30th April. Every now and again, we realize that something from our past has disappeared but kites still exist and, above all, they still give lots of joy to children. The occasion to see them was the inauguration of the last part of the sea-front which from Tel Aviv goes south to the new city of Bat Yam, founded and which has grown up with the state of Israel, passing through the ancient city of Jaffa which has so many stories to tell.
The Town Council decided to celebrate the conclusion of the works, as well as with the presence of the authorities, with the joyful presence of children and their kites. Before the works, this part of the seafront of Jaffa was inaccessible because of the piles of rubbish, rubble, stones, remains of the old houses of Jaffa that had been razed to the ground for various reasons. After lengthy redevelopment, a place has now been created on the sea-front where families can stroll, spend quiet hours on the grass with a splendid view of the sea. It is a real paradise for children and there are a lot of children in Jaffa, especially Arab children.
A few days before the event, an art teacher came to our school. She had been sent by the council and taught and helped the children in the seventh year to make the kites with different materials from those of many years ago. The children were very excited and on the date, together with other school groups, they filled the green hills, near the blue of the sea and the sky and then from the sea-front they flew their beautiful kites in the sky. Everybody looked upwards to follow the acrobatics of their kites and all showed great enthusiasm. There was an atmosphere of sincere and natural joy, lots of serenity and great peace. The adults became children too: the kites carried high up into the sky, far from the earth, the emotions and aspirations of each person. They were a sign of freedom. The adults, Jews and Arabs, attracted by the inauguration of this large park near the sea at the service of the population, but above all the children of Jaffa, were delighted as they watched the kites flying.
I was there too: looking upwards to the infinity of the sky, following the flight of the kites, a profound peace could be felt. May there be many other days like this! How true it is that to reach peace you have to become simple like children. There’s nothing new in that, of course: Someone already said it, 2000 years ago.
Fr. Arturo Vasaturo ofm
Head of the Holy Land Secondary School - Jaffa
The Town Council decided to celebrate the conclusion of the works, as well as with the presence of the authorities, with the joyful presence of children and their kites. Before the works, this part of the seafront of Jaffa was inaccessible because of the piles of rubbish, rubble, stones, remains of the old houses of Jaffa that had been razed to the ground for various reasons. After lengthy redevelopment, a place has now been created on the sea-front where families can stroll, spend quiet hours on the grass with a splendid view of the sea. It is a real paradise for children and there are a lot of children in Jaffa, especially Arab children.
A few days before the event, an art teacher came to our school. She had been sent by the council and taught and helped the children in the seventh year to make the kites with different materials from those of many years ago. The children were very excited and on the date, together with other school groups, they filled the green hills, near the blue of the sea and the sky and then from the sea-front they flew their beautiful kites in the sky. Everybody looked upwards to follow the acrobatics of their kites and all showed great enthusiasm. There was an atmosphere of sincere and natural joy, lots of serenity and great peace. The adults became children too: the kites carried high up into the sky, far from the earth, the emotions and aspirations of each person. They were a sign of freedom. The adults, Jews and Arabs, attracted by the inauguration of this large park near the sea at the service of the population, but above all the children of Jaffa, were delighted as they watched the kites flying.
I was there too: looking upwards to the infinity of the sky, following the flight of the kites, a profound peace could be felt. May there be many other days like this! How true it is that to reach peace you have to become simple like children. There’s nothing new in that, of course: Someone already said it, 2000 years ago.
Fr. Arturo Vasaturo ofm
Head of the Holy Land Secondary School - Jaffa