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Father, son hike to Mt. Everest Base Camp in support of Seeds of Peace programs

May 10, 2011 / 1 Comment

LONDON | Nyv (age 12) and his father Ori just spent 18 days in the Himalayas, hiking to the base of Mt. Everest. In doing so, the pair raised over $6,000 for Seeds of Peace.

“We believe that the work that Seeds of Peace is doing and the personal dedication of each Seed and supporter globally will enable us to reach the ultimate goal of making this world a better place,” says Ori.

Ori helped organize McKinsey & Company’s New Partner Orientation week during which Graduate Seeds teamed up with the New Partners. After that experience, “we felt in our family that we want to get more involved in peacemaking and with Seeds of Peace,” says Ori.

Nyv and Ori began their uphill trek to the Everest Base Camp on April 16, hiking by themselves for 10 days without guides, porters or support. “We were hoping to strengthen our relationship, test our mental and physical endurance and make it our own memorable adventure.”

When they reached the Base Camp (17,590 ft.), the pair placed the Seeds of Peace flag alongside the many national symbols at the site.

The next day, they summitted the Kala Pattar peak (18,514 ft.).

Follow the Fellows: She fought to be heard. Now she’s giving voice to others.

Jul 26, 2019 / No Comments

“I am sure there are people who might not consider me a ‘good girl,’” Mehwish, a 2019 GATHER Fellow, said recently in a phone interview.

In her country of Pakistan, she explained—as well as in many parts of the world—being a “good girl” in others’ eyes can mean kowtowing to demands, not making waves, and “saying yes to nonsense.”

That is not Mehwish.

“I don’t care what people think about me,” she said. “I cannot stand injustice and I cannot abide nonsense—regardless of whether it’s happening to me or my enemy.”

In a society where young women often have limited choices, Mehwish has been fighting to pave her own way since she was a teenager. Today, she’s become a source of knowledge and strength for others, and is dedicated to working with vulnerable communities, especially youth: educating them on their rights, empowering them to make good choices, and engaging them in the civil process so that they might be voices of change.

“Every young person should have a basic knowledge of life skills and legal rights, as well as courage and zest to speak about their community and achieve peace within their surroundings,” she said.

A LIGHT FOR OTHERS

Mehwish learned to be an independent thinker from her mother, a fortress of strength who raised Mehwish and her brother mostly alone. She taught Mehwish from an early age that girls, even young ones, had the same rights as boys, as well as the ability to question men, elders, and authority figures.

They were skills that would all too soon be put to the test. When Mehwish was 19, her mother died of cancer, and soon a battle began for Mehwish to fight off pressure from her extended family to marry young and to sign over her mother’s pension.

“It was a real hell for me, being a single 19-year-old woman,” she said. “And probably 90 percent of young women in my situation would have given up, just gone with the flow, and gotten married, but I said no, and I fought for my rights.”

Her mission now is to be the light to others that she wishes she would have had during those trying times. Through the Laureate Foundation, a non-governmental organization that Mehwish founded in 2008, she holds workshops, discussions, community dialogues, and trainings that aim to educate, empower, and encourage participants to become more actively involved in local elections and government.

In these programs, especially the dialogues, participants are able to learn to think critically, and to address problems that are core to the issues in their communities, like interfaith harmony, forced child marriages, and young people’s rights and roles in their societies. And while the people she works with vary greatly in age, education level, religious background, and socio-economic status, a large part of Mehwish’s attention is focused toward women and teenagers.

Researchers believe the rate of suicides and deliberate self harm among young people in Pakistan could be among the highest in the world, but it’s hard to know for sure: Organizations that track such things say it’s an under-studied, under-discussed topic in the country, possibly in part because of the criminalization of suicidal behavior in Pakistan.

“There is so much pressure on youth to succeed, yet they are given few chances to make decisions, to be heard, or to pursue avenues to contribute to society other than the ones their families expect of them,” she said. “The challenges I went through as a young girl have shown me it is imperative to enhance youth’s skills so they are capable of making the right choices, and participating in their communities in a way that ensures a peaceful society.”

LOOKING AHEAD

There tends to be an underlying urgency in Mehwish’s voice. She speaks directly and concisely, and in most pictures, she looks out from under a brightly colored hijab with a discerning, determined gaze that suggests she’s seen a lot for a young woman who only recently turned 30.

