Christine & Brian's Blog: What life is like here
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- Category: News
- Created: Sunday, 30 July 2006 17:55
- Published: Sunday, 30 July 2006 05:00
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In contrast to many of the other articles that have been printed about life in Haifa in recent days, here is the translation of an article that was printed yesterday in one of the largest newspapers in Israel. It gives a very accurate sense of what it is like to be at the Baha'i World Centre in Haifa right now:
At the Bahá’í Shrine, the routine is maintained
Even when the sirens don’t quit, the calm of the Bahá’í Shrine in Haifa is not effected. Even the lights are not turned off until midnight. “This is our way of uplifting the morale”, says a representative of the place, “perhaps the future is scary, but in the end the peace will come.”
{josquote}Even the 80 gardeners of the most beautiful well-kept gardens in the country don’t come to work. Now the heads of the community are worried about the health of the plants and beautiful flowers.{/josquote}Every evening, when the darkness falls, the lights of the Bahá’í Shrine are turned on and it is one of the most spectacular places in Israel. One might think that during the days of war, the Bahá’ís would dim the lights so that it wouldn’t turn the Shrine into a target for the Lebanese rockets, but the opposite is true. The illumination of the Shrine that looks over the Haifa bay and Lebanon are lit every day until midnight.
“This is our way to uplift the morale of the citizens of Haifa”, explained the Deputy Secretary of the Bahá’í organization, Murray Smith from New Zealand, “it is symbolic in our view, to keep the lights on in the darkness of war. I hope this message comes across.”
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