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Scars-Derek Minor Ft Phillip Larue
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Preserving Cultural Heritage in Bethlehem

The Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation was established in 2001 and has pioneered the preservation of cultural heritage resources in Bethlehem and the surrounding villages and towns. Having renovated more than 15 traditional buildings in Bethlehem, Radio Hayah spoke with Director Issam Juha, about why preserving Palestinian history is important.

عربى

Radio Hayah : What is the Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation?

Issam: The Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation was established in 2001, as an offshoot of the Bethlehem 2000 project. That was for the preparation of Bethlehem for the second millennium celebration. After the celebration, the Palestinian Authority realised a need for establishing an organisation, that has the mandate to look for and maintain the protection and cultural heritage resources in the district of Bethlehem. That is why we are here today.

Radio Hayah : What sort of restoration projects do you have?

Issam: We look for the built up heritage of the Bethlehem area in general. In the last three years we are even restoring buildings in other districts. The centre has expanded its mandate and we try to preserve all kinds of even intangible cultural heritage, such as oral history and the stories. We have been concerned in the handicrafts too. Our aim is to utilise cultural heritage resources as a tool for development of the area. In a way we preserve, but in order to preserve and have sustainability for this preservation process, you need also to convince people that cultural heritage resources are an important tool for socio economic development and could be for touristic development.

Radio Hayah : Do you have many old houses in Bethlehem?

Issam: In Bethlehem as a town we have 1200 buildings, traditional buildings that are more than 100 years old.

Radio Hayah : Do you just work in Bethlehem?

Issam: No we are working in Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Beit Sahour and the surrounding villages and towns in Bethlehem district. Now we have expanded to work in Bethany, in a town in the south, in Ramallah, in Jericho, and other areas.

There are other organisations who do repair work like we are doing; there is Hebron Habitation Committee and the Welfare Association who are also restoring built up heritage. There is some kind of ethical agreement with these organisations, to cooperate in restoration of the built up heritage in the West Bank and Gaza. Each of the organisations are taking care of a certain geographical area.

Radio Hayah : You must be creating jobs as you are doing this work.

Issam: The restoration projects are an intensive labour project. Usually 40% of the budget goes to direct employment. This is high percentage compared with the infrastructure project where only 15% of the budget goes to direct job opportunities.

Radio Hayah : Creating jobs must be having a good impact on Bethlehem as well.

Issam: In one of the programmes, which is funded by the Government of Sweden, we have been able to restore about 50 houses. From that project we have been able to create more than 120,000 working days for more than 3,500 labourers in the Bethlehem area.

Radio Hayah : How do you raise your finances?

Issam: We are a non-profit organisation working under the umbrella of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, but we are financially independent. We depend on donor support for implementing projects. Usually we fundraise and secure money from the international supporting communities such as EU countries and US aid. There are a lot of projects where we tackle the core financing from the local partners, and we are trying to encourage this sense more and more in the local community.

Radio Hayah : Are there a lot of empty buildings in Bethlehem?

Issam: Usually the buildings we restore are abandoned buildings and they have been abandoned for a long period. That is why these buildings could be deteriorated, or in bad conditions and in urgent need for restoration.

In Bethlehem for example, in Beit Jala and Beit Sahour, we have identified more than 100 buildings that have been empty. That was two years ago and we are in the process of finding the partner organisation who is willing to use those buildings.

Today there is more awareness within the local community about the value of these buildings, and a lot of people now are trying to restore these buildings by themselves, by their own investment.

Radio Hayah : Do some of these buildings have a lot of archaeological history?

Issam: Most of these buildings are Ottoman buildings, and buildings related to the Ottoman period. Their age varies between 100 and 200 years old. These buildings are traditional ones, with the cross vault and a type of building that does not exist anymore. Having all these buildings in Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Beit Sahour and other villages is an advantage, as they form the historical centre of the city and give value for these towns and villages.