More than 2,500 people have passed through her programs already, including dozens of minority youths who have gone on to receive prestigious international scholarships, members of the transgender community who are leading movements for civil rights, and women who have taken control of their futures by starting businesses and continuing informal education. Now, she is using her time with GATHER to focus on the next goal: creating a more empathetic society. She hopes that in the long run, this will mean more opportunities for youth to participate in dialogues and lead change in their communities, and less room for intolerance, despair, and extremism.

Despite the success of her work so far, it hasn’t been easy making change in a society where many see her work as a challenge to the patriarchal order. She isn’t one to dwell on her hardships, however, and though she rarely shows cracks in her armor, she learned through her experiences with Seeds of Peace— first as a Delegation Leader in 2015, and now as a Fellow—the importance of allowing yourself to be vulnerable and to talk about your challenges.

Doing so with her GATHER cohort, she said, has helped her move past some hurdles that have been holding her back, like not approaching certain people within the local government offices for fear of being harassed.

“After leaving the GATHER convening in April, I came back and talked to the people I had been avoiding in the past,” she said. “I entered the government offices with the mindset that it would go great, and it actually ended up very good. I found good people there.”

She isn’t one to dwell on her hardships, but believes they can be opportunities to learn, grow, and take action.

“The world around us can be harsh, but the reason I survived is because I developed the power to identify and analyze a situation, and then get out of it sooner rather than later,” she said. “And this is something I want to work on with my youth. You didn’t meet your parents expectations? That doesn’t mean you have to end your life—let’s explore more avenues you can go down. It is important to be able to travel through a difficult path if you want to create your own.”

This series highlights our 2019 GATHER Fellows. To learn more about the inspiring social change that Mehwish and our other Fellows are working towards, check out #FollowtheFellows on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Ned Lazarus Diary No. 2
Slate

Nov 6, 2001 / No Comments

We’re harboring a fugitive today. She’s a 17-year-old Palestinian from a small village in the northern West Bank, and she’s got to take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language, required for international students to be accepted to American universities) tomorrow if she wants to get out of that little village and do something with her adult life.

Our fugitive is one of those stereotype-smashing hijab girls. We get one or two at Seeds of Peace camp every summer, and each one is unforgettable. They are talented, outgoing, witty, tough, wise, like so many of the kids that make it to our camp—but the hijab girls make an especially deep impression, because they come wrapped in the symbols of our deepest preconceptions. We will get to her story in a second, but first, definition:

HIJAB—the head scarf worn by observant Muslim women. The hijab covers just the hair—it is not a veil. It is the common outdoor gear for Palestinian Muslim women; the oppressive, face-hiding, and full-body-covering burkhas of Talibanistan are happily not in fashion here.

Actually, before I go any further, I’d better present the standard disclaimer, in order that the audience will listen to me and not their own preconceptions. DISCLAIMER: MY BIAS ON THE ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT—I’ve learned through guiding five years of Arab-Jewish dialogue and observing countless holier-than-thou arguments that if you have an opinion on the “Middle East situation,” you probably won’t read to the end of this paragraph to listen to mine.

You could be pro-Arab or pro-Israeli; as long as you’re passionate about the issue, you probably prefer lecturing to listening, and your first instinct in any discussion is to jump to conclusions about which “side” everybody else is on (I don’t mean to jump to conclusions about you; it’s just what I’m used to every time I try to explain my job). Well, don’t. Hear me out. I’m presenting the conflict through the eyes of teen-agers on both sides trying to live through it, so that’s worth a listen. It’s not what you’re used to. Trust me.

My bias on the conflict is that I’m against it. Having studied it thoroughly and observed it firsthand for five years, I’ve come to the definite conclusion that I am anti-the-conflict. It is a toxic element in our atmosphere. It is hazardous to human beings; it kills and maims hundreds every year, twisting bodies and minds into grotesque shapes that do not resemble the dreams of parents who brought them into the world. It has poisoned the souls of millions of Jews and Arabs and by absorption is steadily poisoning the souls of their great religions.

So I am militantly anti-the-conflict. It’s not just an ideological thing. It’s personal. It’s flesh and blood. This conflict is a clear and present danger to hundreds of incredible young Palestinians and Israelis whom I have been honored to befriend, who have the potential to do wonders in their lifetimes, if they will be allowed to really live. We lost one of our brightest stars, an Arab-Israeli boy named Asel Asleh already, gunned down last October at age 17 (details in upcoming diaries). For now, just bear in mind that I, like too many Palestinians and Israelis, know what it means to see a life stolen by the hatred and violence generated by this conflict.

