Peacecamp

On 31 March we went to Israel by plane. There we met all the people who we had met in Rechberg last year and some new ones. We went to the desert,
where we stayed for two days. We slept in a tent next to some Beduines.
We learned a lot of their culture and their lifestyle. After that our bus driver took us to Jerusalem, where we also stayed for two days. Amazing, is the only word which comes to my mind when I now think about it. Three religions together in one place, I think that is a unique place in the world.
Afterwards we went to the Arab town Qualansua. There I was fascinated by
the Arab people, who were so friendly although they did not even know us, but they showed us their homes at night and drove us to different places!! Next day we went to Nazareth and after that to Ben’s house, where we all stayed overnight.
The last day we were shown a Kibbutz and we learned about the lifestyle of the people who live there. After our last night we had to say goodbye at 4 o’clock in the morning. This was the end of our journey, the end of the second part of our Peace Camp, but for sure not the end of our friendship.
For me this was a perfectly organized camp, so for me nothing was left out. The only thing which I didn’t like was the discussion in Jerusalem, which in my opinion ended with open questions and in anger. My feelings during the camp were somehow a mixture. I had every feeling: I felt sad, happy, tired, angry, but most of the time I was just happy to be there with all the people.
Concerning open questions: The only open question for me is how it will go on now, because nobody knows if we’ll ever meet again. There is also my only fear
that we won’t meet again.
If you ask me what I expect from the next camp: My expectation is that there will be one more camp.

Georg

First of all I want to say that our journey to Israel was one of the most
beautiful ones in my life.
The most interesting things to do for me were to stay with the Beduins at
this unrecognised village and the day we spent in Qualansua.
When we had to separate this time I somehow had the feeling that it was
not the last time for us to meet each other.

I liked this camp even more than the last one, but when I think back now I
have to say that it was not really a peace camp this time. We heard about
the plans of different political parties and they in general all seemed to
be of one opinion.
This sounds very nice, the problem is just that many things politicians
say sound nice. So I would have preferred to let the people of Israel
express their opinions which was hardly ever the case this time.

As most of us I also think that the way we did the discussions this time
was wrong.
When we do discussions, we don't want the adults to interrupt all the
time to express their own opinions.

michael luschnig

At the beginning I want to say that it was really great in Israel and I would like to go back whenever it is possible.
This time we saw a lot of Israel and now I can imagine how life in Israel is. It seems that it is not always really easy. First of all we were in the desert called Negev and we slept in big tents. We went to see some Beduine villages which impressed me a lot. How can they live without running water and electricity? I think they are contented with the things they have.
Next we travelled to Jerusalem, where we could see three different cultures, three different religions which are separated in three different parts. I do not really understand why they cannot live next door to each other. We also went along the “Via Dolorosa”, where Jesus is said to have walked with the cross on his back to Golgotha. It is the hill where he was crucified. Somehow it is unbelievable that he walked exactly this way. I also liked the Wailing Wall very much because I had only seen it on TV and now I saw it in reality.
After two days we spent a night in Qualanswa at the Arab families´ places. I enjoyed it very much and also their food. It was very delicious. Everybody was really friendly to us.
The second part of the Peace Camp was really positive because first of all it was really great to see everybody again and I was happy that right from the beginning there were not any problems of communication. We had a lot of stuff we could talk about! I also made again new friends with people who had taken part in the first Peace Camp, but who I had not talked to very much and also with the new ones who had not been in Rechberg.
Furthermore, I learned that the Holocaust is an important thing in the lives of the Jewish people.



It impressed me so much that everybody knows pretty everything about it, espacially the adults.
In my opinion the sessions with the psychologist on the last day were really superfluous. We did not talk anything about the Peace Camp and about the 7 days we had spent together. We were just sitting there for all in all four and a half hours. Some were sleeping, some went outside, some were sitting inside and waiting for the time to pass.
The other discussions were like this: We were asked something, some of us answered and at the end the adults were discussing in a loud way, we were sitting there and said nothing anymore.
I cannot say that anything has been left open. If we had any questions about anything, we could ask them whenever we wanted because we are still in touch and I hope we will be so for years!

