Zara Rivzi visited Palestine as an Ecumenical Accompanier. Based in Bethlehem, her talk will reflect on her experiences as an Ecumenical Accompanier in Bethlehem, with a particular focus on the experiences of Palestinian children living under Israeli occupation.

Like many areas throughout the West Bank, Bethlehem has seen an escalating number of child arrests, night raids and detentions. Zara will share some of the painful experiences of the young people she met who were subjected to this. What does it take for an adult soldier to harm a child? What rhetoric is fuelling the Israel’s dehumanising treatment of Palestinians, including children? The talk invites us to face the painful reality of childhood under occupation and to be a voice for the voiceless.