Galway Advertiser 2003/2003_01_02/GA_02012003_E1_011.pdf 

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Palestinian children arrive in Galway this week
BY JULIE TIERNEY EIGHT CHILDREN from the Dheishe refugee camp in Bethlehem, Palestine arrived in Galway on Monday for a two week holiday of a lifetime. The children, aged nine to 14, will stay with host families in Galway city and county thanks to the people who supported the Galway branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign in their fundraising efforts in the weeks before Christmas to cover the costs of the airfares for the children to come to Ireland. According to a spokesperson for the Galway 1PSC the children, three girls and five boys, will spend two weeks in the West of Ireland. "The original plan was for the children to spend Christmas in Ireland, but due to circumstances beyond our control, this was not possible," she said. Dheishe refugee camp, and Bethlehem itself, has suffered numerous Israeli attacks, closures and curfews during the Intifada and the children have all been heavily traumatised by their experiences. During curfew, shops and businesses are forced to close, education is suspended, and Palestinian civilians are effectively kept prisoner in their own homes by the Israeli occupation forces. The trip to Ireland will give the children a much needed break from these traumatic conditions. "We hope that this will be the first trip of many for Palestinian children to come to Ireland for respite and that the fundraising will continue," said the IPSC spokesperson. Donations can be made directly to the Galway IPSC bank account called Galway Palestine Solidarity at AIB Bank, Tuam Rd, account number 03910029, sort code 93 74 52.

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