July 2014 Feature Cecily McNeill In February, Wel-Com carried the first of a two-part article about the independent report Ngāpuhi Speaks which documents northern Māori interaction with settlers and the British crown. Part two was to have been run in March but a complaint to the Press Council stalled publication. The complaint was not upheld […]
July 2014 Book review Brian Easton Economist Brian Easton gave this review to a Wellington gathering in April for the launch of the latest book from Accent Publications But Is It Fair? Faith Communities and Social Justice edited by Neil Darragh The 36 writers are from the faith communities. Their diversity is admirable: there is […]
July 2014 Holy Land 2014 Cecily McNeill For the Palestinian people their land is a big cage out of which they cannot escape without a permit, granted only at Easter and Christmas, as well as in emergency cases, but then only until 7pm. The eight-metre-high separation wall that surrounds Bethlehem has, since around 2004, prevented […]
July 2014 Holy Land 2014 Cecily McNeill The Caritas Baby Hospital in Bethlehem runs mostly on charity but for Palestinian mothers who come with their sick children, it is a ‘seven-star hotel’. As well as providing medical care for babies and children up to the age of 16 and even older if they are chronic […]
July 2014 Holy Land 2014 Cecily McNeill Amid the trials of negotiating the Israeli security system there is great joy and pride in the staff and students at Bethlehem University. Manar Shomaly who has just graduated with a Masters in International Cooperation and Development says Bethlehem University is well-known in the West Bank for the […]
July 2014 Holy Land 2014 Amid the terror of regular ‘visits’ from Israeli soldiers, the residents of Deheisheh refugee camp south of Bethlehem see hope in their dance troupe and in the way young people embrace learning by getting together to study and discuss. Deheisheh is one of 59 Palestinian refugee camps in the West […]
July 2014 Holy Land 2014 Cecily McNeill One man who knows what it is like to be powerless in the face of Israeli military brutality told of receiving a severe beating in 2003 when Bethlehem was under siege creating great tension, that will stay with him for the rest of his life. He and his […]
July 2014 Holy Land 2014 Mgr Gerard Burns During his recent visit to Jordan, Palestine and Israel, Pope Francis stopped at two walls. One was the ‘separation’ wall Israel is building on Palestinian territory. The other was the Western (Wailing) wall of the temple mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. The separation wall, sometimes […]
July 2014 Holy Land 2014 Yosef Livne Wel-Com invited a response to our collection of stories on Palestine that appeared in our July 2014 issue from the Israeli Ambassador to New Zealand, Yosef Livne. He replied as follows: The articles gave me very few options. I could ignore them, I could classify them as another […]
July 2014 Feature Pat Rhodes Sr Litia Vakameitangake DOLC recently retired as chaplain to Wanganui Prison. The prison holds 530 men in high-security to low-security units. Her ministry covered all the units. She worked with a team including Church volunteers. Pastoral care to prisoners is a very fine line. She sits with the men […]