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John Paul II Foundation / Magazine

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January 15, 2025

Hi I'm Stefania and I'm doing Universal Civil Service abroad with the John Paul II Foundation. I have been in Jordan for four months now, and right away I was included in the implementation of the Bothoor* project, which focuses on facilitating the creation of decent work opportunities in the agriculture sector for Jordan's most vulnerable population and the Syrian refugee population. I immediately immersed myself in the culture and everyday life of these people. Thanks to the Bothoor project, in addition to acquiring various technical skills, I was able to visit many inland areas of Jordan and observe the reality of small farmers, learning their traditions and customs. It is very satisfying to see how the paperwork takes shape thanks to the trainings, the kit distributions, and the achievement of the set goals. It is gratifying to see the smiles on the faces of people who participate in the trainings with a lot of commitment. It is even nicer to return to find the same associations selected at the beginning and discover...

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December 23, 2024

Dearest and dearest, Thus the poet..." Silence is Christmas! Uncapitalized. In the caresses of a silent crib runs the stand of books that do not speak, of voices that do not write of alphabets that do not speak, of tools that do not serve, of instruments that do not play......" (P. Berdondini) But is it silence or is it stifled voice, annihilated by the roars of horizons frequented by ordnance that plummet on a humanity guilty only of being such? Let us try, then, to cross the border of silence so that instead the books may speak again, the voices may rise, the alphabets may line up again, the tools may be seen in their place on the shelves of artisans and the instruments finally.... beginning to play again. Merry Christmas! Yes! It is still a Merry Christmas with capital letters! Precisely because it is frontier-shelter from the spread of wars; in Ukraine, in Gaza, in Lebanon and Syria and wherever they are not called war but violence, oppression, segregation,...

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December 13, 2024

Since October 7, 2023, the situation in Palestine has changed dramatically, making it extremely difficult to operate on the ground. In fact, increasing instability has led over the past year to the repeated reorganization of activities of our Bethlehem Green City Project*, which aims to improve municipal solid waste management in the West Bank through separate waste collection and urban circular economy initiatives. One of the main goals of the project is to raise environmental awareness in schools that, due to the conflict, have suffered alternating periods of opening and closing. A situation that forced us to reschedule activities and proceed with caution. In fact, tensions arising from attacks-from Iran, Lebanon and Israeli incursions-have affected several areas of the West Bank, imposing continuous disruptions to daily life. Exchanges of experience between Italy and Palestine also varied from the initial schedule. The last visit to Italy, initially scheduled for early 2024, is...

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December 13, 2024

Last August we kicked off the 2024-25 school year with much hope and courage. Surprisingly, and despite often impassable roads, all the pupils returned with renewed joy and enthusiasm. They were tired of being locked within the walls of their villages because they were distressed by grueling military checks, not only in their towns but even in their homes! The return to school represented for them a reunion with friends and classmates, but above all it was a moment to rediscover their dignity-a real breath of fresh air. They finally felt welcomed again and "free" to move, talk and be together after months of loneliness and marginalization. A serenity unfortunately only apparent: on the evening of October 1, in fact, we experienced a dramatic moment never seen before. The sky, which in another context would have seemed full of shooting stars, was instead lit up by rockets that passed quickly over our heads. Thanks to the...

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December 13, 2024

After the fateful October 7, 2023, I was repatriated to Italy and continued to manage the Jericho Vale* project (on date production in Palestine) from afar. I would like to share some aspects of this decidedly unique experience. Living there for two years allowed me to create very strong bonds with both my colleagues in the Foundation and local partners. Despite language barriers-I do not speak Arabic, and others speak little English-we always managed to maintain contact, both for professional matters and for personal support. The trust and bonds built over the years have helped us overcome the obstacles imposed by the conflict in Gaza and subsequent distance. These solid, yet flexible relationships have enabled us to cope with even the most critical moments, despite the difficult circumstances. You can imagine, therefore, the enormous happiness I felt when, last October,...