Asel, of blessed memory, wrote presciently at age 15 to his Arab and Jewish friends on our e-mail listserv, SeedsNet: “There’s two things left to say: Enjoy every minute of this life while you’re still breathing 
 and second, be somebody, and not just anybody.” Those are guiding principles of our work: to enrich the lives of young people, and inspire them to make a difference in the world.

These are the spirit of Seeds of Peace. The founding principle, as repeated tirelessly by our president and founder John Wallach to every new group of Seeds, is to value equally human lives on both sides and to work to break the cycle of violence that destroys them.

That’s my bias. I am militantly pro the Israeli and Palestinian kids I work with, and militantly anti the threats to their freedom, safety, happiness and existence. That does put me at odds with a lot of elements on both sides, as both sides dedicate a staggering percentage of their national resources to threatening each other’s children.

If you feel your own bias rising as I criticize some Israeli or Arab policy or personage, it’s not because I hate one side and love the other. There’s a lot of people on both sides that I love, and some on both sides that I hate—but it’s not political or ethnic. My standard makes perfect sense in your basic human terms—I love people who bring something good into the lives of my kids, and I want to stop the people who are trying to hurt them.

NO! That’s more than 800 words already 
 it’s tough to meet this format. Guess I have to end with a preview: Meet stereotype-smashing hijab-wearing peace-making teen-age fugitive in Ned’s “Diary” tomorrow!

Read Ned Lazarus’ diary entry No. 2 at Slate »

Seeds of Peace alumni rally for October riots victims
The Jerusalem Post

Jan 3, 2008 / No Comments

Demonstration was signal to Arab community of Israel that Jews just as outraged by Mazuz’s decision, one protester said

JERUSALEM | Some 40 people demonstrated in front of the Justice Ministry in Jerusalem on Tuesday, demanding that it reopen the investigation into the October 2000 riots, in which 13 Israeli-Arab civilians were killed by police.

The protest was organized by graduates of the Seeds of Peace movement, which lost one of its members, Asil Asala, in the riots. According to eyewitnesses, Asala, who did not participate in the clashes, had been wearing the movement’s T-shirt when he was chased by police and shot. He was 17 at the time.

Noa Epstein, a student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem—as well as a member of the youth movement during Asala’s year—said the demonstration was a signal to the Arab community of Israel that Jews were just as outraged by Mazuz’s decision.

“It is unthinkable that you have 13 people in their graves, 13 Israeli citizens shot by Israeli police, and no one is held responsible,” Epstein said.

The demonstrators also sent letters to Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, writing that if the victims of the shooting had been Jews, the investigation would not have been closed.

“We are losing the moral ground to claim Israel is a democracy,” they wrote. “We ask the prime minister and the attorney-general, how do you intend to deal with the mounting frustration in the Arab sector? Can’t you see that it’s tearing the country apart?” Epstein said.

She said they had many questions about the investigation of the deaths.

“The officer who most probably shot Asil refused to undergo a polygraph test, so they just let him go,” she said. “We realize that there are many more problems in the investigation, such as the refusal of the families to have the bodies exhumed, but we believe that much more can still be done.”

Mazuz made the decision last week to close the investigation against the policemen involved.

“The incident involved the use of operational judgment in an emergency situation,” Mazuz wrote in his ruling. He also said forensic evidence was legally insufficient to press charges.

Critics pointed out that the criminal investigation had started only after the commission of inquiry submitted its findings—two years after the events.

Read Dimi Reider’s article at The Jerusalem Post »

Planting global harmony
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)

Jan 28, 2003 / No Comments

BY VERENA DOBNIK | Seventeen-year-old Julia Frazier of Fort Lee has an indelible memory of summer camp: She’s standing on a large seesaw, 10 people balancing at each end, with a glass of water teetering at the fulcrum. The exercise was meant to show the teenagers, who came from around the world, what it takes to negotiate a peace between warring factions. When one person moved, all the others had to quickly shift in response.

“If everyone took even a tiny step, it would upset the balance. We had to choose one person to take that step, support that person, and balance as a team. “Every person matters—big or small,” said Frazier, a high school senior who attends the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

The seesaw test was staged in the woods of Otisfield, Maine, as part of a summer camp run by Seeds of Peace, a private, non-profit organization founded by the late author and journalist John Wallach. Since 1993, Seeds has brought together about 2,000 youths from warring lands—Israelis and Palestinians, Indians and Pakistanis, Cypriot Turks and Greeks, Bosnian Muslims and Serbs, tribal members from Afghanistan.

