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July 9, 2004
Peace leaders in training
Summer program brings together Middle Eastern and local youth.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
Transformation happens when people begin to listen to each other
and know that someone cares about what they think and what they
feel." This is part of the philosophy behind Peace it Together,
an intitiative that will bring Canadian, Israeli and Palestinian
youth together in Vancouver to help foster a "sense of love
and forgiveness among people who are supposed to be enemies."
Reena Lazar, the project's main co-ordinator, shared this vision
with some 100 people who attended an information session June 27
at the Roundhouse Community Centre. She was joined by several Peace
it Together volunteers and supporters, including three Vancouverites
from different cultural backgrounds who briefly described how they
became involved in the project: Abir Saadi, Yuval Maduel and May
Siksik. CBC correspondent Terry Milewski related stories of his
more than 20 years experience covering the Middle East.
Peace it Together is a program for 14- to 16-year-old local Jewish
and Arab youth, Israelis and Palestinians. Taking place from Aug.
5 to 23, scheduled activities include daily sessions on building
communication and leadership skills, daily workshops focused on
art, music and theatre, guided wilderness excursions and other activities.
It also comprises community-wide events once or twice a week, which
are geared toward improving the relationship within and between
the local Arab and Jewish communities.
Saadi, a Palestinian Israeli with family in Jerusalem, said she
has lost friends on both sides of the conflict – on a bus explosion
in Jerusalem and in incidents in Bethlehem. In an environment of
violence and hatred, "I chose to live differently," she
said, noting that when people actually meet someone from "the
other side," a lot of the boundaries come down.
Maduel and Siksik echoed this sentiment. Maduel – who last
year started a social group with Palestinian friend Adri Hamael
to try and bridge the gap between their two peoples – hopes
that Peace it Together participants will develop relationships in
which it doesn't matter whether they are Israeli or Palestinian.
Siksik, who grew up in Gaza, where it was "normal to hear bombs
and bullets and breathe tear gas" and where the "soldiers
represented Israelis," moved beyond her perspective of the
situation by attending a peace camp in Europe at age 15. Now, at
29, she still believes that such camps make a difference to the
kids who attend them, the people the kids know and to the world.
Peace it Together is the Creative Peace Network's first initiative
in bringing youth together to break down barriers to coexistence
and collaboration. In partnership with the Arab Educational Institute
in Bethlehem and the Adam Institute in Jerusalem, the Creative Peace
Network program is designed so that the impacts will last long after
the summer. The Arab Educational and Adam institutes helped select
the Middle Eastern participants for the program and they are creating
year-long programs to carry on the dialogue and activities after
the August camp.
The stated aim of Peace it Together, which is co-sponsored by the
Laurier Institution (www.thelaurier.ca),
is that it will give participants and community members an opportunity
to overcome stereotypes and see each other's humanity, increase
awareness about the conflict and its impacts, foster collaboration
to work toward a common goal, and become inspired and empowered
community leaders.
There will be eight peace camp programs in North America this summer,
two of which will take place in Canada for the first time: Peace
it Together and Peace Camp Canada, which will take place in Ottawa
(peacecampcanada.org).
The camps work, said Lazar, who has been involved in other such
ventures, "because they create safe places for people to express
themselves fully, emotions, opinions, creativity."
Ten youth are confirmed for the August session in Vancouver: five
from Jerusalem and five from the Bethlehem area. Lazar told the
Bulletin that organizers would like to add two more Middle
Eastern participants, if enough funds can be raised to do so. There
are four spaces still available for local youth – more information
and the application form are available at www.creativepeacenetwork.ca.
Other ways in which the community can participate in Peace it Together
include being a home-stay host and contributing funds to the program.
In her remarks at the June information session, Lazar described
a donation to Peace it Together as an investment in "a long-term
strategy of building a constituency for peace among Israelis and
Palestinians and improving the relationship between Jews and Arabs
in general." Funders are also "contributing to the long-term
investment in future Arab and Jewish leaders who will be prepared
to make peace more than a piece of paper and to sustain it once
a political solution occurs," she said.
The June meeting included live music by Itamar Erez, Emad Armoush
and Boris Sichon, as well as a silent auction with items ranging
from an evening of child care to furniture from Hafatzim to a book
on Pnina Granier by Ted Lindberg and a painting by Rina Vizer.
"At least 100 people representing a very diverse group have
given their financial or in-kind support to make this program a
reality," said Lazar, but more is needed. Quoting an Israeli
graduate from the Seeds of Peace program, Lazar concluded by saying,
"We spend billions of dollars every day preparing for the possibility
of war, but we spend nothing preparing for the possibility of peace."
She appealed to the audience to partner with her and join the movement
toward sustained peace.
Those interested in more information about Peace it Together, as
well as volunteering and funding opportunities, should contact Lazar
at 604-222-0417 or visit the Creative Peace Network Web site.
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