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Finding New Life Through Wood Carving in Bethlehem
A severely injured young man finds hope and new life through Christian aid.
by Gladys Terichow

The ancient tradition of carving olive wood brings hope and fulfilment to a 24-year-old paraplegic man from the Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem who recently received international recognition for outstanding achievements.

Mu’in Al-Atrash used the skills he learned through a MCC-supported program to open a woodcarving shop in Bethlehem, West Bank.
Photo, courtesy Jessica Hulsey.

The second place award presented by the Palestine International Award for Excellence and Creativity in the special needs category recognizes Mu’in Al-Atrash’s tenacity to learn and perfect wood carving skills, overcome personal challenges and reach out to others living with disabilities.

Al-Atrash attributes his success to the support he received from the staff and volunteers of the East Jerusalem YMCA rehabilitation program in Beit Sahour, a program supported by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). With the right support, people with disabilities can meet the challenges that they have to face, he said.

In 2004, Al-Atrash was a university student studying geography and working part-time as a clerk at the court office in Bethlehem. He was shot while participating in a protest rally and sustained major spinal cord injuries. After one month in a coma and many months of hospitalization, it was clear that he would spend the rest of his life as a paraplegic.

“It was very hard for me to accept the fact that I would be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life,” he said. “I felt bitter and depressed. I felt that my life was over.”

Al-Atrash had to drop out of university and lost his independence because the university, buses and commercial shops are not wheelchair accessible.

He also lost his dreams of getting married and having a family. “Our society doesn’t accept the idea of a man having a female friend to go through things like this with you,” he said.

Counselling and vocational training provided by the East Jerusalem YMCA rehabilitation program helped him deal with his anger and depression.

“The psychological support I received from this program changed my life,” he said. “That is the best thing that happened to me. If I was still angry and couldn’t accept my condition it would be hard for me to find a vocation.”

He soon discovered the joys of woodworking and used the skills he learned in the YMCA workshop to open his own woodworking shop and start his own business, carving nativity scenes and Christmas tree ornaments.

“The most rewarding part is finding the best olive wood that I can to make the piece beautiful,” said Al-Atrash, explaining that the varying grain in olive wood and the distinctive red pigment make every wood carving a work of art.

The most challenging part of owning his own business, he added, is marketing his products. Although the streets in Bethlehem are not wheelchair accessible, he uses his wheelchair to take his wood carvings to shops in Bethlehem where they are sold. His products are also sold in the YMCA craft shop.

The personal satisfaction of achieving greater personal independence inspired him to employ people with disabilities—he currently employs two people who have speech and hearing impairments.

“I want to give people with special needs an opportunity to be productive so that they don’t feel like a burden on society,” he said.

Looking toward the future, Al-Atrash would like to help the YMCA start a project that would provide employment for people with disabilities. To lessen feelings of isolation he would like to see participants work outside their home but he envisions that this project would also make it possible for people with disabilities to work from their homes.

MCC has been supporting the YMCA rehabilitation program since 1989. MCC also supports YMCA’s training program for women.

Gladys Terichow is a writer for Mennonite Central Committee.

Originally published on the Mennonite Central Committee website, July 2009.

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