Two events this month reinforce its international reputation: Aaron David Miller, the U.S. State Department’s senior adviser for Arab-Israeli negotiations, was named president of the New York-based organization. “Seeds of Peace reflects the type of effort so desperately needed in the Middle East,” Secretary of State Colin Powell said in announcing Miller’s departure.

Comedian Janeane Garofalo was the host of a benefit auction in Manhattan, where former President Bill Clinton noted that there have been 120 Middle East suicide bombings in the past two years. The Canadian pop band Barenaked Ladies was given the first MTV Seeds of Peace Award.

Seeds members have been touched directly by both war and peace. Asel Asleh, a 17-year-old Palestinian, was wearing a Seeds of Peace T-shirt when killed by Israeli soldiers during a rock-throwing protest in Israel two years ago. Similar shirts were worn by Seeds members invited to the White House in 1993, when Clinton hosted the signing of a Middle East peace accord between Israel’s then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat—a pact that did not endure.

Growing up in Fort Lee, Frazier planned to study marine biology or the environment. But her two weeks at the Seeds camp, as one of four American delegates, changed all that—inspiring her instead to seek out colleges with strong programs in international relations and conflict resolution. “Now I want to do everything in my power to solve problems between people—especially one on one,” she said. “Seeds has changed my idea about college.”

At the Maine camp, between competitive sports, music-making, and arts courses, she learned about centuries-old ethnic hatreds. Frazier was assigned to mediate discussions of the conflict in Cyprus, the Mediterranean island nation where Greeks and Turks coexist in an armed truce that periodically erupts in violence.

“Before the camp session, I knew nothing about that country, except that it was somewhere near Greece. And I thought, how can I possibly contribute anything?” Frazier said. Suddenly, she was living in a Spartan lakeside cabin with Greeks and Turks, one of whom had lost his grandfather in a political revenge killing. During intense face-to-face sessions called “Coexistence,” she listened to Cypriot youths lay out their island’s tortured history since it was granted independence by Britain in 1960: ethnic Greeks and Turks fighting for their respective rights; a CIA-sponsored coup and a 1974 invasion by Turkey; and the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Greeks from their homes.

“After, they turned to me to ask what I thought. I was able to give them a kind of bird’s-eye view, because I wasn’t partial to either side, and I was sympathetic to what I was hearing—I spoke from the heart,” she said. “I said, ‘You are justified in having your own point of view. But you aren’t going to get anywhere if you’re just trying to prove that you’re right.'”

Frazier sees similar forces at work in social and family issues in her own country. “Conflicts have the same human roots, whether it’s East Coast-West Coast gang rivalry or family problems—everybody wants to be right,” she said.

Wallach, a son of Holocaust survivors, founded Seeds after years as a foreign correspondent covering the strife and failed diplomacy of the Middle East, hoping the camp could help bright young people from the region find the keys to peace. Seeds alumni “go home very, very different from when they arrive. I think they now know the enemy. … The enemy is now human,” Wallach said before his death last July.

Frazier understands that. “Not reacting with anger can be really lonely, but I’ve made the connection to Seeds: How you deal with your personal life determines how you deal with the world.”

Keeping the peace: Group says youths are the keys to world harmony
Chicago Tribune

Jan 20, 2003 / No Comments

BY VERENA DOBNIK | Julia Frazier has an indelible memory of summer camp—standing on a large seesaw, 10 people at each end, balancing so a glass of water in the middle didn’t spill. The exercise was meant to show the teenagers, who came from around the world, what it takes to negotiate peace between warring factions.

“If everyone took even a tiny step, it would upset the balance. We had to choose one person to take that step, support that person and balance as a team. Every person matters—big or small,” said Frazier, a 17-year-old high school senior who attends the Masters School in this Hudson River community north of New York City.

The seesaw test was staged in the woods of Otisfield, Maine, as part of a summer camp run by Seeds of Peace, a private, nonprofit organization founded by the late author and journalist John Wallach. Since 1993, Seeds has brought together about 2,000 youths from warring lands—Israelis and Palestinians, Indians and Pakistanis, Cypriot Turks and Greeks, Bosnian Muslims and Serbs, and tribal members from Afghanistan.

