Pilgrimage Despite Conflicts in the Middle East

The occurrences that I am going to relay today took place back in February. I know that it may seem to be "old news" but we were asked to provide information on how and if the revolts in the Middle East were affecting our chosen country and I find this story relevant to that topic.

I'm sure that most are aware of the 25 Chilean miners that were trapped underground for 69 days and rescued back in October. After being rescued the miners have been invited on many trips including going to Disneyworld in Florida and being the guests of honor of the Manchester United soccer team in Britain.

At the end of February, the group left for a week long visit to Israel accompanied by partners or family members. Arrangements for the group to tour Israel as guests of the Israeli government had been made prior to the upheaval in the Middle East and the current mayhem did not deter the miners. Many of them viewed the trip overseas as a pilgrimage, an opportunity to thank God for their miraculous rescue.

Jimmy Sánchez, the youngest of the Chilean miners trapped last year, and his wife at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem





The group toured the holy sites of the Old City in Jeruselam, Israel’s national Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem, the Dead Sea, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee,and the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

The trip was planned as a way to improve public relations and promote religious tourism to the area. Taking recent events into account I feel that a spike in religious tourism seems highly unlikely. I am even surprised that the miners did not choose to post pone their excursion overseas. For these Chileans the revolt and chaos in the Middle East was not of concern. I think it would be interesting to see if other citizens of Chile are still traveling abroad despite the current conditions.