BY GAIL ROSSI | OTISFIELD The 175 Arab and Israeli youths camping at the Seeds of Peace International Camp will be getting plenty of practice singing the “Seeds of Peace” song they learned during Tuesday’s opening day flag-raising ceremonies at the camp on Pleasant Lake.
On Aug. 9, the teens, ages 13-15, are expected to sing in harmony when visiting envoys and ambassadors from several Middle Eastern nations and dignitaries from the United States gather at the camp to officially dedicate its new home in Otisfield.
They will also sing the song when they end the last week of their five week experience with a visit to Washington, D.C., for a special series of meetings with government officials here.
Among those who have agreed to attend the Aug. 9 dedication ceremonies are U.S. Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering, a former ambassador to Israel, Jordan, Russia and the United Nations.
The Israel ambassador to the U.S., Eliahu Elissar and his wife, Ben Elissar, are coming, as is ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the U.S., Marwan Muasher.
Envoys will be sent as well from Egypt, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Qatar and Tunisia.
President Bill Clinton is sending his special assistant, Jay Footlik, and Maine’s U.S. Representatives John Baldacci and Tom Allen will be there, along with other distinguished guests.
Camp founder John Wallach said that because of upheaval in the Middle East following the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, “This is in many ways the most challenging year for us.”
In 1993, when Wallach, a former White House correspondent, started the Seeds of Peace camp with 52 teen-aged boys by renting space at the former Camp Powhatan, “there was a lot of hope,” he said.
In the aftermath of Rabin’s assassination, a more hard-line government has taken over in Israel. Just this past September, said Wallach, violence erupted between Israeli troops and Palestinians with three days of bloodshed. Only 10 days ago, 14 Palestinian were injured severely in Hebron, part of Israel, in yet another clash with Israeli troops. One woman who was in that attack is here this summer, acting as a delegation leader for the campers.
“They will reflect that in their discussions with each other, that much is sure,” said Wallach.
The problem, he said, is that each of the kids are only getting their countries’ side of the story. At Seeds of Peace, the campers listen, often painfully, to the ways their countries’ actions are viewed by others.
Wallach said he hopes next year to bring youths from war-torn Northern Ireland and England as well—and have the program run for three months instead of just four weeks.
“These kids bring a lot of hate with them,” said Wallach. “We want them to learn the most important principle of all, which is how to listen and not to get upset.”
CAPTION: Singer-songwriter James Durst leads a gathering of 175 youths from eight countries in song during Tuesday’s opening ceremony as Seeds of Peace Camp Founder John Wallach and its executive vice president, Barbara Gottschalk, look on.