Two events this month reinforce its international reputation. Aaron David Miller, the U.S. State Department’s senior adviser for Arab-Israeli negotiations, was named president of the New York- based group. “Seeds of Peace reflects the type of effort so desperately needed in the Middle East,” Secretary of State Colin Powell said in announcing Miller’s departure.

Comedian Janeane Garofalo was the host of a benefit auction in Manhattan, where former President Bill Clinton noted that there have been 120 Middle East suicide bombings in the past two years. The Canadian pop band Barenaked Ladies was given the first MTV Seeds of Peace Award.

Seeds members have been touched directly by both war and peace. Asel Asleh, a 17-year-old Palestinian, was wearing a Seeds of Peace T-shirt when killed by Israeli soldiers during a rock- throwing protest in Israel two years ago. Similar shirts were worn by Seeds members invited to the White House in 1993, when Clinton hosted the signing of a Middle East peace accord between Israel’s then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat—a pact that did not endure.

John Wallach, a son of Holocaust survivors, founded Seeds after years as a foreign correspondent covering the strife and failed diplomacy of the Middle East, hoping the camp could help bright young people from the region find the keys to peace. Seeds alumni “go home very, very different from when they arrive. I think they now know the enemy. . . The enemy is now human,” Wallach said before his death last July.

Shoot Some Pool, Make Some Peace
The Los Angeles Times

May 16, 1998 / No Comments

BY ANDREW FRIEDMAN | Maybe if presidents and prime ministers shared hotel rooms, shot pool down in the lobby in between negotiating sessions, sneaked into one another’s rooms at night for some rowdy horseplay or sat in the hallways way past bedtime laughing about funny stories from camp last summer—maybe if they really cared about one another—there would be peace in the Middle East.

The 75 Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian, Jordanian and American teenagers who convened recently in Villars, Switzerland, to negotiate the final status issues of the Middle East peace process had something going for them that their leaders, who met in London at the same time, didn’t. We had friendship.

When Hillary Rodham Clinton made her now-famous remarks supporting the creation of a Palestinian state, she was talking to us. But as momentous as her statement was, it was not the most significant event to transpire during the course of the Seeds of Peace-Novartis Middle East Youth Summit. The very fact that we could spend eight days together discussing, arguing, talking, cajoling and ultimately defining for ourselves the outlines of what permanent normalcy (“real” peace) might be, was far more revolutionary in its implications than the first lady’s remarks.

We had gathered in Switzerland to attempt to negotiate issues including refugees, Jerusalem and sovereignty—issues still too difficult for our elders to discuss. Each delegate was a graduate of Seeds of Peace, a foundation that brings young Arabs and Israelis and Americans together at a camp in Maine every summer. This first ever youth summit aimed at drafting a general agreement on the final status issues, tested to the maximum the strength of our friendships and the durability of our trust. It was a test of our commitment to one another and to peace. At camp, we had agreed to disagree; here, we needed to compromise and debate until we reached agreement. The summit gave us a rare opportunity to actually influence our leaders, to be a part of history-in-the-making. Yasser Arafat, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Clintons, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and Jordan’s King Hussein have agreed to read our agreement. The pride and responsibility that came with this realization set the tone for the entire week of negotiations.

But the summit was not a sugar-coated performance. Some adults worried we’d leave feeling as disillusioned and disappointed with one another as the real negotiators do. None of us, though, was expecting Utopia. Everybody came prepared to deal with real issues and real emotions. If making personal peace was hard, making a peace treaty would be even harder.

In my committee’s discussions about the refugees, we spent the week haggling over proposals, tweaking, arguing some more, until we could finally reach a compromise. One of the last days of the negotiations, I was having a private discussion with the Palestinians, Egyptians and Jordanians. We were trying to persuade a Palestinian girl to compromise. An Egyptian girl movingly pleaded with her to understand that reality would never be able to live up to her dreams. That is a tragedy, but one we must all accept. The Palestinian girl sat there silently for a little while, then she started crying. Her tears represented a heart-wrenching letting go of her impossible dream in exchange for a less-desirable reality.

When we finally reached an agreement, we all cheered and hugged. I was excited and fearful for my summit peers about what we had accomplished: This truly is their future on the line. They all have a vested interest in the success of the peace process, because if it fails, it will be they who will again be forced into the cycles of hatred and violence. That’s what everybody is afraid of and that’s why we were all there.

