Bla Agenda will be proposing a Christmas special tomorrow, straight from Bethlehem, featuring exclusive interviews and footage. What started as a whim developed into a full production, produced by Joe Mifsud, who was accompanied by the Gozo Bishop Mgr Mario Grech, his assistant Rev. Eddie Zammit, together with Pierre Cachia, Alvin Scicluna and Chris Pisani

The programme will feature interviews with Maltese people who reside in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, and with the protagonists who lived through the siege of the Nativity Church in 2002, when a group of militants sought refuge in the church. These include Fr Ibrahim Faltas, who has recently published a book about the events that gripped worldwide attention for 49 days.

Other exclusive interviews were filmed within Israel’s Parliament, featuring Yossi Beilin, Israel’s Vice-Prime Minister Shimon Peres and the deputy speaker Collette Avital. Bla Agenda also interviewed the mayor of Bethlehem, who commented upon the hardships of the people living in Bethlehem, and paid a visit to the University of Bethlehem and witnessed how Muslim and Christian students co-exist within the occupied lands.

However, the highlight of the programme will undoubtedly be the reflections made by Gozo Bishop Mgr Mario Grech as he commented about the significance of these festivities while touring the different landmarks associated with the life of Christ, including a mass which he celebrated in Bethlehem’s Grotto.

Aired on ONE TV tomorrow at 8:35pm, Bla Agenda is proposing a unique experience to try to recapture the true meaning of Christmas, far from the shining light of commercialism.