Every year more than 180 teens, among these Afghans, Egyptians, Israelis, Palestinians, and Americans, come together to a life-changing summer camp alongside Pleasant Lake in Maine. At this transformational camp these teens from high conflict areas share living spaces, meals, and experiences changing the way they look at stereotypes, sworn enemies they’ve never met, and the prospect of peace. Run solely on donations, the summer camp evolved into offering year-round programs around the world including regional, graduate, and educator programs which promote peacebuilding. The Seeds of Peace nonprofit organization, started by John Wallach in 1993, strives for peace by breaking down prejudices, fostering leadership skills through personal and …show more content…
John Wallach’s values created the platform for change in 1993, when he founded Seeds of Peace. John Wallach’s prominent career in journalism along with his background as a foreign editor for Hearst Newspapers for many years, gave him first-hand knowledge and insight on the type of program that needed to be put into action to help bring peace between nations divided by conflict. Wallach knew he couldn’t initiate change without the help of a few key people. John recruited Barbara Gottschalk, an experienced social worker and program developer, to be the first executive director of the project and recruited Timothy Wilson, a veteran educator and camp director, to run the Seeds of Peace Camp in Maine. The organization has affected many people worldwide through the many programs and projects it has developed to build bridges between people unlikely to have met otherwise. “Seeds of Peace gave me hope that one day we’ll be able to live in peace—a just peace based on the elements of respect, dignity, and basic human rights and values for every Israeli and Palestinian,” Adham a Palestinian Seed says. Adham and many others through Seeds of Peace have been given hope amid the plentiful headlines full of despair, a hope that can empower them to take action and teach others to do the …show more content…
At home in a war-torn country, teens can’t look away from the violent image of another group and easily form prejudices based on fear, but while at the Seeds of Peace Camp they have a safe environment to face the “other side” and share their stories of life in conflict with the hope of understanding each other. Through a lot of hard work and by overcoming many barriers, campers become able to see a nation or people they’re taught to hate from a young age as individual people rather than a stereotype. The end of camp is just the beginning, as campers then go back to their region of conflict with new skills and more hopeful for peace. The valuable lessons they learned through their Seeds of Peace experience are put to good use as many former Seeds make their own positive changes on the world by leading change. According to the official website of the Organization, there are over 6,000 Seeds and Educators making an impact across 27 countries in South Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. As the name implies, each young camper is like a seed which when given the proper conditions can and will grow and spread
Since 1983, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and the Sudanese government have been at war within the southern region of Sudan. This brutal conflict has ravaged the country claiming hundreds of lives and exiling a vast number of the southern Sudanese people. Most of these outcasts were young men aging between five and twelve years of age who returned home from tending cattle to see their village being attacked and their fellow villagers being killed by government militias . These boys fled, not knowing what they would encounter on the journey to escape the violence in their own country. Hungry, frightened, and weak from their long and hellish journey, the boys reached refugee camps outside of Sudan. Even though many young men were killed on their journeys to and from refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, many remained at these camps for numerous years. While in the camps, they heard news of an opportunity to travel to the United States for hope and a promise of a better life. In Mark Bixler’s The Lost Boys of Sudan: An American Story of The Refugee Experience, Bixler depicts the story of these young men or Lost Boys’ and their determination to receive an education that would not only transform their lives but also the lives of their kinsmen.
To begin with, this author should like to offer some brief background as to the content of "The Wounds Of Peace" prior to my assessment. "The Wounds Of Peace" is a label which the author has applied to attempts of leaders of various countries throughout the Middle East to come to terms and create, or forge a partnership. To this extent, the author cites a process that began in Oslo, and, as the author states "One that compelled fiercely reluctant men on both sides to forge some of the most unlikely and creative partnerships in the history of diplomacy." (Bruck, p.4) The chief players throughout this scenario include Benjamin Netanyahu, Yasir Arafat, Shimon Peres, as well as others. The author begins with a discussion of a visit with Shimon Peres, who had been succeeded by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Peres had expressed serious trepidation regarding his successor and his ability to handle the complex diplomatic aspects relating to the various strategies and tactics regarding the peace process and conflict management. To a large extent, it must be stated that the players, the respective geographical areas, and the positions they hold amongst each other(s) are highly complex. In fact, it is virtually impossible to define the role as well as its multidimensional ramifications in terms of diplomacy, and the many principles and theories of negotiation and conflict management as is the case.
After watching “My so-called Enemy” it gave me insight into lives of others who struggle constantly with everyday life. This film shows the constant battles between the Palestinians and Israeli’s and how they’re two cultures are significantly different. The building bridges program offers a place of tolerance, where the girls thoughts and feelings are heard and allows them to take a step closer to “building a bridge” towards peace. It is not to make them come to an agreement or develop a solution but to create a safe environment to be themselves.
Wells, Karen C.. "Children and youth at war." Childhood in a global perspective. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2009. 152. Print.
