OTISFIELD, Maine | For Liav Harel and Tarek Araw, attending the lakeside camp in the woods of Maine is a welcome respite from witnessing the violence that has rocked their war-torn Middle East villages.
Harel, a 16-year-old Jew from the Israeli coastal town of Haifa, wasn’t even aware of President Bush’s speech Monday calling for the ouster of Yasser Arafat and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within three years.
Instead Harel and Araw, a 16-year-old from the village of Jatt who identifies himself as a Palestinian Israeli, were looking forward to swimming, archery, building crafts and coming together as teenagers at camp — not enemies at war.
“Basically the environment here … is the most peaceful environment you can ever get, probably in the whole world, unless you went away to an uninhabited place,” Araw said Tuesday.
Seeds of Peace, now in its 10th year, was to officially begin Wednesday with a flag-raising ceremony. About 160 teenagers had already arrived by Monday to the camp aimed at promoting peace by bringing together young people from warring regions.
In the first session, Pakistanis, Indians, Palestinians and Israelis will bunk, eat and play together. For the first time, a dozen teenagers from Afghanistan will also attend. Campers from Cyprus, the Balkans and Portland’s refugee communities will attend the other two sessions.
With the escalation of suicide bombings in the Middle East, Araw and his family rarely travel outside their hometown, and have to go through security checkpoints to visit relatives one village over. His family lives in constant fear of the bombings and of retaliation for bomb attacks.
Harel’s school no longer goes on field trips, and her parents won’t let her go to shopping malls or travel on buses. A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up at a Haifa restaurant within sight of her friend’s house on the day they planned to meet for a Passover dinner. But for now, those concerns are put aside.
“When I’m in Seeds of Peace activities I always feel safe,” Harel said.
In addition to swimming, crafts and sports, campers participate in “coexistence sessions” where they talk and vent about the conflicts and politics in their regions.
Campers are also invited to observe each others’ religious services and hold a cultural fair to teach each other about their traditions. At the end of the session, campers are divided into multinational teams to compete in a series of events.
John Wallach, founder of Seeds of Peace, said it’s exciting to see the barriers broken down.
“It’s literally the only place in the world where Israelis and Palestinians are together making peace,” he said in a telephone interview.
Back in the Middle East, Israelis and Palestinians were cautiously welcoming Bush’s outline for Mideast peace. But here in the Maine woods, where there’s no TV to gather around to watch the events unfold, the teens focused on camp activities
Eventually, they may discuss Bush’s plan during a coexistence session, but that will be later.
“Anything can happen,” Araw said. “It’s just awesome.”