When Bethlehem deportees Mohamed and Mamdouh arrived in Athens, little did they know that they were arriving in Europe's most pro-Palestinian country. They gave an exclusive interview in Athens to Iason Athanasiadis Emerging from the Church of the Nativity, their prison for more than 40 days, Mohamed Al-Mohanna and Mamduh Al- Wardiyan embarked on a trip that has taken them across the Mediterranean to Cyprus and finally Greece. After spending six weeks in Bethlehem, cowering from the crosshairs of Israeli snipers, Mohamed and Mamdouh are now in Greece, one of Europe's most pro-Palestinian countries. "We left Palestine and we arrived in Palestine. The Greeks received us with warm hospitality," says Mohamed. The two have been in Greece for two weeks, recovering after being besieged by Israeli troops in the Church of the Nativity and another week spent in a Cyprus hotel encircled by the international media. During their 40-day ordeal they were forced to sustain themselves on leaves and drink brackish water after their supplies ran out. Meanwhile, they endured ear-piercing recordings of caterwauling cats and dogs, aimed at depriving them of sleep and psychologically breaking them. Their link to the outside world and their worried families were their mobile phones which they kept charged by hooking them up to car batteries. Their ordeal has left them feeling ever more bitter about Israel. Athens -- which did not exchange diplomatic ties with Israel until 1991 -- has been displaying enthusiastic support for the Palestinian cause in recent months, particularly after Israel's re-occupation of self- rule areas in the West Bank and Gaza on 29 March. A recent gallop poll revealed that 94 per cent of Greeks were against Israel's recent invasion of the occupied West Bank, 85 per cent held a negative opinion of Ariel Sharon and 69 per cent supported Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. The contrast between Mamdouh and Mohamed -- followed everywhere they go by plain-clothes police in three police cars and two motorcycles -- is startling. While Mamdouh peppers his speech with religious terms, and quotes from the Qur'an, and only recently shaved off his beard, Mohamed strolls in wearing a breezy Lacoste T-shirt and sporting a trim haircut. Mamdouh opts to speak in stilted, modern standard Arabic -- a sophisticated variety of the language used by diplomats, journalists and academics -- while Mohamed plumps for Palestinian colloquial. Initially reserved, the two become increasingly engaged as they recall the time they spent inside the church. In addressing Israeli accusations that they are both dangerous militants, Mohamed speaks up: "The Israelis will accuse every man, woman, child, tree and stone of terrorism. Before the siege, Mamdouh was in the middle of a university degree. He entered the church unarmed." This is a claim that has been corroborated by a Greek monk in the Church of the Nativity. Quoted in the mass circulation Greek daily To Ethnos, Father Vissarion said that he never saw Mamdouh carrying a gun while Mohamed, who was armed, respected the sanctity of the place and never once fired from within the church. "We endured hunger, tiredness, sleep deprivation, our friends being shot dead before our eyes and their bodies rotting inside the church for four weeks because the Israelis would not take custody of the bodies," says Mamdouh. "When the Israelis shot the church's mentally retarded bell-ringer, he bled to death because they stopped ambulances from going to his aid," adds Mohamed. "We didn't dare draw water from the external well because we knew that we would pay for our thirst with our lives," Mamdouh says. In all, eight of the besieged were killed and 28 wounded. "The Israelis refused to take those who were killed so we put their bodies into wooden boxes, shut them firmly and stored them away from where we were sitting," Mohamed says. Now, the two Palestinians are settling down to new lives in Greece. Despite a confrontation between Israel and the Greek government over the future of the two men, Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou told Al-Ahram Weekly, "We took them in with the understanding that we were under no obligation to hand them back to the Israelis." Giannis Maggriotis, the deputy foreign minister, concurs, adding, "The current confrontation between Greece and Israel is a thorn that must be stifled. We do not intend to give them (the Palestinians) back as we feel that they may be mistreated by the Israelis -- the matter must be forgotten." Mamdouh says, "If we are to go back to Palestine, we will return free men," to an enthusiastic nod by Mohamed who adds, "I doubt that Greece will send us back to Israel. After all, you don't take someone in only to send them back later." The two men are starting Greek lessons and have been given work permits by the Greek government. Study remains their first priority. Mamdouh points out that a university degree is as good a liberation tool as an assault rifle and that obtaining it will be, for him, the greatest struggle he can wage for his country. Meanwhile, Palestinian representative in Athens Abdullah Abdullah maintains, "Without a doubt, our first priority is their safety. As you know, over the last few years the Israeli Mossad has murdered many members of the Palestinian movement."