So whether the next summit of the “real” leaders is next week or next year, I hope they will look to our example. My advice to President Clinton, Yasser Arafat and Benjamin Netanyahu is simple: Next time you meet, why don’t the three of you share a room? You might learn something about one another you didn’t know. You might discover that your assumptions about one another have been wrong all along. You might even make a friend. And you might even decide that your friendship is worth a little compromise.

We did.

Remarks of Secretary of State Colin L. Powell to Seeds of Peace

Aug 14, 2001 / No Comments

Thank you very much, John. It was wonderful to be serenaded by these great kids. I want you all to know that you sound an awful lot better than I did when I sang in Asia last month …

Welcome The Department of State. I want to congratulate all 160 campers—Palestinians, Jordanians, Israelis, Israeli Arabs, Egyptians, Tunisians, Qataris, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Macedonians, Kosovars, and Yugoslavians. And my thanks also to the other VIPs here—the assembled Ambassadors, colleagues, friends of Seeds of Peace, Bobbie, Tim and Lindsay.

What is happening now in the Middle East makes what you are doing all the more important. Since its inception, you and your predecessors in Seeds have helped us understand that peace is possible. If only we can end the violence. If only we can break down the barriers of hatred and distrust.

In your anthem you just sand: “We stand hand-in-hand as we watch the bricks fall. We’ve learned from the past and fear not what’s ahead.”

That’s very good. I like that. And I commend you for your courage and for daring to believe that, no matter how bad at times things can get, a bright future still is possible.

The horrors of this past week only serve to remind us why peace is so urgent. Your lives and the lives of your generation are far too precious to be wasted on perpetuating hate and endless conflict.

Seeds of Peace not only inspires hope—Seeds of Peace creates hope. You are among the best and brightest of your generation. You have dedicated yourselves to work for peace. To speak for peace even when the voices of hate and violence and vengeance shout all around you.

Your experiences in Seeds give real content to what peace between peoples can really mean in practice. Seeds has equipped you with the skills and tools to listen not preach, to teach not lecture. Most important of all, it has shown you how to share what you have felt and learned with others.

Looking at all of you, it is easier for me and others of my generation to envision a Cyprus, a Middle East, and a Balkans free of conflict. To envision that a web of personal and economic ties will one day replace mistrust and misunderstanding. To envision a time where friendships such as those you have made as Seeds are the norm and not the exception. Where young people of different ethnic backgrounds can grow up to be good neighbors.

Like each of you, Asel Asleh was a Seeds of Peace. He lost his life last October, but he remains an enduring symbol of Hope. He embodied the Seeds’ ideals of promoting understanding and peaceful coexistence. Asel was a sensitive, caring, articulate young leader fighting the legacy of hatred to build a brighter future for Arabs and Israelis alike.

Tragically, he did not live to see the future he dreamed of, but each and every one of you must carry on for him, inspired by his memory, so that you will help create the future he wanted so much to be a part of.

Like all of you, President Bush believes, and I believe, that Asel Asleh’s vision is attainable. Not just a wonderful dream. And like you, we will keep working hard at peace.

President Bush and I, and all the people in this room who are dedicated to the principles of Seeds, will continue to do everything we can to ensure that your future will be different. That your world will be better. That your lives will be free of fear and full of opportunity.

Seeds is making a difference—one day at a time, one person at a time, one mind at a time, one heart at a time. You are terrific and I want to thank each and every on of you for what you are doing. I am honored to be a part of your outstanding program.

And now, I will be glad to answer some questions. And if I don’t get the time to answer every one now, I know that Aaron Miller will be on hand to field some more later in the program.

VIDEO: “We will find a way to peace,” Secretary of State Albright Tells Mideast Teens

Aug 20, 1997 / No Comments

WASHINGTON | “We will succeed, we will find a way to peace” in the Middle East, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright assured Arab and Israeli youth who visited the State Department August 20 after a month-long stay at a summer camp in Maine, where they learned about coexistence.

The 175 youth included Palestinians and Israelis as well as others from Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan and, for the first time, Qatar, which is scheduled to host the fourth Middle East Economic Summit in November.

The teenagers were part of the fifth annual “Seeds of Peace” program, a coexistence and conflict-resolution initiative that was started by John Wallach, an American author and journalist. The students were to attend a fund-raising concert later tonight in Washington. The program does not receive government funds.

