Bethlehem church officials cite rising number of poor families

Published: 2004-12-08

BEIT SAHOUR, West Bank (CNS) -- Berna Farhoud's Christmas wish list is short and modest. Berna, 12, wants new clothes, perhaps a sweater or pants. Hanna Hanouni, 43, said she hopes to buy a front door and glass window panes for her nearly completed house before the holiday. Then, she said, she will put up a Christmas tree in celebration. The Farhoud and Hanouni families are among the growing number of impoverished families in the Bethlehem area who have drained their savings due to the lack of jobs in the area. Before the outbreak of the intifada, both of Berna's parents earned a decent living, as did Hanouni and her husband, who have four children. Today, only Hanouni is employed, working as a cleaning woman at Holy Family Maternity Hospital in Bethlehem. Khader Farhoud, 45, who lost his work as a municipal garbage collector in Bethlehem two years ago after a kidney transplant, works occasionally as a handyman at the Beit Sahour Catholic parish. The family lives in a run-down two-room apartment with a dilapidated combined bathroom and kitchen. Family members said the landlord refuses to do any maintenance because he wants them out so he can raise the rent.

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