BY WAYNE E. RIVET | OTISFIELD As a foreign journalist, John Wallach once used words to describe the terror raging in the Middle East.
Now, Wallach uses words and a Maine summer camp to teach peace and help develop friendships between children who only see each other as their “enemy.” Through friendship and team work, Seeds of Peace strives to replace mistrust with respect and trust.
“As a journalist, I was simply a fly on the wall of history. I covered a lot of wars in my time, but I never felt completely fulfilled as a journalist. I always felt something was missing—that there had to be a better way to make a difference,” said Wallach, a former 30-year White House correspondent and foreign editor for The Hearst Newspapers. “I want to extend a message of hope to all the children, not one of despair.”
Seeds of Peace is John Wallach’s attempt to bring calm, understanding and hope to trouble spots such as the Middle East. While politicians try to hammer out peace accords and sign treaties, Wallach believes the one true way to achieve harmony is through understanding.
“When leaders sign a peace treaty, it’s only a piece of paper. It doesn’t change people’s attitudes,” he said. “Somebody has to do the work to make the peace a reality in people’s hearts. With the connections I’ve developed over the years as a foreign journalist, I strongly believe we can sow seeds of peace.”
After using a couple of Maine locations as the program’s home, Seeds of Peace will open to more than 175 Israeli and Arab teenagers at the former Camp Powhatan on Pleasant Lake in Otisfield. Teens arrive this Sunday for a four-week visit that will hopefully change their lives forever.
“Maine is such a beautiful spot. We cherish it because of its peace. It is our hope that these kids will find peace here too,” said Roger Deitz, a Seeds of Peace director who has a summer home in Casco. “Having vacationed here since I was a youngster, you could say Maine is in my blood. We strongly believe that through their experiences here, these children can develop some understanding and friendships that can change the world they live in.”
The Seeds of Peace Board of Directors recently approved leasing the former Camp Powhatan property for 10 years, thus creating a more permanent home for the program. While the camp needed a major upgrade, including a new waste-water system, Wallach is encouraged that the program can now continue to grow. Fifty-two boys attended the first peace camp in 1993. Now, boys and girls will venture to Otisfield, and the Seeds of Peace scope can be expanded. Although the program is funded solely through private donations (it costs about $600,000 to run the program since most campers receive $3,500 scholarships), organizers hope to bring together children from other war-torn countries, and possibly offer time to inner city kids of this country.
“Acquiring our own site, which will be known as the Seeds of Peace International Camp, has been central to our vision from the beginning,” Wallach said. “It opens up a tremendous range of possibilities, including operating an expanded program that might someday involve hundreds of young people each summer. With the precarious situation in the Middle East, the need for peace becomes more critical with each passing day. Our greatest hope is with the next generation of Arab and Israeli leaders.”
By day, the camp is like many others in the Lake Region. There will be smiles brought forth by sporting events and other fun activities. Kids will eat and sleep together. By night, Seeds of Peace will be a different type of camp. With American, Arab and Israeli facilitators on hand, teens will learn conflict resolution and mediation skills along with empathy, respect, confidence and hope—the building blocks for peaceful coexistence. They will take a hard, close look at their peers to discover for themselves just who the so-called enemy really is.
“Most of these kids have never interacted with each other before,” Wallach said. “They were too busy fighting. We get these kids together so they can build a new foundation for peace. Forget the older generation. They’ve been fighting for years. The only chance we have is building the next generation before they begin to hate.”
Seeds of Peace is working. In 1996, King Hussein invited Seeds of Peace to hold its first reunion in Jordan. Two hundred Arab and Israeli alumni participated in follow-up coexistence workshops, met ambassadors and toured historic sites.
What do the Seeds of Peace children think?
On the cover of the Seeds of Peace fifth anniversary brochure, Laith, a Palestinian, said, “Making peace is harder than making war. It takes time. It takes care. It takes patience.”
Daniel, an Israeli, said, “Only now can I really understand how important Seeds of Peace is. It was strong enough to change me, to create a new, better part inside me, to give me hope when most people have already begun to lose it.”
Friendships form, but teens realize the road of peace will remain rocky because of hate and history that exists within their families. Yet, there is hope—something John Wallach believes can be passed along to future generations because the seed of peace has been planted.