wfn.org | Middle East: Youth peace camps can help end violence

[FRANKI@elca.org]

Trust can be established through community-based encounters 

BETHLEHEM/GENEVA, 13 December 2000 (LWI) - Against the backdrop of weeks of
Israeli-Palestinian violence, a young Palestinian Christian, director of a
reconciliation and encounter project for young people in Bethlehem, says the
search for peace in the Middle East should not be left to politicians alone.

Daoud Nasser, 30, formerly a youth worker of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in Jordan-with congregations in Jerusalem, Jordan and Palestine-says peace
can also be achieved when young people from different cultures participate
in exchange programs that provide a forum "to get together and talk to one
another," and in so doing open the way to understanding and trust.

In a commentary, "Peace Now", which first appeared in the Mecklenburgische
Kirchenzeitung, a weekly church magazine in northeastern Germany, Nasser
states that 40 percent of those killed in the violence that has claimed
hundreds of lives are between 10 and 16 years of age. How can young people
and children who for weeks have seen nothing but violence ever believe in
peace again? he asks.

Below is the full text of Nasser's commentary:

Peace Now

The news from the Middle East is not good: unrest everywhere in the West
Bank and Gaza, with people losing their lives every day. Eight years of
peace process have not been able to end the violence-why? The last few weeks
have shown how weak the peace process is. Many say: it was a waste of time,
we have not seen any of the fruits of peace yet-all they do is talk about
it! Politicians would indeed like to hold talks about peace and it is the
dream of Israelis and Palestinians. Many even thought peace was at hand. But
then things turned out differently.

We live in fear. Our political, economic and social hopes have been crushed.
The Palestinian Self Rule Areas, which are only a fraction of the West Bank
anyway, have become a prison for us. No one is allowed to leave these
territories. The Palestinian villages are totally cut off from the
Palestinian cities. The universities are closed. The Israeli military
controls all the roads and we have no freedom of movement. For weeks we have
not been able to travel the nine-kilometer to our olives; Palestinians
picking olives in their fields have been shot at. Ours are probably all
spoiled, we cannot harvest them. This way, we will always be economically
dependent on Israel and never able to stand on our own feet.

The casualty toll is now [at the time Nasser wrote] at 150 killed [risen to
about 300 by December 12, according to agencies and media] and 6,000
wounded. Many are seriously injured and others have permanent disabilities.
No one hears our cries. We are all alone. The Arab countries say a lot but
do nothing. Israel is trying to break the Palestinian uprising by force. The
United States is on the side of Israel. What remains for us to do? We are
human beings too, wanting to live in peace. But peace cannot just come from
politicians. It has to come from below, for example, through exchange
programs, when young people from different cultures get together and talk to
one another. Such encounters will open the way to understanding and trust.

For weeks the young people and children have seen nothing but violence. How
can they ever believe in peace again? Forty percent of the dead and wounded
are between 10 and 16 years of age. We have to find prospects for young
people so that they can build a new society. Peace is a long process but a
great opportunity. To use it we have to start now-when violence is claiming
so many victims. We thank all those who think of us. Thank you for praying
for peace and justice in the Holy Land.

By Daoud Nasser

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