If anyone is interested in hosting a Palestinian Christian olivewood
salesperson for a few days, please let me know.

The following article on Christian handicrafts in the Holy Land is by
Ghassan Andoni of the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement.
Bob

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Christians of the Holy Land Industry (I)
By: Ghassan Andoni

Disturbing things that happened lately made me think about writing
and publishing a series of articles titled "Christians of the Holy
Land Industry". In each I will point to one issue I consider to be a
problem. I hope that readers will consider what I write as an
attempt to create awareness that can help us correct the mistakes
that we all make for various reasons.

Few days ago I was visited by a group of owners of handicrafts
workshops, Palestinian Christians. What they presented opened my eyes
to an existing problem that most of us prefer to hide under the
carpet. Yet, the Christians of the Holy land are becoming an
industry that fills the pockets of few with huge amounts of money. I
hope that I will not be misunderstood, I have nothing against people
with money, yet I have a serious problem with who exploits, for
selfish benefits, both the Christians of the Holy Land and other
good hearted Christians who genuinely wants to help.

Here is their story: as the crisis in the Holy land brought the
Palestinian economy, and in particular Tourism to a total freeze,
producers of handicrafts who are mostly Christians from Bethlehem
area worked hard to create marketing channels to their products.

A group of pioneers among them started to market in foreign
countries requesting the help of church members at different
American and European cities. It is for the efforts of those
pioneers that this sector managed to survive the hardship of the
political and security situation. In this particular marketing
process, sellers were highly dependant on the sympathy, cooperation,
and support of faithful Christians at different locations. They were
hosted in their homes and helped to establish contacts that allowed
them to sell at the end of Sunday masses.

This was not a totally business based venture but a combination of
solidarity and business. At one of my visits to the United States, I
urged people who are facilitating the marketing of Palestinian
Handicrafts in their churches to request a fair distribution of
income generated between the seller and the producer.

What I saw important about this process was that so many were
involved in marketing that the free competition was set as the
standard. Evidently some were more successful than others, some had
more advantages than others, but over all that was a Palestinian
Christians community based initiative that helped many families to
survive.

Most of the ones who were doing the sales started hunting for
official letters from local churches to help them link with
Christian churches abroad. Added to this effort was the effort of
few others who rented stands in major Malls and sold their
handicrafts on totally business bases.

So what was it that the ones who visited me complained about?

According to what they said to me, a church related organization
succeeded to set a monopoly over this work. No one is allowed selling
in churches but through the organization.

Many told me that the church related organization, which is
registered in the U.S. requested huge amounts of money to allow them
access to churches. One told me that they demanded of him $70,000 for
allowing him to sell products in churches in Virginia.
The organization claims, and I have no way to check, that the money
collected is used to help Palestinian Christians living in the
occupied territories. What bothers me is: if they are capable to do
it themselves why it is necessary to obstruct what is already
working and came as an initiative from within the community.

Palestinian Christians learned how to fish and managed to survive,
yet a Church related organization wants to force them to abandon
their nets and accept the fish as a charity. That is very
disempowering.

As well, why there is a need for monopolies? Why should all
purchases and sales go through a central organization? How would
that reflect on pricing and quality?

I see in this as dealing with the Christians of the Holy Land as an
industry that can make few richer and more powerful.

My final question would be, why each time a community find a way to
be empowered, the same ones who claim are their to help, move for
disempowering?