Ruba Imam- Bethany, A Lost Town Behind The Seperation Wall

This project examines the effects of the separation wall on tourism in Bethany, as well as its effects on the social and economic aspects of the town. It tries to show these effects through comparing the situation before and after building the wall, supporting the claims and examination with numbers that prove the dramatic changes that took place. Collecting information was based on interviewing souvenir shop owners whose shops are located in the area behind the wall and who are part of the citizens that have been affected by the wall. The project takes the form of personalizing Bethany that narrates its own misery and struggle with the wall.

I am Bethany, a lost town behind the separation wall. Once, I was a place that everyone likes to visit; I used to be the present of a holy past, I used to be an important touristic site where Jesus Christ brought life back to a man called " Al Eazar", who is believed to be one of God's messengers.

One day, something happened that led to change in the narration of my history; the Israeli occupation built a high separation wall. I no more became the second stop for tourists who visit Jerusalem. I no more became easy to reach despite the fact that I am one of the nearest towns to Jerusalem. Instead, I became the last stop for tourists in Jerusalem.

After building the wall many changes happened. Not only my life and the ability to move and travel freely has been violated, but also the change included the lives of those who love me, especially the life of my residents. An atmosphere of sadness and disappointment came upon them. You can see this in the eyes of a souvenir shop owner who, since building the separation wall, had to change his job at times when tourists were not able to visit.

I am Bethany, I am the wretched city. Although many souvenir shops are located precisely behind the wall where a church also stands, a distance was created by the wall between tourists and the holy sites that tell my story. The story of the place that is, ironically, the nearest in the town to the wall! This separation wall detaches tourists from the places they need to visit in Palestine.

The percentage of the tourists that visit me has become less by 70% after building the wall and all the barriers. Before the Second Intifada, 10,000 tourists used to come to Bethany during certain holy occasions. As for the present time, less than thousand tourist visit during these occasions. Moreover, in the period of 2000 until 2006 souvenir shops were closed because of the political situations that affected tourism.

I am Bethany, I am the wretched. I became only a past without any present manifestations or signs of life. My religious significance became something from the past. The Past has been buried in the remains of the old houses that one can see in the touristic site, and its glories has become imprisoned behind the grey separation wall no matter how much people try to keep it in their minds. For the souvenir shop owners, going back to the lost past and living in the glory of the old days became nothing but a dream.