Conny

Our Spring Camp was most appreciated for the chance to improve and tighten up the relationships between the very diverse people – members of different religious and ethnic groups – who had met the first time at the Peace Camp in Rechberg (Austria) last year.
During our stay in Israel we were taken to many different places, we were able to meet some very interesting people and last but not least we learned a lot about generosity and hospitality. I feel deeply grateful to Ben’s family, Eilam’s mother and all the Arab families for hosting us.
There were so many things which were absolutely fascinating for me and I am going to point out a few highlights. I had been to Israel before, to Eilat, but I had not got any further north than the Dead Sea and so I had longed to visit Jerusalem for years. Now I have been there and the city, I mean the Old City did not only meet my expectations but sometimes left me speechless with admiration and wonder. However, for some moments I felt really sad about the fact that this city caused so much trouble in the past and still does in present day negotiations concerning peace for the Middle East.
As I love hiking (usually in the mountains), walking through the blossoming desert was a special experience for me. One day I will come back to go on a long-distance walk.
All the other places you took us to were of great interest to us and I want to thank Nili and Otman very much for organizing everything so perfectly.
Apart from all those amazing impressions I would like to mention something that was really touching for me. When we all stayed with the Arab families, my Austrian colleague and I were hosted by Hosnia, the Arab teacher (who I thank so much for her generous hospitality) and she took us to her mother’s place. Her mother is old and sick and as we got there, we found her in her bed in the living room, surrounded by lots of family members. To have an old and sick person in the main room of your house, furthermore, to ask guests to come to this room is something very unusual in our culture. I felt so ashamed and sad when I thought of old and sick people in Austria. Most of them are taken to old people’s homes or to hospitals, very few of them are “allowed” to stay with their families, however, I have never seen the bed of an old and sick person in the centre of a flat or house. Thank you very much for this encounter.
For the next Peace Camp(s) I hope that the new young participants will be as committed as the former ones and will be prepared to learn things which cannot be taught so effectively in any classroom. The adult participants should learn from the young ones because their openmindedness and tolerance are worth following.


Heidi Jausovec, Austrian teacher

Peacecamp review by Toati (also known as Ben Serota)
First of all I'd like to say that I loved this camp and it left me with an amazing feeling!

As George said so many times in our discussions; the project shouldn't have been named "Peacecamp" but "friendship camp". Referring to the last camp, I would disagree, but this camp that took part in Israel fits that definition precisely.
During the camp in Israel, we visited many places that some people found important to be seen. Through this camp we bonded and enhanced our relationships that sprouted way out there in Austria where we first met. Not beyond my wildest dreams did I fantasize of making soul bonds through this experience.
Identities unsolved you ask me? My Identity took shape from the camp in Austria. My knowledge of Identity problems and conflicts has grown through the camp in Israel, but not as much as it did in the last summer. The Identity issue was indeed regarded to this camp, though for me it was such a tiny part of the experience. I have other unsolved issues, which in a way actually regard to my Identity.

In an as much unbiased opinion as I can provide, I should say that the educational contribution halted after the camp in Austria. This spring camp was a friendship gathering, and although we learned so much about ourselves- the most important thing! – the camp could be summed at that.

Sorry if I bummed any one who read this! 

With love to all of you,
Hoping to meet in the summer!!!

Toati
Ben Serota

first of all i would like to thank you evelyn because you give us the chance
to talk about our reflections and about every thing happened with us in the
peace camp.
secondly i would like to talk about my experience in the peace camp it was a
nice experience because i saw all the guys and the teachers and we had a lot
of fun together.
inisrael we visited a lot of places but the most important thing that we
visited holly places for the arabs, jewish, and christians this thing makes
me happy because every one of us saw his holly religion place.
another thing i interested our trip a lot because austrians had seen the
north, the south and the center of israel, and because they saw the bedwin
and there life and they saw the diffenrences between arabs and jewish.
now i would like to talk about my reflections and feelings i felt so good
and i was very happy when i knowed that austrian will come and we will had
fun together with jewish, but when every one left and went home i was very
sad but i realized that ife will continue and i can meet them in the next
time.
now i will talk about my expectations i enjoyed every thing in the peace
camp and i hope that we will meet again and good luck for every one of you
hosnia matani_ araibina teacher

Nearly two weeks have passed since we returned from Israel. As I’m getting back to daily routine, to the stress of daily life, our time in Israel becomes a vague memory far, far away. Nevertheless, I’m still thinking a lot about this amazing experience.

