I am Jiries Al-Sway,and I was born in 1927 in Beit Jala, the neighborhood of Bethlehem under an olive tree as I was told by my mother. I attended school up to seventh grade, then I had to work in order to help my family!
In the beginning I began selling gasoline in ounces, then at the age of 12 my uncle taught me the art of Oive Wood carvings, he used to pay me 5 Palestinian pennies a week during the British mandate.
At that time, we were very poor, we even used to sleep on a mat in a small cave. Our workshop consisted of a table, some simple tools, and a saw.
We used to change our place of work according to weather, rain and sun. At that time, we could not produce a lot of figures because everything was handmade. I remember that the first thing I began carving was a camel. This animal was the main way of transportation in the city beside donkeys.
We used to sell our few products to Pilgrims who came to Bethlehem in order to visit the church of Nativity, later on tourists were asking for more carvings, they used to pay us in Palestinian pounds.
During that period, living was extremely inexpensive. I remember that in 1939 I was very happy because I had put aside one Palestinian pound, and I could buy a sheep for half a pound.
Although we were poor, we felt happy,for we had to worry about nothing!! People were just used to sharing what they had as a result of our generous culture. By this behavior they were able to live as Jesus´ disciples had lived.
In the evening we used to meet, drink coffee,and chat, about our daily life. at the end of our evening we prayed to the Lord and thank him for his blessings.
I am now ninety years old, and I can’t work anymore, but I have taught my two sons this old craft which I am very proud of as my Palestinian heritage.
Unfortunately, nowadays living is very expensive, and we face many difficulties when selling our products, even our profit has gone down.
I just thought to share some of my experience with you before I die as I am an eye witness for the past and present.
God Bless.
Jiries Al-sway