A personal account which gives us some hope…
Pem Rutgers, The Hague. August 22, 2006
We had dinner the other night with the Irish youth leader Mark of the Anglican Church who is leaving us after two years, and the assistant chaplain Rosy.
Rosy asked directly whether we thought BBC (World) is biased in reporting on the crisis/war. My husband Bram said: “Well they surely have a lot more reporters on location in Lebanon.” And Mark said wholeheartedly: “They are. It is disgraceful.”
We started to discuss nations’ sympathies and confusements. Each one labouring under its own particular historical burden.
Mark the Irishman living in the North growing up amidst a religious bloody conflict and working now with youth will participate in the next youth camp for Israeli and Palestinian teenagers we are preparing for coming summer. He has been involved in encounters between people from opposite sides. These camps are drops in the ocean. But a grain in the earth can shoot up and become big when fully grown. Just need careful tending.
Our first experience in the summer of 2004 has given us hope. Kids from “opposite sides” staying with families with teenage children, sharing a room: even sharing one double bed feel more or less safe in the context of a camp and families. They could bring out their emotions and fears, their griefs and losses. Could mourn together. While doing a lot of fun things in the open air as well.
Finally on the way from the lakes North to The Hague in the bus they had a group encounter which started naturally and spontaneously. And after that they were inseparable.
When a politician from the European Union came to speak to them about keeping peace etc. they opposed him together. In doing this together, being in agreement that you can not compare the European détente with the Middle East, they experienced for the first time - as one kid said - unity and togetherness.
One Israeli girl and a girl from Bethlehem have since then gone on holiday together in Ireland, speaking to a youth conference. Tina (Bethlehem) shared a room with Orit and said to her: “You have soldiers eyes.” And Orit retorted: “And you carry bombs”. At the final meeting during a farewell service they said confidentially: “We are the generation that will make peace.” We all sat with thick tears in our eyes.
They followed this up by making music together which they had done all along while at camp. The youth leaders were skilled young people from Israel and the leader was a Palestinian from Bethlehem. They all work with an organisation in Jerusalem by name of Musalaha. The director is Salim Munayer.
Salim has recently written a piece on “Discernment and reconciliation in the fogs of the war”.
No need to say anything, I just want, as Ralph Prins ( survivor of the camps) and a great artist, just turned 80, calls it: “Light a candle’s flame in the dark.” Like you three are doing.
Indeed, "hate talk” we do not need. Let’s follow David’s example and turn a deaf ear and go one step further as he does, by not allowing that kind of talk in our own houses
