IN STEREO

I’m ready for whatever you want me to tell you. I swear, [for] a historical story there is nothing but the story of the Israeli occupation of the region in ‘67. Israel occupied the West Bank and Golan regions, [and] continued for a long period. Then it delivered the West Bank to the Palestinian Authority. The one who controls the region here is the Authority, but the action is that of Israel. Now, whatever Israel wants, the Authority executes. That’s it. So here we’re living under [both] the Authority’s control and Israel’s control. We don’t want [this]. At the time Israel was in [control of] the region, there was some energy and work. Prices were reasonable. But now work has become very little [and] prices continue to rise. And that’s our situation; this is the story of Bethlehem and the West Bank.

Look, this area has the Muslims and the Christians. The Muslim prays at Umar ibn Al-Khattab Mosque, and [for] the Christian, this is the Church of the Nativity, in front of us. But I will tell you about the citizens in Bethlehem: the Muslims became more than the Christians. Christians go out abroad. I don’t want to. After the age of seventy, where would I go? Where would I want to travel? Before, I used to make visits abroad. I was traveling to visit, not to work, because my family is here. There was my mother, may she rest in peace, and my brothers and sisters, and the shop. I didn’t want to settle abroad. And I was living like a king in Bethlehem, a sultan. My work was so excellent [and] I received support from my brothers abroad too, extra to my work. I was wealthy. The situation was very favourable, not dismal like today. – Mahmud