First of all, I have to admit that at first I had mixed feelings about our trip to Israel: On the one hand I was really looking forward to seeing all the people again, on the other hand I worried about different things: I didn’t think so much about the danger of terrorism, but what I really couldn’t get out of mind was the program we were supposed to do. Before the camp I had the impression that the Arab teachers weren’t involved enough in the organization of the camp and that the discussion during the camp would only deal with Jewish history ergo the Jewish point of view.
These fears, however, were totally unfounded but during the camp I noticed some other problems to which I will refer later. Before, I want to give a basic idea of what was going on to those who didn’t take part in the camp:

Our first two days we spent in the desert Negev in the south of the country. Sleeping in tents was great fun although it got very could, especially during the second night. While we were staying in the south of the country, we visited some recognized and unrecognized Bedouin villages which showed us a sad, not well-known side of Israel. We also did some hiking and camel-riding, which really meant a lot of fun. After our stay in the Negev we travelled on to the Dead Sea, visited Masada and then went on to Jerusalem.
In Jerusalem, we did, of course, a lot of sight-seeing. The problem is, however, that two days simply aren’t enough to visit all the interesting things in Jerusalem, probably it’s not even enough to get a basic idea of the beauty and variety that makes Jerusalem so special. So we went to see the Wailing Wall, the Golgotha, the Dome of the Rock, the Via Dolorosa and so on. I wouldn’t describe myself as a religious person, but, nevertheless, it was a strange, somehow overwhelming feeling to find myself at that exact spot where Jesus had been crucified. In addition, we visited Yad Vashem.
Then we drove to the north of the country and stayed for one night in Qualansua, an Arab city which is not in the occupied territories. We also met some members of an Arab political party which speaks up for equal rights for Israeli Arabs. The last nights we spent at Ben’s house and in the Kibbutz Gaash.

Well, this was a nice report on our trip to Israel. I could finish now if liked to but there is so much more I want to tell about my experiences.
As I mentioned before I went to Israel with mixed feelings. To be honest, during the first days I often thought that I was looking forward to coming home again because I was missing my boyfriend, my friends and my family. Of course, I was happy to be in Israel but I was also a bit afraid of too many discussions although I’m generally really interested in talking about different topics and problems. However, I remembered that during the last Peace Camp in the end the discussions were really exhausting because we didn’t sleep a lot and had so many other activities.
So I was somehow waiting for long discussions during the evening – it was a big surprise that eventually, most evenings we could do whatever we wanted. In my opinion, this was a great opportunity to talk with all the people. In general, we had far more “liberties” during the second camp which gave me the chance to get to know the people much better.
During the few discussions we had, however, I sometimes felt angry about some of the adults because they simply were so stubborn and didn’t want – or maybe just weren’t able – to see any but their own point of view. The Peace Camp should be a chance for teenagers to discuss about their different opinions – it should not be a place for adults to quarrel. The teachers often had arguments about what they should tell us, they really had some heavy debates on basic principles. Of course, I understand that the Middle East conflict is a very complex problem on which the opinions are divided, but, nevertheless, the whole situation – adults shouting at each other like little children – was getting on my nerves. On the other hand, I have to admit that some of the adults’ points of view gave me some interesting new ideas, although they were expressed so forcefully. On the whole, I think it will always lead to problems if some very strong, dominant characters want to organise something together because everybody is convinced that his/her way to do it is the best one.
I also want to describe a situation that caused a lot of discussions in detail: When went to visit a holy place of the Jews all boys were supposed to wear these Jewish “hats” called “kipa”. The Arab boys didn’t want to do this, so they went outside and waited for us. The organizer of the camp, Evelyn, didn’t accept that because in her opinion someone who takes part in a Peace Camp, should really take part in it by participating in all activities etc. She got really upset about that and in the end she said something like, “Those people who don’t participate should just leave the camp!” This was, of course, the wrong way to tell the Arab boys her opinion but what about her basic point of view?
In my opinion, the Arab boys didn’t do anything wrong. We always describe ourselves as tolerant people, so why can’t we simply accept that the majority of Moslems are probably stronger related to their religion than most of the Christians and Jews? One could ask why we should be tolerant while the Arabs don’t show any respect towards our religion. I think that the Arabs did show respect in that Jewish holy place because they went outside after they had decided that they didn’t want to wear the “kipa”.
This is an issue I could discuss for hours and there are probably many different arguments for both sides. I only wrote about it to give a basic idea of the conflicts that arose during the camp.

