THE Youth Magazine of Seeds of Peace OLIVE BRANCH Spring 2012 Volume XIII Issue I SPECIAL FOCUS Voices of the People Face to Face INDIA and PAKISTANCamp AFGHANISTAN ... plus hoisting sail with Seas of Peace Spring 2012 Volume XIII, Issue I The Olive Branch is a magazine written, edited and produced by youth from regions of conflict who are part of the Seeds of Peace program. All opinions expressed on these pages are those of the Seeds who write for and edit the magazine and are not necessarily shared by Seeds of Peace, the United States Department of State, The Olive Branch, or its staff. 4 PROGRAMS IN PICTURES The Olive Branch Staff A look at Seeds of Peace activities around the world. Eric Kapenga, Editor Eli Steinberg & Lama Mashni, CAMP JOURNAL Assistant Editors 12 Extracts from the diary of an Egyptian Seed All submissions are the property at the International Camp. of Seeds of Peace and may be edited for length, content or style. FACE TO FACE Send correspondence to 14 [email protected]. Seed initiates project to bring together Indian, The Olive Branch is designed by Pakistani students via Skype. Eric Kapenga. It is made possible by a grant from the US Department of State. VOICES OF THE PEOPLE Special thanks to Molly Moses and 16 South Asia Seeds gather Emma Follender. humanizing stories. Seeds of Peace SEAS OF PEACE 20 15 Seeds learn to sail John Wallach, Founder a 140-foot schooner Leslie A. Lewin, Executive Director off the coast of Maine. Program Staff/Regional Offices FIRST PERSON 23 Sajjad Ahmad, Ahmad Wali Arian, Palestinian Seed & journalist Claire Dibsi Ayed, Awista Ayub, reflects on arrest, time Sarah Brajtbord, Eva Armour, in an Israeli military prison. Mohammed Isleem, Eric Kapenga, Eldad Levy, Feruzan Mehta, THE INTERVIEW Daniel Moses, Mohammed 26 Mahatma Gandhi’s great- Nassereddin, Eyal Ronder, grandson answers your Sarah Rubin, Ethan Schechter, questions. Wil Smith, Omar Tayeh, Tim Wilson, Ashleigh Zimmerman, Adar Ziegel Regional Coordinators COVER DEPARTMENTS PHOTO CREDITS: Ghassan Faqes, Adi Finkelstein, AWISTA AYUB, 3 from the editors Tamer Omari SAJJAD AHMAD, 3 contributor map SHAHZAIB SAJID, 6 letters SEAS OF PEACE BACK COVER ART: 10 seeds in the lead ALEX (AC) COHEN 24 poems Seeds of Peace is a non-profit, non- political organization that inspires and equips new generations of leaders from regions of conflict with the relationships, understanding, and skills needed to advance lasting peace. Since 1993, Seeds of Peace has set the standard in international peace- building by providing exceptional young people and educators from regions of conflict with an otherwise impossible opportunity to meet their historic enemies face-to-face at our International Camp in Maine. We then build on their extra-ordinary and critical relationships and understanding through year-round local programs. 2 The Olive Branch Spring 2012 contents From the editors T HAS BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE LAST PUBLISHED an issue of the Olive Branch, and we are very excited to present to you this edition, full of reports and reflections from Seeds of Peace members. This issue focuses on what our peers in South Asia haveI been doing. Seeds from Mumbai, Lahore and Kabul are among our most active members and are constantly seeking to break down barriers within and between their societies. Seeds of Peace is about to enter its 20th year. Since 1993, when a few dozen young boys from the Middle East attended Camp, this organization has grown to include hundreds and then thousands of young people from around the world. These Seeds not only go through a life-changing experience themselves, but have the ability to help We have been active members of Seeds of Peace shape the minds of people in their home countries for over a decade (yes, we’re old!), and we hope the regarding the conflict most of them were born into stories you read in this edition and change their communities for the better. We are will encourage you to take part delighted to see that so many Seeds choose to turn in and support this amazing, their three-week Camp experience into something much constantly growing larger. organization. taibeh tulkarem where this issue’s tira jenin ramallah contributors are rockland, maine jerusalem new york cairo hebron from philadelphia amman lahore washington, d.c. ramat hasharon mumbai detroit tel aviv helena, montana ashqelon kabul stanford, california modi’in maccabim-re’ut KEY SEEDS OF PEACE TERMS high and low ropes course elements to challenge Seeds and reinforce trust and communication. SEEDS: Members of Seeds of Peace whose COLOR GAMES: A three-day period of athletic participation begins when they attend the organization’s and artistic competition between two teams—Green summer camp in the US state of Maine. and Blue—each consisting of members of many DELEGATIONS: Seeds attend Camp as members of delegations. Color Games intensifies all aspects of the an official delegation. This year, those delegations