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Peace Education Projects

Vacations from War

More than 16,500 young people could relax and enjoy -together with their supposed enemies

Steps toward the concrete utopia of a peaceful world using the examples of the Middle East and the Balkan wars.

Ten years ago the Committee for Basic Rights and Democracy (Cologne, Germany) started organizing summer camps for children and meetings between young people from war zones, financed by private "vacation-sponsorships" (each $ 130). All facilitators are volunteers, and there is no money from official institutions - only private donations.

Altogether over 16,500 children, youths and accompanying responsible adults, most of whom, refugees and orphans, are victims of the Balkan wars, have spent two weeks with their supposed enemies, eating at the same table, laughing, talking, and sometimes grieving together.

Our partner-organisations choose the children who either are orphans and/or refugees and/or come from very poor families. In these groups we usually don't have an intentional peace-education-program. To meet the "others", to be curious, to enjoy life together, to listen to their points of views and perhaps see the own suffering in the mirror of the "enemy's" fate.

1. Summer-camps for children and youngsters from all parts of Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, Kosova/o and Macedonia on the beach (in Croatia, Montenegro and Lake Ohrid)

THAT PEACE CAN BE SO WONDERFUL - I COULDN'T IMAGINE BEFORE

(wrote a small boy from Bosnia)

The example of Bosnia

The situation in Bosnia hasn't become better because the money for reconstruction has been cut in order to invest in areas of the world that were damaged by wars after the conflicts in Bosnia.

Refugees have now been forced to go back to their homes which are often only a bunch of stones on land now surrounded by mine-fields. Some widows and children from Srebrenica would rather die than go back to the place of their torture and trauma.

Since many years we have been working on a reconciliation-project of highly symbolic importance: Every summer another group of 50 Muslim ( = Bosniac) children who were deported from Srebrenica to Tuzla in 1995 comes together with 50 displaced Serbian children from the Sarajewo-area -now living in Srebrenica, many of them in the houses of the Bosniacs. This still is a very delicate situation but all mothers agreed to their children taking part in this reconciliation-project. Meanwhile also some women from both sides are trying to build bridges in a dialogue-project (partner-organisations: Prijateljice Tuzla and Amica Srebrenica).

The example of Serbia

400 children from Serbia, who only recently had to hide from NATO-bombs, travelled again to the seaside at Bijlea/Montenegro in 1999 (Partner-organisation "Zdravo da ste" Belgrad and Banja Luka).

Sombor (North-Serbia) was the first target of the NATO-bombs, though this town always was in opposition to the Milosevic power-elite. Youngsters from the "Open Club" in Sombor came to the Adriatic Sea to recover together with young Croatians from Vukovar and East-Slavonia (Partner-organisation "Peace Center Osijek)

The example of Macedonia

An extraordinary meeting happens each summer in Ohrid (Macedonia). While in spring and summer 2000, the army and UCK (both sides supported by the Western States) were still fighting each other, expelling people and damaging their houses, the children from both sides of the battle-area (Romanovce) enjoyed "Vacation from War" together. All parents, Albanians and Slavic as well as Turkish and Roma (gypsy) minorities, decided to send their children together to Lake Ohrid as a symbol of resistance against hatred and propaganda. A newspaper in Skopje wrote about the camps: "The miracle from Ohrid." The children published a peace-appeal adressed to the adults (Partner-organisation: Nadez, Skopje).

CHILDREN FROM CRISIS-AREAS AND WAR ZONES APPEAL FOR PEACE, pdf-document

The example of Kosova/o

For years the most difficult problems in the Balkans are the summer-camps for Albanian and Serbian groups from Kosova/o in Montenegro, where fighting is still going on, especially in the divided city of Mitrovica. Even school-children, who have to pass the border-bridge twice a day are holding their arms up and turning forwards and backwards while soldiers move a metal detector over them searching for hidden weapons. We couldn't find a partner-organisation working on both sides of the town. Therefore in summer 2001 the groups went separately to different places in Montenegro. The next summer it was possible to give Serbian children from Mitrovica the opportunity to meet Albanian children from South-Kosova and vice versa. Last summer Serbian and Albanian women from another divided town (Rahovac) heard about the project and took the opportunity for their children to recover and to give them a chance for reconciliation. In Kosova/o the situation in the summer-camps was depressing and hopeful at the same time. (Partner-organisation Amica Rahovac)

The former Yugoslavia is just an example of how grass-root-initiatives can give us an opportunity for reconciliation. There are many war-zones in the world where this could be proved instead of carrying out bombing. These days we dream of organizing "Vacations from War" for children from Manhattan and Kabul or from London and Basra. We regret that we are not able to do this, because we are convinced that these camps are not just an opportunity to recover. They also help prevent conflicts in future.

