The Little Town of Bethlehem is not celebrating
\nIt was the first to be hit by a virus so invading
\nTourists carried it during a flourishing season
\nCausing a complete lockdown of all the region<\/p>\n
Easter has gone and now it\u2019s Christmas time
\nIt\u2019s getting worse and the virus is in its prime
\nThe Christmas tree stands lonely in the square
\nNo choirs or pilgrims, a scene so sad and rare<\/p>\n
With the news of the vaccine, hope is rising
\nHolding onto hope for us \u00a0is not surprising
\nHope has been the secret of our surviving
\nDespite the occupation ever so brutalizing<\/p>\n
As we face this monster of a pandemic altogether
\nThe least we can do is to \u00a0be kind to each other
\nMay \u00a0the spirit of Christmas continue to prevail
\nAnd may \u00a0justice, \u00a0peace and liberation tip the scale<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Samia-Khoury.jpeg\")
<\/a>Dr. Samia Khoury is currently the Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research at the American University of Beirut. Since October 2011, she has served as the Director of the Abu Haidar Neuroscience Institute, Director of Nehme and Therese Tohme Multiple Sclerosis Center at AUBMC, the first MS (Multiple Sclerosis) center in the region, and Director of the research lab specialized in MS and immunology. She is a professor of neurology at the American University of Beirut. From 2009-2013 she was the Jack, Sadie, and David Breakstone professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and served as the co-Director of the Partners Multiple Sclerosis Center, Boston since 2001. In 2007, Dr. Khoury was awarded the prestigious Kuwait Prize for Sciences by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences for her work in immunology. In 2017, she received the CNRS Research Excellence award.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"