Denver family relieved peace activist is safe

By Kieran Nicholson

Denver Post Staff Writer

Saturday, May 11, 2002 - Friends and relatives of a 25-year-old Denver man who was holed up in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity expressed relief that the siege is over and pride in his role.

Larry Hales, a writer and recent graduate of the University of Colorado at Denver, was among a group of 10 international peace activists who slipped into the church on May 2 to deliver water and food to Palestinians and others inside.

Hales and the activists were led out of the church Friday and taken into custody by the Israeli military.

"It is a relief knowing he is out of the compound and not being held at gunpoint," said Hales' mother, Janice Holman. "They are not out of the country yet, but I do believe they are out of danger. It will be more of a relief once he is on a plane. I just want him to come home."

A local group, the Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace, sponsored Hales' flight to the Middle East.

He left Denver a couple of weeks ago, said Melissa Kleinman, Hales' girlfriend.

"I didn't know until he got into Israel that he would be trying to do that," said Kleinman, a student at Metropolitan State College of Denver. "I knew the objective of why he was going, but I didn't know the mission he was going to be on."

Kleinman said Hales, and a group that including three other Americans who sneaked into the church that eventually was under siege for 39 days, were on a peace mission to the war-torn area.

"To an extent I knew it was dangerous," said Kleinman. "At the same time, I was really proud of him - that he could act humanely and hear their stories. Their stories are really important."

Hales has an English degree and is the author of a book on ancestral folk tales, "The Voices Down Here," said Kleinman.

Kleinman said she expects Hales to write about his experience when he returns to Denver.

During his stay at the church, Hales made phone calls to the United States using a cellphone.

"I was thinking it couldn't be real. It's got to be a nightmare," said Holman about her son's involvement. "I had to sit down and think and see if this was really happening. It wasn't a good place to be."

The first contact Holman had from Hales from inside the church was a message left on her answering machine.

"The message he left me was that they had been shooting at the compound and there were bullet holes all over. They shot one guy while he was hanging his laundry," said Holman. "I had a lot of things running through my head. Is he going to be OK? Is he going to make it out?"

Holman said she tried to talk her son out of going on the trip before he left.

"But he has a mind of his own," said Holman. "He said, "Mom, I'm going.' And once he says he's going to do something, he does it."

Bob Kinsey, a longtime member of the Colorado campaign who contributed $50 to Hales' trip to Israel, said he was surprised that the young man found his way into the church.

"This guy never did anything like this, and I thought he might not be able to handle himself," said Kinsey. "He got right in there. I was surprised and pleased that he had that kind of courage."

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