Aida Refugee Camp

I have been putting pictures on my sight of the places I visited while in Israel and Palestine.  I found that my pictures turned out better than I thought (I took so many of them, some were bound to turn out okay.) 

One of the places that moved me was Aida Refugee Camp.  What originally started out in tents in 1948, is now in ramshackle buildings, built on top of each other.  The United Nations has set up schools and various other things for them until Resolution 194 is followed and they are given the right to return to their homes, if their homes are still there. 

Here are some images from this portion of my trip.

The key is symbolic of the door keys they have kept from their homes.  It signifies their hope in their return to their land.  This is the gate of the refugee camp.

These are children who were playing on the street during the time of our visit.  I have several pictures of them, they were so cute.

 The Pope visited the holy land in May.  He spoke at Aida Refugee Camp.  The people of the camp wanted him to speak outside, but the government did not want the wall in the film footage, so the Pope spoke in the gym of the UN Girls' School.

Again another key signifying their hope in their return.

There is graffiti on the walls, but there are also murals which depict their life and their history.

These are shots of some of the living conditions found in their camp.

 Olive trees amid the rubble. 

The UN Girl's School

The garden at the Lajee Center.  I think the garden is the best, because by planting something it means you have hope for the future.

The best place to seek God is in a garden.  You can dig for him there.  ~George Bernard Shaw, The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God, 1932


I think that if ever a mortal heard the voice of God it would be in a garden at the cool of the day.  ~F. Frankfort Moore, A Garden of Peace