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CNN Live At Daybreak

Bethlehem Celebrates Christmas

Aired December 24, 2003 - 05:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the holy city of Bethlehem this Christmas Eve.
Our John Vause joins us live from the biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ -- John, what kind of preparations are under way?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, the Manger Square is slowly filling up. But this certainly isn't a festive spirit here at the moment. If Mary and Joseph had arrived in this town tonight, they'd find plenty of room at the inn. That is, if they could get through the Israeli checkpoints. Hotels and restaurants are mostly empty and for the third year there seems little festive cheer in Bethlehem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE (voice-over): Most shops are closed. There are more posters of so-called martyrs than there are decorations. Even Santa looks leaner than usual. And so this is Christmas in Bethlehem.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How would you feel? People are not in the mood of being optimistic.

VAUSE: But unlike the last two years, there are tourists here. This group is from Germany; others from Korea. But they number in the hundreds, not the thousands, not enough, it seems, to interest the normally pushy souvenir sellers.

LOUIS BOUCHELLE: A few is better than nothing.

VAUSE: Louis Bouchelle (ph) has spent the last few days dusting off old postcards and hoping for better times to come.

BOUCHELLE: I can tell you the truth, we survive on charity.

VAUSE: These are difficult times for the City of Bethlehem. Israeli checkpoints keep most of the Palestinians in and all but the most determined tourists out. According to the mayor, unemployment is at 60 percent. Average incomes have fallen to just $400 U.S. a year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For us, Christmas, you know, it's a sign of joy, a sign of hope, a sign of stability. You don't see that here.

VAUSE: But the biggest issue, he says, is Israel's sense, which will soon surround most of Bethlehem. And there's another smaller fence around the historic Rachel's Tomb, cutting off hundreds of Palestinian homes and businesses from the rest of the city. And this year, for the third time, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat will not be attending midnight mass, because Israel says if he leaves his compound in Ramallah, it will not guarantee he'll be allowed to return.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Around the world, as Christians celebrate the birth of the son of god, here in the place where they believe it began, there seems to be an atmosphere of gloom and despair -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Indeed.

All right, thanks very much.

John Vause.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired December 24, 2003 - 05:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the holy city of Bethlehem this Christmas Eve.
Our John Vause joins us live from the biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ -- John, what kind of preparations are under way?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, the Manger Square is slowly filling up. But this certainly isn't a festive spirit here at the moment. If Mary and Joseph had arrived in this town tonight, they'd find plenty of room at the inn. That is, if they could get through the Israeli checkpoints. Hotels and restaurants are mostly empty and for the third year there seems little festive cheer in Bethlehem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE (voice-over): Most shops are closed. There are more posters of so-called martyrs than there are decorations. Even Santa looks leaner than usual. And so this is Christmas in Bethlehem.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How would you feel? People are not in the mood of being optimistic.

VAUSE: But unlike the last two years, there are tourists here. This group is from Germany; others from Korea. But they number in the hundreds, not the thousands, not enough, it seems, to interest the normally pushy souvenir sellers.

LOUIS BOUCHELLE: A few is better than nothing.

VAUSE: Louis Bouchelle (ph) has spent the last few days dusting off old postcards and hoping for better times to come.

BOUCHELLE: I can tell you the truth, we survive on charity.

VAUSE: These are difficult times for the City of Bethlehem. Israeli checkpoints keep most of the Palestinians in and all but the most determined tourists out. According to the mayor, unemployment is at 60 percent. Average incomes have fallen to just $400 U.S. a year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For us, Christmas, you know, it's a sign of joy, a sign of hope, a sign of stability. You don't see that here.

VAUSE: But the biggest issue, he says, is Israel's sense, which will soon surround most of Bethlehem. And there's another smaller fence around the historic Rachel's Tomb, cutting off hundreds of Palestinian homes and businesses from the rest of the city. And this year, for the third time, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat will not be attending midnight mass, because Israel says if he leaves his compound in Ramallah, it will not guarantee he'll be allowed to return.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Around the world, as Christians celebrate the birth of the son of god, here in the place where they believe it began, there seems to be an atmosphere of gloom and despair -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Indeed.

All right, thanks very much.

John Vause.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com