Mennonite Weekly Review

BEIT SAHOUR, East Jerusalem — A 24-year-old paraplegic man from the Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem received international recognition for his olive wood carvings.

Mu’in Al-Atrash used the skills he learned through an MCC-supported program to open a woodcarving shop in Bethlehem. — Photo by Jessica Hulsey/MCC

The second-place award presented by the Palestine International Award for Excellence and Creativity in the special needs category honors Mu’in Al-Atrash for his skills in the ancient tradition of olive wood carving, his overcoming challenges and outreach 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. With the right support, people with disabilities can meet the challenges that they 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 by Israeli soldiers while participating in a protest rally and sustained major spinal cord injuries. After a month in a coma and many months of hospitalization, he learned 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 dropped 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.

Counseling 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. “If I was still angry and couldn’t accept my condition it would be hard for me to find a vocation.”

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