Yesterday, the Earlham group visited Bethlehem University for a second day to meet with individuals who most closely match our individual interests. Part of the plan for the day included a tour of
Collège des Frères in Bethlehem, a private Catholic school for pre-school-aged children to 12th grade. Principal Michael Sansur preceded the tour with a question and answer period in the school's modest faculty lounge. He discussed the how the school worked and it's mission. Repeatedly, he extolled how the student population made up of Christians and Muslims co-existed in peace, although Christians seemed to get preferential treatment. The Christians are afforded a regularly scheduled Mass for worship and the Muslim religion is suppressed because the school does not allow time for Muslim worship, nor does it allow its female students to wear the hijab. Some of the many extra-curricular activities are only available to Christians. Dr. Sansur also explained that the school attempts to keep a majority of Christian students here, but that the charitable mission is "to civilize" the Arabs. Dr Sansur's use of "civilize" startled several members of my group and offended some of the school's teachers in attendance because of the piety and prejudice associated with his antiquated use of the word.
On the tour of the facilities, we could tell that the people in this school are working to get by with meager resources. The students we saw (albeit few because of summer break) seemed to be happy. Four high school students were playing basketball in the courtyard of the U-shaped complex. It can even boast a pool which is open to the public according to a schedule by sex. Yesterday, the pool was open only to females.
After the tour, the teachers from the Earlham group, their counterparts and the school's principal ate lunch at a local restaurant.
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