(Photo: Ahmad Gharabli / AFP)
By Rosie Scammell - September 1, 2022
BETHLEHEM (AFP) — In the heart of Bethlehem, in the West Bank, Palestinians with intellectual disabilities are front and center at a new boutique hotel welcoming guests from across the globe.
Showcasing their skills at the hotel is intended to make Palestinians with disabilities more visible and overhaul perceptions within the community, where they are often stigmatized.
The hotel is located near the Church of the Nativity, one of the most important sites in the Holy Land, where Christians believe Jesus was born and crowds of pilgrims stroll early on a hot summer morning.
“Slowly, slowly, we (can) change the idea in the whole society, in the whole world, because here in Bethlehem we receive guests from the whole world,” said Mahera Nassar Ghareeb, the community leader of Maan lil-Hayat, an organization that supports Palestinians with intellectual disabilities.
Maan lil-Hayat (Together for Life), which was founded in 2009, is just weeks into its hotel venture in a restored 19th-century house.
Read More: Times of Israel