Repeating that she will “soon” be traveling to the Middle East, Albright told the 13-to-15 year-olds that “perhaps the most important” part of peace-making is that the parties must remember that “peace is not just one option among many, it is the only path that offers security and the hope of prosperity; the only path that holds out the promise of a future better than the past.”

“The United States has worked for many years to help the Middle East peace process succeed. Diplomatically, politically and financially, we have supported those who have been willing to take risks for peace,” Albright reminded the teens.

She told the youngsters:

“Making the decision to build peace matters not because building peace is easy, but because it is hard. In any such effort there will be highs and lows, good times and bad. And I suspect that was the way it was at camp in Maine. It must have been hard, coping with the terrible bombing in Jerusalem. But I understand you all came together—that Palestinians, regardless of their own grievances, were there to comfort and console their Israeli friends, and that the Palestinian flag was lowered to half-mast, out of sorrow and respect. Upon this lesson, a common future may be built, that pain experienced by one is pain shared by all. An action that eases the burden of one will lighten the load for all.”

Albright was referring to the July 30 bombing in Jerusalem in which 14 Israelis were killed as well as the two suicide bombers.

The program, which was documented by various film crews and covered by the international press, started with four youngsters—two Palestinians and two Israelis—telling the secretary about their feelings during their various encounters and their hopes at the summer camp in Maine. The youngsters later sang their theme song—”I am a seed of peace”—and Secretary Albright joined them in the rendition.

Albright added:

“The time has come for neighbors to live as neighbors, and for all to understand that no one’s blood is less or more precious than another’s. President Clinton and I have pledged to do everything we can to help the parties revive and keep alive the momentum towards peace. Let me assure you now, we will keep that pledge.

“And as I look around the room, I have faith that we will succeed. Not overnight, not without additional setbacks; but we will succeed. We will find the way to peace. Those made free by the vision of a world in which historic enemies have joined hands will not allow themselves to be dragged back by those still paralyzed by prejudice.”

Albright’s Remarks to Middle East Seeds

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Thank you all. Thank you very much, John. I really am very pleased to be here with all of you on this afternoon. Welcome to the Department of State. I wish that all our guests could sing as well, and that I could join them.

I hope you all had a very good time in Maine. A lot of people have now heard about this program, thanks to some TV and a lot of wonderful things that you all have done.

I know that you had a hard time with the mosquitoes. I have been to Maine, myself, so I know they’re pretty hard to put up with. You could start wearing T-shirts that also said, “I Survived the Mosquitoes.”

I also understand that during your camp talent show, you had Prime Minister Netanyahu and Chairman Arafat settle their differences. Not only did they trade land for peace, but they exchanged wives and mothers-in-law.

Maybe I’ll try that out when I go there.

I’m not quite sure how I feel about all that, but I’m glad I wasn’t there. And I might have been part of the bargain, so …

Let me say how deeply I was moved by what Roy and Hani and Sarah and Noah said. Those were very moving statements. Don’t be surprised if some of them show up in my speeches. I think lighting a spark in your heart is terrific. And if I may steal that from you, I will.

I just gave my first, as Secretary of State, serious speech on the Middle East. And as people in the State Department know, it was a pretty tough speech and had a lot of hard parts in it. But I insisted that it have a spark of hope, and that was when I discussed your program because I believe that what you are doing is so important to what we’re all trying to achieve in the Middle East.

John—and I will call you John—as you know, I’m a great fan and a great fan of what you have done. I think you deserve all our thanks from all over. It’s a remarkable program.

I think it’s hard to believe that anybody who is 60 was ever young. But I was and the impressions that one forms when one is young stay with you forever. So I know that the feelings that you all expressed today and have lived through in the last weeks will stay with you.

I also believe deeply in the central premise of Seeds of Peace, which is that differences in outlook and culture and creed can be bridged by knowledge and understanding.

Seeds of Peace helps you learn enough about history to understand that there is more than one side to it; enough about your neighbors to know them as individuals; and enough about yourselves to know that your own happiness can never rest on the misery of others.

That is not only knowledge, but wisdom. And by applying that wisdom, each of you may become a true builder of peace.

So I thank you for the hope you strengthen in me, especially now. For one of the reasons I’m pleased to welcome you here—to my official home, that is—is because soon I will be traveling to the Middle East for the first time as Secretary of State.