2. Summer-camps for young people from Israel and Palestine in Germany

WE CAN LIVE UNDER THE SAME ROOF -THIS IS A FANTASTIC EXPERIENCE

(wrote a young Palestinian woman)

In spring 2002, we developed plans for such meetings for young people from Israel and Palestine, though at that time it seemed unlikely that we would be able to realize this project, since the war was escalating almost daily. The six months of preparations took place under a dark cloud of worry, since they were met on both sides with scepticism: the time for speaking and negotiating was said to be past. Few still saw any prospects in dialogue. Young people, especially, were taking a big risk, for they could be denounced by both sides for "collaborating with the enemy", with very serious consequences, especially for the Palestinians. And then suddenly there were more young people who wanted such meetings, under great difficulties, than we could finance. Up to now a total of 90 Israelis and 90 Palestinians have met in six seminars in Germany.

All Palestinians from the West Bank had got around the curfew in a most risky and dangerous manner. One young man had hidden under the load in a truck to get to Jericho and then to Jordan via the Allenby border bridge. The parents of some participants on both sides knew only that they had been invited to Germany but not that they would meet with "the others." Some of the Israeli participants are conscientious objectors refusing military service in the occupied territories, who were just then branded "traitors of the fatherland" by Sharon and marked for even more severe persecution than usual. They wanted to avoid further increasing existing pressure on their families with the additional reproach of "collaboration with the enemy." Some of the Palestinians were even more afraid of persecution. The influence of various violent groups has grown since Israeli attacks on the authorities destroyed rudimentary state structures. They took all these difficulties and risks in order to meet their so-called enemies.

In a long process, the participants discussed a letter to say "Thank-you" to the donors.

Dear donor, 30th of August 2003

On behalf of all 90 participants who took part in three separate Israeli-Palestinian dialogue seminars this summer, we would like to thank you and express our deep gratitude to you who generously provided funding for this project. Your support really helped us in paving the way to a real peace and a lasting coexistence between the two peoples.

This seminar was a unique experience. What is seldom possible for us under our daily circumcetances was granted here: we shared with each other our thoughts, our points of view and daily lives with great sincerety. Though almost all of us were born and raised in Israel/Palestine. For many this meeting was the first opportunity to have met a flesh-and-blood person of the other side. The atmosphere in the seminar was one of mutual respect, understanding, and a sense of equality. Different topics were discussed, such as the economical and cultural differences in our every-day-lives, issues of human rights conditions, the historical perspective and other deeply relevant and affecting issues.

The Israelis listened to the suffering of the Palestinian people since the 1948 Nakba and the painful and persisting conditions of the refugees, their daily fears of military attacks and being kept prisoners under curfew and closures.

The Palestinians listened to the suffering of the Israeli people in the holocaust and their everyday fears of suicide-bombers on a bus or going out to public places.

Our connections both on the individual level and as a group have truely empowered us in these two weeks. We also had a lot of fun dancing, singing, sharing in one another's cultures and having excursions together.

We were touched by each other's stories and backgrounds and formed connections that will last into the future. But most importantly, we feel inspired and motivated by each other's real desire for peace and reconciliation, and plan to keep working both in collaboration, and each in his own community, when we are back home in order to continue what we have started here in Germany. This was a real "Vacation from War," and time to reflect on our group and individual efforts in the future.

Finally we thank you again and would like to share with you our appriciation to the activists of the "Commitee for Basic Rights and Democracy" who organized these meetings for the groups of the two peoples in order to start their journey towards peace.

Yours sincerely,

Initiative "Breaking Barriers"

Peace School "Neve Shalom / Wahat al Salam"

Two groups of the Palestinian Peace-movement

We sincerely request your help for "Vacations from War" which continues its humanitarian aid and reconciliation of former enemies. A full sponsorship is $130, respectively a collection of money from friends, at celebrations, charity events etc.