The lost boys of Sudan view war as bad luck, since they have no control over violence in their region. The lost boys did not choose to be born within these two groups, and are not willing to participate in violent activities, in their environment. The boys are not supportive of the war, and it is from this reason that they are fleeing away from their home country to avoid recruitment into militia groups (Ajak, 2006). Therefore, war causes separation of family members and disintegration of ethnic groups. People lose their ethnic identities during instances of war as they seek refuge in new environments. According to the boys, war leads to premature death, fear, hunger, disability, violence, displacement and diseases. War exposes people to more harm than during peaceful periods (Ajak, 2006). The lost boys feel that war is a threat to their lives and schooling. It is a tradition for...
In August, 2005, President George W. Bush made a great mistake—forcing Israel to give up her covenant land. The U.S. government forced Israel’s leaders to evict Jewish families from their homesteads in the Gaza community. Business owners were wrenched from their
Teen activists are inspiring and helpful. They are the ones who are determined to make a difference in the world. They are the ones who never give up on their dreams and hopes. Through their thoughts, sacrifice, determination, and their inspiring heart, they make the world happy, so everyone can live equally. Three teen activists, Malala Yousafzai, Alex Lin, and Iqbal Masih, use their personalities and inspiration so that they can stop unfair education, pollution, and child labor. They are willing to sacrifice to help the world and change history.
Zartman, W. (2001). The Timing of Peace Initiatives: Hurting Stalemates and Ripe Moments. In The Global Review of Ethnopolitics, 1, 1, 8-18.
If we were as aware of the ongoing events that are place in Darfur as some of us are towards the likes on Instagram and Facebook, we may be able to change the outcome of a whole country. Darfur is a region in western Sudan, that is unfortunately being exposed to the true meaning of Genocide; an intentional, orderly abolition of a specific ethnic group. The conflict began between Northern and Western Sudanese has not been recent but rather an old conflict that is finally getting attention worldwide. Being a young refuge I have seen many things and have face many obstacles, such as war and poverty. I have witness home invitations by rebels and children be ripped apart from their families. I’ve seen young children with machine guns; in an effort to protect their lives. The site of these images brings tears to my eye, but not as much tears I shed for Darfur. Many believe that racism is far from irrelevant, it is not dead but living in the heart of Sudan; in fact, it is the root of genocide in Darfur(Scott2). We are blinded by things that do not impact our lives. By informing others about genocide, we can create a sense of realization in the heart of society.
Sudan has been involved in a Civil war fueled by religious conflicts since the 1980s. Thousands of children have experienced extreme hardship and unspeakable after effects. Their story is told through a film known as the “Lost Boys of Sudan.” They arrive at the Kakuma refugee camps without any guidance from their parents. The film follows the journey of these boys from their war riddled lives in Sudan, to a completely new way of life in the United States of America. These boys imagined the United States as heaven where anything was achievable at their will.
Since the declaration of an Israeli state in 1948 and all the Arab-Israeli conflicts that have followed, the Palestinians have gradually lost their grip on what used to be their homeland and are still fighting for it today. As stated above, many fled to neighboring countries for safety, but many stayed within Israel and its Occupied Territories. According to Ewan W. Anderson, (2000, p. 112 ) after the 1967 conflict and the acquisition of more Palestinian land by the Israelis, 1.1 million Arabs fell under Israeli rule in their Occupied Territories (450,000 in the Gaza Strip and 650,000 in the West Bank). Regardless of where the Palestinian people settled, either in Israel's occupied territories or in neighboring Arab countries; they do not have a proper state and in turn have become the largest group of refugees on the planet (Brynan, unpublished, 1998). The Palestinian population in Israel and its occupied territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip alone number over the 4 million mark (de Blij and Miller, 2000, p.315). Many involved in the peace process today believe the Palestinian refugee crisis is the main problem stand...
War has always been something to be dreaded by people since nothing good comes from it. War affects people of all ages, cultures, races and religion. It brings change, destruction and death and these affect people to great extents. “Every day as a result of war and conflict thousands of civilians are killed, and more than half of these victims are children” (Graca & Salgado, 81). War is hard on each and every affected person, but the most affected are the children.
Boulding theory of peace education was examined on all levels which included family, gender, culture, class, age, and race to name a few. Within her theoretical framework Boulding included her spiritual roots of Quakers.
Pranis, Kay, Barry Stuart, and Mark Wedge. Peacemaking Circles. 1st ed. St. Paul, Minn.: Living Justice Press, 2003. Print.
The relationship between young people and nonprofits can be the start of a significant change in our community, and should be a reciprocal and powerful educational experience. An open-minded and encouraging flow of communication between organizations and community members can be the launchpad for the social and environmental change organizations talk about and try for every day. Together, we can make change – not just a semblance of idealism, but reality, as well.