[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 146 (Monday, October 25, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2169]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CAMERA AND BASKETBALL HOOPS HELP BRIDGE CULTURAL GAP BETWEEN WEST 
                      VIRGINIANS AND PALESTINIANS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. NICK J. RAHALL II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 25, 1999

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to submit for the 
Record an article which appeared in the Beckley, WV, Register-Herald, 
on October 17, 1999.
  As you will note from reading this article, 10 men from Beckley and 2 
from Huntington, WV, representing the Memorial Baptist Church and the 
Fellowship of Christian Athletes recently visited Gaza and the West 
Bank in the Middle East, where they used some very common skills to 
build friendships with Palestinians.
  The Reverend Paul Blizzard, who lead the group on the mission to Gaza 
and the West Bank, said that his visit was to show their love for the 
Palestinian people and to extend a helping hand in any way they could. 
And they did so in a most astonishing but effective manner--with a 
camera and basketball hoops. Aided by Bernard Bostick, coach at the 
Beckley-Stratton Junior High School, and Mike White, area director of 
the fellowship of Christian athletes, the West Virginians worked with 
basketball camps to help the youths develop their sports emphasis.
  While the language barrier was present--West Virginians don't speak 
Arabic as a rule, and few Palestinians speak English--they found hand 
signals often worked just as well as words--and learned all over again 
that kids are kids and people are people no matter where they are when 
it comes to sports.
  The camera was wielded by Rod Carney who owns the Grace Book Store in 
Beckley, and John Brown, a computer specialist with the Mine Safety and 
Health Administration in Mount Hope, WV, who took pictures of the 
basketball games and of families. Mr. Carney noted that ``family is 
very important in Palestine, and they don't have any way of getting 
pictures made of themselves. Many families have been separated and it 
means a lot to them to have family portraits made or to even have 
individual pictures of family members.'' The film will be developed in 
Huntington and the photos sent to the Baptist workers in the West Bank 
for distribution among the families.
  Reverend Blizzard noted that ``there is so much bad press and 
misleading information about Palestinians. We see all the rock-throwing 
and terrorism and are led to believe those acts characterize the people 
there. It just is not true. The Palestinian people are the most 
hospitable, loving people you would ever want to meet.''
  One of the highlights of the trip was the personal meeting with 
President Yasir Arafat during the visit. There was a prayer, and an 
exchange of gifts, with President Arafat giving the group a Nativity 
set with the inscription Bethlehem 2000 as a gift from Gaza, and the 
West Virginia group gave the President a gift of the world-famous West 
Virginia Glass, a Bible and a West Virginia Lapel Pin from Governor 
Cecil Underwood. President Arafat told the group they would be welcome 
again anytime they desire to visit Palestine.
  It was my pleasure to personally convey Rev. Blizzard's request to me 
to help arrange for a personal meeting with President Arafat. I was 
able to hand the request to President Arafat in person during his 
recent visit to Washington.
  It is Christian efforts such as those carried out by Rev. Blizzard 
and his group from the Beckley and Huntington Baptist Church and the 
Fellowship of Christian Athletes that can help us put an end to the 
mindless stereotyping of Palestinians and others of Arab-descent as 
bomb-throwing terrorists. I know Rev. Blizzard will continue his 
missionary work in Palestine in the years to come.
  As the Representative of Rev. Blizzard and the other 11 members of 
his group who made the trip, I am very proud to insert the newspaper 
article describing his experience in Palestine in the Congressional 
Record.

