Daniel Comboni
Comboni Missionaries
Institutional area
Other links
Newsletter
Sharing hope and resisting with a quiet strength
Sunday, May 24, 2026
The Bedouin women from the three villages we are visiting today in the Khan al-Ahmar area are living in a state of agonising uncertainty. The very real threat of mass eviction hangs over their homes. Some have already packed the few belongings they could carry with them into bags, in case they are forced at any moment to leave the land where they have lived all their lives. “We don’t know what might happen tonight or in the coming days,” they tell us with a mixture of fear, exhaustion and dignity.
They live out in the open, exposed and vulnerable, under tents and flimsy structures that barely manage to protect them from the heat, the cold and the constant threat that surrounds them. And yet, amidst this increasingly heavy reality, they still find the strength to laugh, to share tea, to learn something new and to sit together in front of a sewing machine.
With steady hands embroidering olive branches — a symbol of peace, resilience and deep roots — these women continue to choose life. They have welcomed five new sewing machines with immense joy, putting them to work immediately. Each small embroidered bag represents much more than a piece of craftsmanship: it is the deep desire to support their families, to protect their children’s dignity and to transform suffering into something that can also bring life to those who purchase these products.
It is moving to see how, even under the weight of fear and threat, these women continue to create beauty, share hope and resist with a quiet strength that springs from their love for their land, their families and life itself.
Sr. Cecília Sierra
Comboni Missionary Sister in the West Bank