While there, I will be talking to your leaders—Roy, I will—about the need to get the peace process back on track. I hope to have a chance to meet with students and non-governmental organizations, as well. If we can arrange it, I would love to meet with as many of you there as we can put together.

The United States has worked for many years to help the Middle East peace process succeed. Diplomatically, politically and financially, we have supported those who have been willing to take risks for peace. And we have endorsed the vision of a future in which Israelis, Arabs and Palestinians would live and work together without terror or violence and with an end to hatred and distrust. And much progress has been made. I fully do believe that the people that live in the region do want peace.

Unfortunately, in recent months, that progress has stalled. A crisis of confidence has arisen between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Israelis say that the Palestinians are not doing enough to stop terror. Palestinians object to unilateral Israeli measures that seem to prejudge the outcome of negotiations. The United States cannot impose peace. But we are encouraging the two sides to resume their partnership for peace.

Security must be seen not simply as a goal to be achieved once the journey to a final peace has been completed. There must be security every step of the way. There must also be a true commitment to peace. Differences should be settled at the bargaining table, and unilateral steps that sow suspicion should be avoided.

Perhaps most important, the parties must remember why they came together to pursue peace in the first place. For peace is not just one option among many. It is the only path that offers security and the hope of prosperity; the only path that holds out the promise of a future better than the past.

There have been too many wars, too many acts of violence, too many dead, too much suffering, uncertainty and fear. The time has come for neighbors to live as neighbors and for all to understand that no one’s blood is less or more precious than another’s.

President Clinton and I have pledged to do everything we can to help the parties revive and keep alive the momentum towards peace. Let me assure you now, we will keep that pledge.

As I look around the room, I have faith that we will succeed—not overnight, not without additional setbacks. But we will succeed. We will find the way to peace.

Those made free by the vision of a world in which historic enemies have joined hands will not allow themselves to be dragged back by those still paralyzed by prejudice.

Making the decision to build peace matters not because building peace is easy, but because it is hard. In any such effort, there will be highs and lows, good times and bad. And I suspect that was the way it was at camp in Maine. It must have been hard coping with the terrible bombing in Jerusalem. But I understand you all came together; that Palestinians, regardless of their own grievances, were there to comfort and console their Israeli friends; and that the Palestinian flag was lowered to half-mast out of sorrow and respect.

Upon this lesson, a common future may be built—that pain experienced by one is pain shared by all. An action that eased the burden of one will lighten the load for all.

No one has a greater stake in the future of the Middle East than you, for you are the region’s future. It will be your actions and your aspirations, your choices and your bravery that will determine whether and how the next half-century will differ from the last.

As Seeds of Peace, know that you are on the right path. Look around at your new friends in this room and know that you are not alone. And look to the United States of America and know that the builders of peace have an unshakable ally.

It has been said that all work that is worth anything is done in faith. This afternoon, as you prepare to return home, let us each embrace the faith that your courage and your actions can make a difference. And that every mind opened by your insights, every friend touched by your affection, every soul inspired by your passion, every injustice prevented by your integrity, and every barrier to peace brought down by your determination will ennoble your own life, inspire others, and expand outward the boundaries of what is achievable in your region and on Earth.

Thank you all very much, and keep it up.

‘Women want sexual health advice’
Express Tribune (Pakistan)

Dec 4, 2011 / No Comments

LAHORE | Women made up the bulk of visitors at a free medical camp. According to Dr Mahak Mansoor – a gynaecologist who works at Mayo Hospital and was one of the four doctors who volunteered at the camp – said most of them sought advice about reproductive health.

Around 300 people came to the camp, according to the organisers. Free of charge tests for diabetes, calcium and cholesterol levels were also provided.

The camp was set up by the Seeds of Peace, as part of their ‘Change Maker’ programme, in collaboration with the Trust for Education and Development of Deserving Students at The Trust School in Green Town.

Dr Mansoor, said that the women’s interest had highlighted the need for counselling women from rural and impoverished areas about reproductive health. She said that such programmes were essential for incorporating a sense of social responsibility in the youth.

About 10 students from various educational institutes including Beaconhouse School System, Crescent Model School and FC College volunteered at the camp along with 15 members of Seeds of Peace. The young volunteers put up banners and distributed leaflets in the surrounding areas to help create awareness about personal hygiene. They also delivered lectures in Urdu and Punjabi at the camp.

Read Aroosa Shaukat’s article in The Express Tribune â€șâ€ș