Rev. Mark S. Hanson’s Visit with Anar
Healing to Hope Board Member Rev. Mark S. Hanson Reflects on His Recent Visit with Anar in Palestine:
“When returning from a context radically different from my own, I tend to resist describing my experiences. Writing like this is fraught with the danger of inadequately conveying the extreme challenges, astounding resilience, abiding resolve, compelling vision, and unexpected moments of joy that are part of the daily lives of those I accompany. Yet not to share the amazing experiences I had with the Anar staff would be to withhold a story that must be told. It is a testimony to creativity, courage, healing, and hope in the midst of the horrific realities of genocide and occupation with which the Palestinian people contend daily.
After a visit with the gifted Anar staff in Bethlehem, Executive Director Rami Khader, Psychosocial Support Unit Coordinator Dara Rafeedie, and I drove to Hebron. The ever-expanding number of IDF checkpoints make any travel in the West Bank a daunting daily task. Drivers must navigate unpredictable closings and erratic treatment. I kept thinking, “How does one maintain one’s sense of dignity, wholeness, and hope when one is treated like a trapped animal in a barbed wire cage?” Yet Anar exists and does such remarkable work for this very reason: to support the Palestinian people so that they do not succumb to despair, give up, and give in. As Rami shared, “The IDF seeks to normalize the occupation, their presence, and their intimidating actions in the minds of our children so they will grow up accepting the occupation as normal. As parents, we will not let that happen!” And it is clear that neither will Anar.
In Hebron, we stopped at Anar’s new office, where three staff will serve Anar’s expanding programs. We were invited to meet with a psychosocial support group for women living with cancer facilitated by one of Anar’s counselors, Sahar Mohammad Shafdan. This group, which includes 12 participants and meets for two hours a week, talked not only about how they are living with cancer but also how the Israeli occupation makes getting to scheduled treatments and meetings with this group far more difficult, radically interfering with their necessary self-care. Anar’s commitment to empowerment and to community-based psychosocial support that prioritizes emotional well-being without minimizing the political realities of occupation was evident as the group members shared their fears, faith, joys, and sorrows.
On the way to the old city in Hebron, we were joined by Walid Abed, a highly respected school counselor in Hebron, who will join the Anar staff on a part-time basis. We stopped in what had been a butcher shop set in the centuries-old rocks of the old city. Today, the entrepreneurial granddaughter of that butcher, Reem, has turned the space into a library with a dedicated room for children to gather. One by one, the children excitedly took their places around the table, waiting for Reem to read a story that led to lively conversation. Rami explained that Anar will partner with her to offer creative psychosocial support for these children, who deal daily with the trauma of being taunted and demeaned by the growing number of Jewish settlers in Hebron.
We returned to the Anar office in Bethlehem, where we were invited to join a group of 18- to 28-year-olds facilitated by Dara. Rami shared that they had had 70 applicants for this group. After reviewing each application, Anar staff interviewed 50 applicants before selecting the 12 group members for the year. This is the only program that Anar specifies is for Christians. As Rami explained, Anar made that exception because of some of the unique challenges faced by Christian young people, who are leaving Palestine in increasing numbers. This was only the second meeting of this group, yet their chemistry, trust, openness, and joy were palpable.
In an extended one-on-one conversation, Rami shared that Anar has already trained 100 psychosocial community-based counselors in Hebron through its three-day training program offered four times a year. Anar’s vision is to expand its programs throughout the West Bank, while also making its resources available so others can implement Anar’s philosophy. They are also developing psychosocial support programs for children and youth who have been detained by the IDF. As I witnessed Rami’s vision, determination, humility, honesty, resolve, joy, and amazing gifts, I thanked God that Rami had found his calling leading Anar.
My account here does not begin to communicate the depth of my admiration, gratitude, and awe for Anar’s absolute resolve not to let the realities of the Israeli occupation, violence, and harassment on the West Bank and the genocide in Gaza destroy the Palestinian people, especially children. Without a doubt, Anar is creating spaces for empowering Palestinian children, youth, and caregivers so that they may not only survive, but thrive.
Over and over, Rami said Anar will not be able to maintain and expand its programs and staff without the increasing support of a vibrant Healing to Hope organization in the United States. I assured him that this is our steadfast commitment. As understandable as it might be for us in the U.S. to feel overwhelmed and powerless when we witness the horrific realities of the colonization of Palestine and genocide in Gaza, Anar stands as a defiant NO to our succumbing to such futility. May your YES to empowering Palestinian people, to the future of Palestinian children, to a vibrant, growing Anar lead you to generously support and become involved in the work of Healing to Hope.”
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