IN STEREO

I was born in this house, and I live in this house. Star Street became part of the UNESCO World Heritage sites. As residents in this street, we are so happy that we became part of that. But the other side is the sadness, the reality that we are living in this street that’s totally dead. No shops, nothing. But as a municipal councillor, we are working hard to make this street vital. You know, Bethlehem is totally dependent on tourism. So tourism is the key for increasing the income of this city. We started with the renovation of the street. It will be pedestrian soon; that’s it. So that will maybe encourage more people to come and walk through all the way. Our vision for this street in the future, and I hope it will work, is that] it will be like a touristic area. We are ambitious that one day, this street will be really vital, like in many streets in Europe or in the world. The tourists will stop at the roundabout [at the top of Star Street].

They will start walking all the way to [the Nativity]. In the future, it will be obligatory that the bus would stop here, and then they will [walk]. Some of the senior people would get a ride through, like a golf cart. But it also depends: [the buses] have a real connection with Israeli tourism. Even the tourists, when they come to Bethlehem, they still consider Bethlehem part of Israel, because the tour guide, if they’re Israeli, will never say that you are entering Palestinian areas. I’ve heard it many times. That is another challenge. The most important part is to see this whole street open for tourists: with souvenir shops, cafes, bars... Can you imagine that? The residents will be more than happy. When all the shops are open, conceptions of this place will be totally different. That would really be a dream come true. – Lucy