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November 15, 2024

With the intensification of the conflict in Gaza and the increasing difficulties of operating in Palestine, the Foundation chose to stay and intervene alongside children. Our primary thought has been to safeguard the little ones, creating a safe place for them to find relief. Even in the West Bank, children live in fear and anguish aware of the difficulties their parents have in providing for their families. Several scientific studies regarding the consequences that war has on young children have caught our attention. Children respond to the stress of armed conflict with increased anxiety, isolation, sleep disturbances and nightmares, poor appetite, learning disabilities, developmental delays and aggressive behavior. Because of the developmental stage a child is in, exposure to war-related stressors affects the formation of a personal identity and personality, the notion of what is right and...

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November 8, 2024

  Father Ibrahim, it has been a year since Hamas' attack on Israel and the beginning of the war that has devastated Gaza. Did you expect such a long and devastating war? The tragic attack on October 7, 2023 unleashed a spiral of violence that still envelops the Holy Land today. In Gaza, the numbers of dead and wounded, the destruction of homes, hospitals, schools, churches and mosques have soared, and a year later they do not stop: it is a continuous war bulletin that is shockingly updated by the hour. Never would I have imagined that the war would last so long, but what worries me most is its extension to an ever larger area of the region. The war has spread from south to north; for months the West Bank and Jerusalem have been suffering from heightened tensions and the terrible consequences of violence. They have increased...

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October 21, 2024

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] A partire da ottobre 2023, le tensioni lungo il confine libanese con Israele hanno scatenato un conflitto aperto, con conseguenze devastanti per la popolazione. I bombardamenti israeliani hanno causato 589 morti e 2.000 feriti, distrutto oltre 4.000 abitazioni civili e danneggiato seriamente altre 20.000. Più di 1 milione di persone sono state costrette a lasciare le loro case e le loro attività lavorative, cercando rifugio in aree del Libano ritenute più sicure, come riportato dalle Nazioni Unite e dalle autorità libanesi. La popolazione del sud del Libano e della valle della Beqaa vive nel terrore degli attacchi e nel disagio economico dovuto alla chiusura delle attività produttive. La Fondazione, che opera nel sud del Libano dal 2016 con un progetto finanziato dall'AICS (Agenzia Italiana per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo), sostiene le famiglie di piccoli contadini e lavoratori agricoli, puntando a rafforzare le coltivazioni di agrumi e frutta tropicale per promuovere l'economia...

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October 9, 2024

"In Lebanon, the situation is very serious. After the explosion of the pagers, which affected more than 2,800 people, we are for all intents and purposes back at war." Bishop Cesar calls the new escalation of Israeli attacks in Lebanese territory a huge tragedy, highlighting how this new drama adds to the difficulties Lebanon has been facing for some time now. Nearly 1,000 dead, more than a million displaced, schools closed and stormed by internally displaced persons, all testify to the enormous suffering of an already battered people who needed no further heartbreak. "We are living through a very difficult time, and we are still unable to come to grips with it," the bishop reflects. The explosions are affecting innocent civilians, and in such a situation one cannot distinguish between people, regardless of personal opinions about Hezbollah or the conflict against Israel. The war comes in an already dramatic situation: there is the political crisis, with a state that for almost two years...

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October 3, 2024

It is December 25, 2023, Christmas Day. In the mental photograph that is imprinted in everyone's head, the image that appears in our foreground is that of our family, finally reunited and happy around a set table. That same day in Zuara, off the coast of Libya, in the moments when we were laughing punctuating the time between a glass of wine and a gift to unwrap, Dylan (fictitious name for privacy reasons) was swimming through the furious waves of the sea, desperately trying to get on a barge with his children and his wife. With water at his throat and his arms raised to the sky, almost as if in prayer, he held his two- and four-year-old children aloft to protect them from the stormy sea and lead them to the boat. After a strenuous struggle against the current, Dylan managed to reach the...

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