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Every year the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem organises summer camps in Palestine and Israel for young Christians. Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, these camps have become even more important, but this year, with the added stress of the open conflict with Iran in June, the relief for the children and young adults was more welcome than ever.
Fr Louis Salman, chaplain to the Youth of Jesus’ Homeland (YJH) ministry, which serves young Christians in the West Bank, Palestine, was with a group of young children when Iran first fired missiles at Israel and describes the fear everybody felt at the time.
“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,” says Fr Louis Salman to ACN.
In the end, he says, it proved to be a good decision. “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 young priest explains.
The YJH organises a total of five different camps for 500 young people in different age groups, including one for young people under 22 who already work. Faith formation is an important part of the camps, but above all, says Fr Salman, the camps give young Christians in the West Bank a taste of a different life.
“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.”
“They can be children again!”
Meanwhile, other camps are also taking place in the Holy Land for young Hebrew-speaking Catholics who face completely different realities and challenges.
Monika Faes, the lay pastoral coordinator of the St James Vicariate, tells ACN how important these opportunities are for the children of the community. “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!”
“The work we do during the year in catechism is continued in these camps, and we had amazing feedback. 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.”
Although they serve very different communities, facing different challenges, both Monika Faes and Fr Louis Salman agree that without the financial support from ACN it would not be possible to provide these opportunities to the children in the Holy Land.
“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,” says Monika Faes.