However, I don’t want to complain all the time because this was one of the very few aspects that disturbed me. In comparison to all the good things I received from the camp this doesn’t appeal so important to me.
The week in Israel was one of the best of my life. I even dare to say that I learned much more during the second Peace Camp, probably because I have grown more mature.
First of all, I learned a lot about different cultures:
Most of the time we had Arab food which tasted really delicious. In addition, I got a great idea of the Arab hospitality and their general kindness while I was sleeping at an Arab girl’s house in Qualansua. I enjoyed the night in Qualansua so much because I was simply overwhelmed by the unique atmosphere of that little town: The children were playing on the street, the adults sitting in front of their houses and smoking – it’s a very unique mentality which I really like. My “host mother” was so friendly and gave me so much to eat, my “host sister” even bought some presents for me and the Jewish girl who also stayed with us. In my opinion, it was a really good idea to put a Jew and an Austrian together in an Arab’s house for one night. However, I was really sad when I heard that some kids – but very few, at least I hope so, - didn’t enjoy the time in Qualansua, mainly because it was just so different from what they are used to. So I don’t really know how the others feel about it but I hope most of them feel the same way as I do. In general, I know a lot more about the Arab culture now.
Visiting Yad Vashem was also a unique experience that made me feel really sad and desperate. I had heard a lot about the Holocaust before, but when I was walking through the Children’s Memorial I was deeply moved. After that I was sitting in the bus and kept asking myself, “How can human beings be so cruel?” I had asked this myself several times before, but I’ve never really found an answer. Probably I’ll never understand it because it is so horrible, because my mind tries to deny the possibility that under certain circumstances I could maybe also be able to do something like that.
Another amazing thing about the camp were the personal relationships that slowly developed during the camp. I mean, most of the people I’ve only seen for two weeks, so it’s just incredible how well I know some of them (and how well they know me, of course).

On the whole, I learned so much during the camp although in my opinion, we weren’t able to solve any of the conflicts between Arabs and Jews or the different religions. These conflicts can’t be solved, but maybe we can sometimes forget about them. Of course, it is always very important to talk about all the problems, but after the discussions we forgot about political and religious things, were just sitting together and having fun. And in my opinion that’s the main purpose of such a camp – getting in touch with people that are different from you, noticing that they are different and then sometimes forgetting about it.

As I have already mentioned, the first days I was looking forward to coming home. However, in the end I only wanted to stay in Israel, mainly because I feel such a deep connection to some of the people there.
After I had returned from the Peace Camp there was so much I had to think about. First of all, I had to “digest” all the experiences I had made, but secondly I also wanted to make up my mind about some personal things. Moreover, I asked myself if the time in Israel had also changed some parts of my personality – and yes, it had. At the moment I’m not able to understand all the changes, but I can already say that the time in Israel extremely broadened by mind and sensitized me for the problems of other people. I think I can understand people much better now and if I don’t understand them, I, nevertheless, try.
I really hope that many other people will have the chance to experience what I have experienced!

Manuela Wutte, Austrian group

first of all i am proud that i am an arabian girl, it is hard to be an
arabian and to live in israel or in another country that arabs are not a
lot.
first of all it is hard for us to live in a jewish country because we dont
take all of our lows and they dont respect us, for example when an arabian
woman goes to a center she has to give his identity and they look at all of
her things but the jewish woman they dont ask her any thing why??
second it is hard for us because we can't study what we want, we cant study
before we are 20 or 21 years old because arabs wont go to israeli army.
these are just two examples of the hard things that we faced there are a lot
of things but i cant write all of them.
about the positive things to be an israeli arabian are a lot and i just want
to talk about few positive things.
first this land is ours and we born here so we have to continue ourlife her
wth the jewish and we dont have to give up.
second we will know the jewish traditions and culture and we will have a
back ground about them.
third we will be the best people in the world because we didnt left our
homes and land and we stayed in our lands so we didnt giv up.
israel is a good country it gives us a lot of things and it takes of us a
lot of things, for example we dont pay for studying at schools, our grandmas
live good life because israel gives them money so they dont have to work or
to do something like that.
at the end i just wanna say that i am proud that i am arabian and live in
israel because it is cool but i want to live in an arabian country called
palestine because i am arabian and i have to live in an arabian country that
have the same traditions that i have, that believe in God and something like
that but we cant do anything i hope that the situation here in israel wil
change to the best and i hope that we will live a good life
reem

Describe the peace camp which took place in Israel from March 31 to April
7th.

