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Palestinian Student Sees Bleak Future in Mideast
Craig Pinley
CHICAGO, IL (November 6, 2000) - She's a Catholic in a Protestant seminary and a woman in an educational system that has been previously dominated by men.
That's not what makes her most uncomfortable about being in the United States, however. As much as Caroline Abdelnour has enjoyed being a first-year student at North Park Theological Seminary (NPTS), she is fearful of what has been happening in her homeland in recent weeks.
Abdelnour is a Palestinian. Her hometown of Ramallah on the West Bank of Israel has been the site of some of most marked fighting between Palestinians and Israelis. Recently, the city of 60,000 gained international attention when a pair of Israeli soldiers died by the hands of Palestinians. Bombed by Israeli missiles, Ramallah is a dangerous place to be, just 12 miles from key worship temples for both Christians and Muslims alike in Jerusalem.
"The first thing I feel is fear - I'm thinking about families and friends and what's going on," said Abdelnour, a 1997 graduate of North Park University. "This is the first time that things have gotten so close to war in this generation. My parents and grandparents had seen war in 1948
and again in 1967. But the new generation, they've seen war during the Gulf War, but it wasn't like in the West Bank. This is the first time we've seen what it's like to be bombed or have tanks used against us."
The daughter of a Catholic father and an Anglican mother, Abdelnour came to North Park through a unique program that annually funds a North Park scholarship to a Palestinian Christian. "I was interviewed on a Saturday and on Monday they told me I had been picked," she said. "I had never even considered coming to the United States before."
She returned to Ramallah following graduation and taught for two years at her former school, St. Joseph's School, before deciding to attend seminary. She feels like Chicago is a second home and sees NPTS as somewhat of a refuge. However, she is well aware of her background as a refugee, her dad having fled Haifa, Israel, long ago. And she knows few refugees feel true refuge in Palestine.
"I'm not a refugee, but there are thousands of Palestinians who are," she said. "There are 20 refugee camps in the West Bank and three or four in Gaza and they live in terrible conditions. When the Pope visited Deheisha (a refugee camp near Bethlehem) in March, he said the
refugees there have been living under these circumstances for 50 years. To understand (Palestinians) you must try to understand what it means to grow up in that setting," she continued.
"It's terrible and young people are the worst off," she said. "They're stuck. They live in a big prison. They can't go to a lot of places. If you go to a checkpoint you need a permit. Or if they shut down the city, you can't go to work if you're outside of the city. And economically, there's not much chance for development, so there's a lot of unemployment."
Understanding the plight of her people doesn't condone violence, however, for either side, said Abdelnour. "I'm never in favor of killing others. You cannot replace a human life. Once that damage is done there is no return. I know what it means to suffer and I don't like to inflict it. When I saw the picture when the Palestinians killed the two Israeli soldiers, I was terrified; it was brutal. I cried when I saw the killing and I cried when they (Israel) launched the missiles. This is my city - they're launching missiles at it. I could not believe my eyes," she said.
"I think what will unite people is when they realize their common humanity," she continued. "That's not going to happen overnight. We have to respect others because they're human - they're created in the image of God. If we can do that, we'll think twice before we do something. But relationships are hard to build, especially with enemies, because it takes so much effort."
Abdelnour reflected on small ways in which she believes Palestinians and Israelis have attempted to create a sense of peaceful co-existence. While teaching at St. Joseph's School, she was part of a two-year program sponsored by the American and Norwegian governments and administered through the Palestinian Association for Cultural Exchange (PACE) and a similar and like-minded Israeli organization. Palestinian teachers, both Christian and Muslim, and Israeli educators came together for weekend-long retreats. They shared meals, activities and discussion. "It was the first experience for me with an Israeli that wasn't a soldier, someone I could actually speak to," said Abdelnour. "It was good. We got to talk to each other. We saw that people were human, that they had feelings and struggles, and laughed. It was enlightening."
However, such experiences are few and far between in an area punctuated by continued skirmishes. Abdelnour appreciates the care provided by spiritual director Jane Koonce and the support from co-workers, seminary professors and students. She hopes to return to Palestine, helping those who are suffering use spiritual direction to heal. That may not happen for some time, however, given the continued unrest. She mostly likely will not be able to visit her family during Christmas break. She wonders if there ever can be complete healing.
"I think people have their fingers crossed - they don't know what to expect," she said. "I think things are going in a bad direction and I don't think there's any going back. I don't see any solution on the horizon and I'm reminded of that as I see what's going on."
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