For the majority of the 125,000 international pilgrims in Sydney, the 10th World Youth Day (WYD) is a chance to meet new friends. But for a handful, it is also a time of prayer for change back in their own homelands.
Such is the case for a group of 10 Catholic Palestinians from Jerusalem. They travelled to Sydney with a message of hope that peace will one day be a reality in the Holy Land.
Representing a music and dance group symbolically named Raja, which in Arabic means hope, the group’s leader Suheil says they are the only group in Jerusalem that plays Christian music.
“That is what we try to proclaim – peace, joy, hope. There is hope on the other side. Not to lose hope because of where we are living,” said Suheil, as he prepared to perform at a Wednesday night WYD concert at Darling Harbour.