What were its main parts? Describe what you have seen, experienced and
learned.

I think that the peace camp in Israel was a great peace camp and I enjoyed
it very much. We had a lot of experiences and we learned a lot of new things
from our experience in the peace camp.
First of all the peace camp was great because the program was very good
because Austrians saw all the main cities of Israel they saw the north, the
south, and the center of Israel and also they saw the Jewish and the Arabs
cities and they saw the traditional of every one of them and they saw the
Bidwen so they have a back ground about the Bidwen, the Arab and the Jewish.
For me it was very kind to meet these kinds of people because I have new
ideas about all of them, and I hope that the situation will be better than
now.
About my experience it was a great experience because Israel is a great
country and exactly Jerusalem because in Jerusalem there are three
religions, we saw the churches, we saw masques, and special holly places for
Jewish, it says that we saw the three holly places in Israel and we just saw
them in Israel.
I think that it is a great experience and I learned a lot of things, first
of all I have new back ground and new information about Arab, Jewish, and
Bidwen, also if I will get abroad I can give the people back ground about my
land.
Now I think that this experience gave all of us a special meaning and it is
very meaningful for every one of us. I don't know what to say but I enjoyed
the trip a lot and I learned a lot of useful things about my country and its
people.

Describe your personal feelings and thoughts related to this camp. What did
you receive from the camp? What was missing or unsatisfying?

Oh, it is a hard question; I can't talk about my real feelings because they
are in my heart.
But I can tell you a little bit about my feelings. I am very happy and
satisfied from my self and from the experience that I did because it is a
hard experience because every one of us had to show of his/her self and
every one had to make good relationships with others, and another think I am
satisfied from my self because my feet were hurt and I continued the peace
camp in Israel and I didn't mind about my feet, and now I am very happy
because I have new friends and I like to be in a contact with all of them,
and also my relationship with my old friends came better.
I learned a lot of useful things, I show off my self and I had good things.
I don't know what to say but it is cool to had this feelings and experience
but there were something missed that we didn't talk a lot about the main
subject peace, we had to talk about the peace and every one of us have to
show off his/her main ideas that connected to peace.
But I never mind because I received a lot of things from the peace camp,
like friends, seeing places that I didn't see them before, making good
relationship between the 3 groups of the camp.

What was left open and unresolved and with what open questions do you find
your self now after the second peace camp?

There were a lot of left open questions that they are still open for ever
and we didn't solve them or talked about them.
For example, we were in the peace camp but not all of us know the real
meaning of peace, and between who we have to do peace. So, I think that we
didn't solve the main problem that we worked for solving it. I didn't was in
the first peace camp in Austria for this I don't know what happen there and
about which subjects they talked, but in Israel we didn't talk a lot about
peace between Israel and Palestine.
So the question is: how can we make peace? And how can we live without
problems and frightening?

What would be your wishes, expectations and suggestions for another peace
camp?

I have a lot of suggestions for the next peace camp, but before I write my
suggestions I would like to join the peace camp in Austria to talk about the
main subject "peace".
I hope that all the new participants will enjoy the peace camp and I hope
that they can change a little bit in the situation in Israel, or to change a
little bit in the relationship Jewish and Arab to the best.
My suggestions are to add another group from an Arabian country, and for the
teachers they have to choose good students to participate in the peace camp
that they can show off there ideas and be helpful for the group.
Another thing is that we are brothers and sisters for this we don't have to
look at the religions and the nationality; I think that the new participants
have to be one hand and from this point we can build a new world by love,
every one have to love the other and we will build a new world stands on the
love.
I hope that every one will have fun and enjoy, and I am sorry because I
talked a lot but I love talking and I hope that the things that I wrote are
not boring and good luck for every one.
Yours truly
Reem Matani- Arabian participant