{"id":226386,"date":"2025-04-30T10:19:42","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T08:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/preprod.proterrasancta.org\/?p=226386"},"modified":"2025-05-07T17:56:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T15:56:12","slug":"story-women-bethany-alessia-alina-precious-as-nard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/preprod.proterrasancta.org\/en\/story-women-bethany-alessia-alina-precious-as-nard\/","title":{"rendered":"Alessia and Alina: precious as nard"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cThe importance of involving the local community is not just about giving people a job or a salary\u2014it\u2019s about giving them dignity, identity, and hope.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alessia and Alina share their stories: the loss of a loved one, and the hope for a different future\u2014for themselves and for all of Palestine.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alina<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy name is Alina, I\u2019m 50 years old, and I\u2019m from Ukraine. I\u2019m Muslim, married, and I have five children\u2014two daughters and three sons. Not long ago, one of my sons was killed by Israeli soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alina hides her face\u2014she doesn\u2019t want to be seen or photographed. Sharing her story is already a generous gift; images or her real name would be too much. \u201cAlina\u201d is a pseudonym, a veil behind which the real woman tells her story softly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Alina<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine is her homeland, but today, Palestine is her home. \u201cMy husband is Palestinian, but he came to Ukraine to study\u2014that\u2019s where we met. We lived in two different countries for a while, but eventually we settled in Palestine with our children, near Bethany.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alina studied computer science at Al Quds University in Abu Dis, but her true passion has always been art. \u201cI\u2019m good at drawing and embroidery. When my daughter told me about the candle-making workshop, I was so happy. I\u2019ve always loved candles\u2014their fragrance, and the atmosphere they create when lit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working in the small workshop in Bethany is a perfect fit for her. \u201cI only work two days a week because the rest of the time I teach Russian at a Russian Orthodox school, but even in just those few days, this work gives me so much. Especially now, since my husband lost his job after the escalation of violence on October 7, 2023. Even a small income really helps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the pay and the creative outlet, the work is a vital source of emotional and psychological support. \u201cSince my son died, my emotional state has completely changed. Leaving the house to go to the candle lab helps me a lot. I almost don\u2019t even see it as work because I enjoy it so much\u2014I\u2019ve met so many new people and made friends with my coworkers. When I go to the candle workshop, my day is full of joy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alessia<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI suddenly found myself without a job, with an uncertain future due to political events, and my father\u2019s health was rapidly deteriorating. Sadly, he passed away on February 8, 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy father, architect Osama Hamdan, was the coordinator of the Bethany project and worked on it until just two months before his death. After he passed, I started working there myself as coordinator of activities with women.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alessia\u2019s bright blue eyes reflect both love and pride as she speaks of her father. Her face radiates both grief and admiration\u2014sorrow for the loss, but pride in being able to carry forward a part of his work and his mission, which he believed in deeply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Alessia\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m 26, born in Turin, and I now live in Jerusalem. My father was Palestinian and Muslim; my mother is Italian and Christian.\u201d From her very first words, it\u2019s clear how much value Alessia places on her multicultural heritage. Perhaps that\u2019s why she has always been curious about how people communicate. \u201cI studied communication science at the University of Perugia. Then, in 2021, I returned to Jerusalem and started working in a travel agency.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But tourism is a fragile industry, especially in a politically and socially unstable Middle East. \u201cIn October, I lost my job because there were no more tourists. The tourism sector was hit hard\u2014many businesses had to shut down. At the same time, my father was battling cancer. It was an extremely difficult period\u2014I was unemployed, the political situation was deteriorating, and my father\u2019s health was getting worse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the courageous women who came to work as artisans\u2014rolling up their sleeves and finding the strength to start again\u2014Alessia found hope and inspiration to keep believing in the importance of her work in Palestine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA strong bond has grown between me and these women,\u201d Alessia says, \u201cand despite the age difference, a beautiful friendship has formed. I deeply respect and admire their strength and determination\u2014the way they can still smile despite the hardships they face every single day.\u201d Like flowers blooming through hardship, the women of Bethany are reborn from their struggles, more vibrant than ever\u2014like nard, which releases its sweetest fragrance only when crushed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alessia also feels a deep personal connection to this project: \u201cIt means a lot to me because it\u2019s tied to my father\u2019s profession.\u201d Osama Hamdan worked with a vision his daughter now carries forward: \u201cMy father always said, \u2018The importance of involving the local community is not just about giving people a job or a salary\u2014it\u2019s about giving them dignity, identity, and hope.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Easter, Pro Terra Sancta commissioned thirty thousand nard-scented diffusers from the little Bethany workshop to send by post to donors. More than just a gift to those who support Palestine and the Holy Land\u2014a way to bring them a fresh fragrance and a sense of closeness\u2014it was a valuable opportunity for the artisans to challenge themselves. Thanks to this order, they had months of work, spending part of each day carefully selecting fragrances, pouring wax into molds, and earning a wage. A job is vital to help fill the void left by war, by restrictions on movement, and by the collapse of the tourism industry that has left so many Palestinian workers without employment.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Discover more about the project!<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe importance of involving the local community is not just about giving people a job or a salary\u2014it\u2019s about giving them dignity, identity, and hope.\u201d Alessia and Alina share their stories: the loss of a loved one, and the hope for a different future\u2014for themselves and for all of Palestine. Alina \u201cMy name is Alina, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":226387,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9753,9742],"tags":[],"campaign_code":[],"class_list":["post-226386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlight","category-news-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe story of two women of Bethany | Pro Terra Sancta<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The story of Alessia and Alina, two women who, in the candle-making workshop in Bethany, find a reason every day to keep going.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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