are Seeds of Peace program and takes teamwork, trust, from Egypt, India, Israel, Jordan, Pakistan, Palestine, the communication and leadership to a new level. United States, Maine and Syracuse (New York). BINATIONAL: A Seeds of Peace event held back home DIALOGUE: Daily 105-minute sessions run by in the conflict region for Seeds from two delegations. professional facilitators during which Seeds share their This type of event will usually include dialogue sessions. own perspectives on conflict-related issues and listen to UNINATIONAL: An event for Seeds from only one campers from the “other side” of the conflict. delegation. This type of event allows Seeds to address GROUP CHALLENGE: A series of activities that issues within their communities and prepare for parallels the dialogue process and uses an array of binational (or multinational) activities. The Olive Branch Spring 2012 3 Programs multinational | petra uninational | lahore AN MEHTA Z , FERU AJID multinational | atlantic multinational | london uninational | lahore S AIB Z HAH uninational | ramallah multinational | mumbai , ORI BOGAIRE, MAY WEINBERG, ETHAN SCHECHTER, S , ORI BOGAIRE, MAY OWSKI Z Y Z R K ARION binational | jerusalem uninational | kabul multinational | mumbai , SARAH RUBIN, M EWIN L ESLIE , L OCKE L LEX uninational | detroit binational | portland binational | jerusalem uninational | hebron binational | jerusalem multinational | maine multinational | aqaba uninational | haifa 4 A SAJJAD AHMAD, MADELEINE PRYOR, AYUB, AWISTA A CHILD’S HEART, PHOTO CREDITS: ERIC KAPENGA, ALIA LAHLOU, SAVE binational | tel aviv binational | jerusalem binational | jerusalem uninational | lahore binational | lahore binational | haifa binational | jerusalem uninational | lahore binational | tel aviv binational | jerusalem binational | jerusalem uninational | lahore uninational | kabul binational | haifa binational | haifa multinational | white house multinational | mumbai uninational | haifa uninational | lahore 5 CHANGING MINDS At Camp, I started to distinguish be- After participating in the eye-open- tween two kinds of people within the ing experience of Camp, it felt more same system. Not all Israelis are the Letters like an obligation than a task to same as the ones who, back home, [email protected] spread the message of Seeds of endanger my life with their weapons. Peace. But some minds are easier to I found this amazing and odd and change than others. interesting all at the same time. After numerous attempts, I found With each and every Israeli I met, myself unable to change the mind of I managed to communicate not with one particularly persistent friend of violence but with words, something mine. All reasoning, all efforts failed, that is very unusual in real life. creating no impact at all. What I learned at Camp would I didn’t want to tell him what to have taken me years and years think; I knew that no one telling me to understand on my own. I now what to think made any difference. believe that what Israelis and Pales- But every insult against Pakistan and tinians each see isn’t the complete Pakistanis sent a shot of pain searing picture. But Seeds of Peace shows us through my heart; each racist joke the full image. burned my ears, filling every fiber in I never thought that peace was my body with rage. even on the table. But through Seeds I felt like taking him by the shoul- of Peace, I managed to achieve with ders, shaking him, and saying, Israelis what our governments haven’t “Wake up! Open up your mind! in 63 years! Can’t you see how much you’re miss- George (Jenin) ing out on because you’re scared of what will happen if you don’t have SUMMER WITH THE ENEMY enemies to blame?” It took me fifteen years to meet the After hours of constant arguing, we enemy, only to find that the enemy would call it a day. A sleepless night was me. Just by being who I am guaranteed, I would lie on my bed through my heritage, I was thought thinking: if I can’t change the mind of as the enemy, both in other of one headstrong 14 year old, people’s perceptions and in my own how am I supposed to convince the unacknowledged prejudices against whole of India to see beyond what them. First I reacted with confusion, their brains have been hardwired then anger, and then finally with to think all these years? Sometimes empathy and the beginnings of I wish all the world had been to understanding. Camp. It would certainly make my What sets Seeds of Peace apart life easier. But the best things aren’t from other summer camps are the easy—you have to work for them. daily 105 minute dialogue sessions And peace is certainly something in which campers from each conflict worth working for. region participate. During these A wise Seed once said, “We can’t sessions, 15 to 20 campers sit in a change what we are, but we can circle in a hut discussing the politics, change the way we live already, we histories, and identities of groups that can take our lives in our hands once shape their conflict.