Imagine Bethlehem without an historic town. In the past people used to come to visit Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity and leave. Now people are interested to go in the historic town of Bethlehem and see architectural buildings, traditional life, and how people were living.

You can never imagine the historic Church of the Nativity without the historic adjacent town, because it will lose its identity. That's why in the year 2012 we have inscribed Bethlehem on the World Heritage list. The area that has been inscribed is the Church of the Nativity and the pilgrimage route that passes within the historic town. The whole historic town was considered a buffer zone for the Church of the Nativity.

Radio Hayah : Which areas of Bethlehem have you already renovated?

Issam: We have renovated several traditional buildings. Maybe we have renovated more than 15 traditional buildings in Bethlehem itself. In Beit Jala we have renovated something like four; in Beit Sahour we have renovated six or seven. In other villages like Al-Khader, Nahaleen, Hussan, and Battir, in each town we have renovated between one and three buildings. These buildings are spread in all these towns and villages and the historic towns. Our aim was at least to provide one sample of restored building in each village and town.

We have been able to reach most of the villages and towns in Bethlehem, and now we are building on the success stories that we have in selecting and identifying future projects.

Radio Hayah : Do you renovate in the traditional style from that period?estroying the building and not restoring it.

We have been participating in a lot of training sessions and workshops. We are now more familiar about the international criteria in the restoration and are trying to do our best to fulfil this criteria in all of the buildings that we restore. Sometimes we try to find the balance between what is the ideal standard of restoration and the need of the user of the building. Most of the time we are in favour of using the traditional way of restoration.

In some specific cases when there is an urgent and strong justification, we may compromise to secure the sustainability of the use of this building. For example some buildings, there is a need for toilets, and according to the international standard of renovation we should not add additions, but in some cases we are obliged to have some minor additions. We do this in a way that you can easily distinguish between these new additions and the old building.

Radio Hayah : Is cultural heritage important?

Issam: In Palestine and everywhere in the world it's important. In particular in Palestine it is more important than any other place in the world. We are living under occupation in hard circumstances, in a place where the identity is a subject of conflict in this area. As Palestinians our roots are here and cultural heritage is a proof that Palestinians have lived for a long time in this area, are still living here and have important cultural heritage that has outstanding universal value.

Radio Hayah : Bethlehem is on the World Heritage list. Is that important for Bethlehem?

Issam: Yes it is important. We have been working on that since 2005 and we only secured that in the year 2012. It is important because as Palestinians we have the right to protect our cultural heritage. We have the right of the international community recognising that cultural heritage and the right to protect cultural heritage that belongs to all humanity.

I remember the first time we submitted the file of Bethlehem, that was in the year 2011 and it was rejected. Why? Because we have not been a State party for the UNESCO agreement. At that time the important question was, what is the value of the World Heritage list if it does not protect and recognise an important site such as the Church of the Nativity, which is important for the majority of humanity?

Radio Hayah : It must be nice for you to walk around Bethlehem and see areas renovated and looking good.

Issam: Yes, I feel proud to see this as a Palestinian. I feel proud to see any traditional building that is being restored. In the beginning of the 90's these people were not in favour of restoring these houses. A lot of projects have demolished their building and constructed a new building instead. Now people are more aware, and have recognised the cultural value of these buildings, and how these buildings represent the dignity of the nation. This built up cultural heritage is something which represents our skills in the building technology, our development as a nation in the building technique that has been dominant 100 years ago before the occupation took place in Palestine.

Radio Hayah : What is your prayer for the future of Bethlehem and these houses?

Issam: We do hope that peace will take place in this beautiful town. More than 2000 years ago Jesus Christ has spread from Bethlehem the message of peace to the whole world. Today Bethlehem is searching for that peace. I hope that we can have peace one day because it is better for the future of our new generation. As Palestinian and a new generation of Israeli, we would like to live in peace side by side.


 

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