Seeds of Peace is a nonprofit, U.S.-based international organization that promotes understanding and coexistence among teenagers from regions of conflict.
Participants are encouraged to learn about each others’ cultures and religions in a neutral surrounding, in hopes they can overcome obstacles they have grown up with.
Although Seeds of Peace hosts programs throughout the year, the main focus is a summer camp set in the woods of Maine, where the teenagers are encouraged to participate in various activities geared towards promoting coexistence. The program sponsors a Middle East delegation which includes Jewish and Arab teenagers from Israel and the Palestinian territories. There are also programs that sponsor young people from India, Pakistan, Greece, Turkey, the Balkans, and other regions of conflict.
The summer program concludes with a trip to Washington, D.C., where participants meet with members of the U.S. government as well as their own ambassadors to the United States.
Two Seeds of Peace participants joined CNN to discuss their upcoming visit with Secretary of State Colin Powell, and talk about their experiences in the program. Both Dodi Shulman, from Israel and Jamal Obu Zant, from the West Bank, are 16 years old.
CNN: What will you ask Secretary of State Colin Powell?
Shulman: I’ll ask him what he thinks about the situation and what they are going to do about it. Stuff like that. It’s very interesting for us.
CNN: What is interesting about it?
Shulman: I will ask him things like why did (the violence) happen? And what can the U.S. do to prevent the escalation?
CNN: What about you, Jamal?
Obu Zant: I would like to ask him about the issues of Israel using artillery and ammunition that are internationally illegal, for example nerve gas and radioactive ammunition bullets, etc. … being used against innocent people in Palestine. At the same time I would like to ask him about the veto that America had in the U.N. conference about sending the international inspection inquiry to the region to inspect how the violence started. I would like to know why the U.S. government did that and why Mr. Powell did that.
CNN: These are heavy topics for kids your age to have. Did the two of you meet before you got to Washington or did you know each other before you came here?
Shulman: We met in the previous session, Seeds of Peace 2000, and at the coexistence session. We had sports activities (together).
CNN: Has this opportunity to be together changed the way you see each other and the way you see this conflict that you happen to have back at home?
Obu Zant: Well, we learn to appreciate each other for just being who we are and having the opinion that each one of us has. Even if we have different opinions about something, we disagree with a lot of things but still we are able to understand each other and where that point of view came from. We come to an understanding a lot of times.
Shulman: Seeds of Peace has taught us that even if we disagree on things, we can still understand each others opinions and point of view. And through those perspectives we can help each other and support each other.
CNN: Being together in this program and actually having the chance to talk to each other as human beings, you now cannot imagine throwing rocks at each other?
Obu Zant: Of course not.
CNN: When you are here in the United States and watching media coverage of what is happening back in your homeland, what do you think of it when you are watching it on television?
Shulman: After the bombing in Jerusalem, a lot of the Israelis panicked because we had some people that live in Jerusalem, so we called home to see what was going on. And some of the parents reacted like, ‘Oh it’s just a bombing, everything is okay.’ And we were so stressed out. It’s very amusing.
Obu Zant: And at the same time … when a bombing happens in Tel Aviv, Netanya, or Jerusalem, I get worried about the friends that I met through Seeds of Peace that live in those areas, and I call them up to see if they are okay, and if their families and friends are okay. If a bombing happens in the city where I live, Tulkarem, my Israeli friends will call me up to see if I’m okay and express how they don’t agree with the way Israel retaliates and the way they use their weapons against people, and sometimes make mistakes … it just brings us together sometimes.
CNN: Has being in another country and being able to sit and talk and watch it from a distance, has that been able to change your minds about things?
Shulman: We can absorb things, observe what’s happening, and why they’re happening … and what we can do to stop that … how can we help each other, support each other, while these things are happening.
CNN: I’m sure there are many people that wish that you can successfully take that message back to your homes and your homelands. Thank you for your time and good luck talking to Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Obu Zant: Thank you very much.
Shulman: Thank you very much.