Gaza parish tries to shield youngsters from violence, priest says

Published: 2004-05-18

JERUSALEM (CNS) -- A priest at a Gaza parish said church workers were trying to shield young students from the violence, as Palestinian attacks on Israeli soldiers and Israeli reprisals continued to escalate. Father Manuel Musallam of Holy Family Parish said in a telephone interview with Catholic News Service that the home of two students was destroyed and that their 13-year-old brother was killed by a stray bullet. The 7- and 8-year-old students came to school the next day offering dates, a traditional gesture of mourning, he said. "They were weeping. Many families have suffered," he said. Father Musallam told CNS that many of the children had grown accustomed to the violence and upheaval. "The general ambiance is more of an internal revolution, of an explosion. Today there are airplanes and helicopters in the sky," Father Musallam said. "But their behavior in general is anxious, and they are aggressive and violent." The school is sponsoring end-of-the-year class dances and festivals in an attempt to divert students from the struggles of their daily lives, he said.

Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .