with the constant fear of being deported, and now they had to spend 12 days in bomb shelters.

“So, to take them to the camps, where we have a very trauma-aware approach, is an opportunity to just let them be children again.”

She said catechism work continues in the camps: “Some of them shared how important it was for them to have these moments connecting with God and for the pastoral team and the priests to be there.

“This is very important for them because they are such a minority. They are a minority being undocumented – they sometimes get the feeling that they don’t belong here – and then they are also a minority because they are Christians.

“So, it is really giving them strength to keep walking with Jesus.”

Both Fr Salman and Ms Faes thanked ACN for its support.

Ms Faes added: “This aid is vital. Those parents work hard, but they cannot afford the whole amount for their children to attend the camps, so the additional costs are always covered by the Vicariate, and we are really a small vicariate, so we are so thankful to ACN.”