6 October 2011, 12:57 | Religious intolerance and vandalism |  | 0 |   | Code for Blog |  | 

A Ukrainian pilgrim received back a broken one-meter long wooden crucifix at the airport when he returned from the Holy Land on October 5. According to him, the crucifix was shattered by representatives of the El Al airline at the Ben Hurion Airport of Israel. The large wooden cross was broken into several parts and the right arm of Jesus was torn apart. The matter was investigated at the site by Dzvinka Tykha.

According to the owner of the shrine, Director of the Pilgrim Center of the Mother of God of Perpetual Help Volodymyr Klymenko, the personnel at the airport did not allow him to include the crucifix in the hand luggage. “Despite all my insisting, the airport workers did not allow me to include the crucifix in my hand luggage. Moreover, they assured that it will be transported with care. I agreed but upon arrival, they gave me back not the crucifix but its pieces,” said the pilgrim. The crucifix was presented to him by an Arab friend from Bethlehem.

According to representatives of the Search Service of the Boryspil Airport, acts of sacrilege were committed against Christian shrines, especially the crucifix, in the past  as well. “During the time of my work at the airport, it has been the second such incident. Priests once carried a large crucifix and upon arrival, it was also broken,” said one of the workers, Oleksii Makarenko.

Representatives of the search service explained that the airline carries responsibility for the luggage. The officials at the representative office of the airline at the airport refered the pilgrim to the main office and promised that he will be able to receive financial compensation after the consideration of the question. Volodymyr Klymenko submitted a written application and took pictures of the pieces of the crucifix.

According to the pilgrim, the representatives of the airline deliberately committed a sacrilege against the crucifix. “It is a durable, good quality one-meter long crucifix. Actually, even if it was a fragile thing, it is a shrine and when they include it in the general luggage, they should bear responsibility for it.”