    Ten Men From Beckley, Two From Huntington, Used Skills to Build 
                     Friendships with Palestinians

                             (By Bev Davis)

       A Beckley group used a basketball, a camera to build 
     friendships in another part of the world.
       The Rev. Paul Blizard, pastor of Memorial Baptist Church in 
     Beckley, used contacts from previous trips to the Middle East 
     to arrange a 12-day visit to Gaza and the West Bank, where 10 
     men from Beckley and two from Huntington used some special 
     skills to build friendships with Palestinians there.
       ``There is so much bad press and misleading information 
     about Palestinians. We see all of the rock-throwing and 
     terrorism and are led to believe those acts characterize the 
     people there. It just is not true. The Palestinians we met 
     are the most hospitable, loving people you would ever want to 
     meet,'' Blizard said.
       The American team took gifts of food, shoes, sports 
     equipment and T-shirts.
       ``We gave over 100 pairs of shoes to a doctor who will 
     distribute them in a Bedouin camp in Gaza. The people are 
     very poor there. The shoes will enable the doctor to get 
     people to come to the clinic for vaccinations and other 
     medical services,'' Blizard said.
       The group also organized a three-fold plan to provide 
     several services to their Palestinian hosts.
       Bernard Bostick, a coach at Beckley-Stratton Junior High 
     School, and Mike White, area director of the Fellowship of 
     Christian Athletes, prepared themselves to work in basketball 
     camps, teaching new skills and helping the Palestinians 
     develop their sports emphasis.
       ``We met with a group of kids who didn't speak much 
     English, and we didn't know Arabic, but when the balls 
     started to bounce, there was one language,'' White said. ``We 
     used hand signals to explain techniques, and the expressions 
     on the faces of the players told us immediately they were 
     pleased with new moves they learned from Bernie. Kids are 
     kids, and people are people, no matter where they are. We had 
     a wonderful opportunity to get to know these groups, and it 
     was hard to leave.''
       A Baptist group arranged for Rod Carney, owner of Grace 
     Book Store in Beckley and John Brown, a computer specialist 
     with the Mine Safety and Health Administration in Mount Hope, 
     to take pictures of people living in the West Bank.
       ``Family is very important there, and they don't have any 
     way of getting pictures made. A lot of families have been 
     separated, and it means a lot to them to have family 
     portraits made or to even have individual pictures of family 
     members,'' Carney said.
       He shot 16 rolls of film and sent them to Huntington, where 
     a photo shop will develop the photographs at no charge and 
     send them back for Baptist workers in the West Bank to 
     distribute to the families there.
       ``We were in homes of people who had very little, and yet 
     they always welcomed us warmly and offered us food and 
     beverages. We knew sometimes they were offering us all they 
     had. We were all deeply touched by their hospitality,'' 
     Carney said.
       ``When people asked us why we came, we told them we believe 
     God wanted us to go there to show our love for the 
     Palestinian people and to extend a hand to help them in any 
     way we could,'' Brown said.
       Huntington Audiologist Tom Waybright accompanied the group 
     and did volunteer work in a school for the hearing-impaired.
       ``This was a unique opportunity to learn more about the 
     people and to provide a service for them,'' Blizard said. 
     ``Everywhere we went, people were so appreciative and they 
     just treated us like family.''
       One unexpected highlight was the opportunity to meet with 
     Palestinian National Authority President Yasser Arafat and 
     exchange greetings and gifts with him, Blizard added.
       ``Through the efforts of Abu Tariq, the president's 
     personal representative, our whole group was invited into the 
     national headquarters to meet him. We talked with him and 
     prayed with him. We gave him gifts from Gov. Cecil 
     Underwood's office--lapel pins in the shape of the state of 
     West Virginia and a piece of glass from our state. The 
     president gave us a Nativity set with the inscription 
     ``Bethlehem 2000'. One of our men gave him a Bible. It was 
     quite an experience for all of us,'' Blizard said.
       ``It was reported the next day that Arafat enjoyed our 
     visit very much and he sent word that we are welcome again,'' 
     Blizard said.
       Several of the men said they would like to go back.
       ``We have made wonderful friends in the Middle East and are 
     eager to see them again. We have come to love the Palestinian 
     people, and we look forward to our return there,'' Blizard 
     said.

     

                          ____________________