环球英语 — 271：Bethlehem: A Place of Forgiveness

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Welcome to Spotlight 1. I’m Ruby 2 Jones.

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And I’m Ryan Geertsma. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

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In ancient times, there was a small and fertile town in the hills of southern Palestine. It was south of the great city of Jerusalem. However, this town was not considered great. It was a little town - a city of sheep farmers. Its name was Bethlehem.

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Today’s Spotlight will shine on two stories of forgiveness from the town of Bethlehem. The first is an old and famous Christian 3 story - told many times over thousands of years. The second is a recent story about a man named Bishara Awad. His story is less well known. However, both stories are connected by the great power of forgiveness.

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Over two thousand [2000] years ago, a baby was born in the town of Bethlehem. Many Christians 4 and Muslims believe this birth was a miracle. They believe that the child’s mother was a virgin 5 and that his birth was an act of God.

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However, this baby’s birth was also lowly. Before he was born, his parents travelled a far distance. They were away from their home, and they were poor. When it was time for him to be born, the only place for them to take shelter was in an outdoor building, among animals. The baby was born and was laid in a wooden box made for feeding animals.

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This baby was named Jesus. And each year, Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus during the holiday of Christmas. Most Christians celebrate Christmas on December 25th.

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The miracle of Jesus’ birth is only part of what Christians celebrate on Christmas. Christians also celebrate who Jesus is and the reason he was born.

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Christians believe that Jesus is God! And, they believe he came to the world as a human to bring forgiveness for all people. So, Christmas is a celebration of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. And it is also a celebration of the forgiveness he came to share.

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Bishara Awad’s story of forgiveness starts eight kilometres from the town of Bethlehem. He was born in 1939 in the city of Jerusalem, Palestine. And he was an Arab Christian. However, from an early age, Bishara’s life was not easy. Bishara wrote about his early life.

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“As a child I was hurt and suffered in many ways. I did not live my early years.”

Voice 1

When Bishara was only nine years old, his father was shot. His father was an innocent citizen who was killed during the nineteen forty eight [1948] Arab-Israeli War. For many weeks after his father’s death, Bishara and his family stayed inside their home. They were frightened that they would also get caught in the fighting.

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The Jordanian Arab Army later took control of the area where Bishara and his family were. The family thought they were finally safe, because this army was Arab like them. However, the Jordanian Arab soldiers thought Bishara’s family were Israelis. They told the family to stand against a wall. They were going to shoot the whole family!

Thankfully, a Palestinian Arab soldier arrived before the soldiers shot their guns. He told the Jordanian soldiers that the family was Arab. And Bishara’s family was released.

Voice 1

Sadly, these events were not the end of Bishara’s struggles. One night, Jordanian soldiers told Bishara and his family to run if they wanted to live. The Israeli army was moving quickly towards their home. So, Bishara and his family left everything. They walked for hours. Finally, they reached a safe neighbourhood of Jerusalem. The family was happy to be safe. However, this event began their life as refugees 7. After that night, they were never able to return to their home.

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At this time, Bishara’s mother was a twenty nine [29] year old widow with seven children. But she refused to live in the refugee 6 camps. Instead, the family stayed in Jerusalem. And, she worked to support her children. However, they did not have enough money to live together. So, Bishara’s mother found schools or orphanages 9 where all of her children could live. Bishara was deeply hurt when his family separated. After losing his father and his home, it was difficult to also be away from his family.

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At school, life was hard for Bishara. The teachers treated the students very badly. However, Bishara worked hard at his studies. And after he finished school, he was able to go to university in the United States.

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While Bishara was studying in the United States, there was another war in his home country. After the war, the Israeli government said that any Palestinians who were in other countries could not return to Palestine. Bishara had lost so much. And now he had even lost his citizenship 10.

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Because Bishara was not able to return home, he decided 11 to become a citizen of the United States. Once he gained US citizenship, Bishara was finally able to visit his family in Jerusalem. There, Bishara met a woman named Salwa. He later married Salwa. And because of his marriage, Bishara was able to live in Israel-Palestine again! Finally, Bishara was experiencing positive things in his life.

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After marrying, Bishara and Salwa moved to Bethlehem. Bethlehem was quite different at this time than in ancient days. It was a large city. It had many busy streets, markets and homes. And it was a city of international travel. It was also a place of continued conflict. Fighting between Israelis and Palestinians had caused poor living conditions. Many Israelis and Palestinians had become filled with anger and hatred 12 toward one another. Like Bishara, many people on both sides of the conflict had experienced the pain of loss and separation from family.

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In Bethlehem, Bishara became the headmaster at an orphanage 8 and school for boys. Bishara loved his job. He wanted to give the boys all the things he never had as a boy in school - food, love, care and spiritual teaching. He knew how it felt to be a young boy who suffered because of war and conflict.

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However, Bishara recognized that something was keeping him from serving the boys well. He recognized that he could not help these boys with their suffering. This was because he was still angry about his own suffering. One night, while he was praying, he knew that he needed to forgive those who had hurt him - the soldiers who killed his father, the Israeli government which made him a refugee and even the teachers who had treated him unkindly. Bishara wrote about this powerful night.

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“That night the Lord did a miracle in my life. He changed the hatred to love; He forgave me for the hatred and put peace in my life.”

Voice 1

Because of forgiveness, Bishara has now served young people in Bethlehem for thirty [30] years. He has loved and educated them. But most importantly, he has taught them how to forgive. And he has done this in the very city where two thousand [2000] years ago the one who taught him to forgive was born. Can you imagine forgiving enemies? This is the example of Jesus. And it is this action that set Bishara free to live an honourable 13 and hopeful life.