The Seeds of Peace Program has brought almost 800 Arab and Israeli teenagers together in the Maine woods over the past five summers to help break the generational cycles of violence and hatred that sustain the conflict in the Middle East. In daily conflict resolution sessions, they learn to disagree yet remain friends.
“After a summer of sharing everything from shaving cream and showers to sports and sing-alongs, ‘reentry’ into hostile societies often is as sobering for them as it must be for astronauts … No longer are they in a ‘safe’ place,” said John Wallach, the founder of Seeds of Peace.
But the youth are maintaining friendships though e-mail and an online “chat room.” Their messages are filled with pain and anger, as well as compassion, reassurance, and encouragement.
A Jordanian teenager wrote about returning home: “We were rejected everywhere; we were traitors.” An Israeli wrote that his peers blamed terrorist bombings on “your new friends.” A Jordanian youth wrote: “We have to do what our leaders are not doing—and will not do if we don’t push them … Please continue fighting for what you believe in.”