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"Being you without self-confidence is person without peace":
About peacecamp 2007
July 2nd-12th, Reibers, Lower Austria
[DEUTSCH]
Before and after peacecamp 2007, which took place from July 2nd to 12th
in Reibers, Lower Austria, participants were asked to answer 4 questions
related to the theme "imagine peace". While their answers remained vague and
impersonal before peacecamp ("The main obstacle to peace are the
politicians"; "In order to promote peace one should exchange the
politicians"), answers after the camp reflect a sense of personal
responsibility and the possibility of exerting an influence on one's social
and political reality ("I will tell people that prejudices are wrong and
that it is not impossible to live together in peace").
During 10 days, sportive, creative and cultural activities offered
opportunities to explore modes of cooperation and to establish a dialogue
between members of four different cultures, Hungarians, Austrians, Jewish
and Palestinian Israelis.
Psychoanalytic large group sessions allowed to explore conflictuous issues
and to look at the conscious and unconscious elements which stand in the way
of cooperation in the political reality of these groups and people. "We were
supposed to imagine peace", said one participant at the end of the
encounter, "but we did not imagine peace – we lived peace". And another one
asked "We all lived together in peace for 10 whole days, so why can't we all
live together in peace?"
The first group-discussion was ruthless and almost violent: "When I hear the
word "Palestinian" I immediately think of suicide bombers, of blown up
busses, of terror" said one of the Jewish-Israeli participants. Silence,
dismay, helplessness and rage were part of almost all group-sessions. But at
the airport, before leaving, there were sadness and tears, tears about
having to separate and to leave after having grown together and established
real closeness with one another. "When somebody in Israel tells me that all
Palestinians are terrorists, I will tell them that this is not true, that I
have shared a dormitory with 8 wonderful Palestinians and that I got on well
with them".
The transitions from angry confrontation in group-discussions to a peaceful
and constructive sense of togetherness at culture evenings and workshops
were impressive. Without them, the two last-day-performances - the open day
in Reibers and the festival4peace in Vienna's Augarten - would not have been
possible. "We fought in the groups-discussions but were friends in the
bedrooms". L. does not want to feel guilty about having her own state, S.
feels threatened by N.'s necklace with the Palestinian flag over Israel, but
N. does not understand why this should be a threat to her Jewish
co-citizens: she cannot identify with the Magen David on Israel's flag nor
with the Hatikwa, nor with the crosses which hang on all the walls of our
peacecamp-youth-hostel. The Arab group points out a sense of equality which
they experience at peacecamp:" We eat the same food, we sleep in the same
rooms, we do the same things". The fact that they thank us again and again
for this experience of equality evokes some doubts about the way they may
feel in Israel, of which they are citizens, just their Jewish co-citizens.
How was it possible to leave the debates and confrontations in the groups
and not to carry them into bedrooms and workshops? "We have decided", tells
us one Arab participant. "We have decided to fight in the discussions and to
be friends in the bedrooms". Is it possible to make such a decision and to
stick to it, to leave all the unresolved and complex issues within the
groups-setting and not to carry it into all the other activities? "Yes –
this is what we have decided: We wanted to imagine peace".
One participant pointed out that peacecamp created a kind of new reality, in
which one could confront difficult issues, because all could feel safe,
protected and taken care of in the very same way. Another participant
described how the rules stated for the group discussions created a sense of
mutual respect, which enabled participants to confront complex issues which
would be left within, and not destroy, the groups.
And B., who liked to be provocative at times and to sweeten bitter debates
with hoax and jokes, came up with a really wise answer to the question for
the main obstacles to peace: "The most obstacle is the trust. Being you
without self-confidence is person without peace".
Evelyn Böhmer-Laufer
July 2007-07-17
http://peacecamp2007.blogger.de
This was Peacecamp 2007 for me |
