BY MAHMOUD BAKR | For the second time the same group of Egyptian children witnessed a signing between the PLO and Israel. Mahmoud Bakr interviewed the children.
The historic Middle East agreement between the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Israel was celebrated as much by children as by adults. The fact that the children of the Middle East, in both Israel and the Arab world, are destined to become the main beneficiaries of peace was symbolically illustrated by the presence of some children at the official signing of the deal between Israel and the PLO in Cairo yesterday.
A group of 15 Egyptian children were surprised to learn on Tuesday morning that they were invited to attend the signing of the PLO-Israel deal in Cairo. The children, all boys, were accompanied by three child-minders, two women and a man, but did not seem to resent this as a curtailment of their freedom. They were, however, rather disappointed that they were not permitted to take centre stage as they had in Washington. All of them had attended the signing of the Declaration of Principles that took place in Washington on 13 September, 1993. Dressed in the same bright green T-shirts they wore as a symbol of peace last September in Washington, they were just as thrilled yesterday in Cairo.
But the Cairo affair was not quite a rerun of the White House event. “To begin with, everyone was euphoric on our return from Washington. Then it dawned on us that the peace process is not an easy one. There were still many problems that had not been resolved. Yes, the long years of war are now over, but many of the hardships largely generated by the wars are to stay with us for some time to come,” said Amir Osama, 14, of Al-Nasr School.
Thirteen-year-old Moataz Serag was elated to learn that he was invited to attend the PLO-Israeli peace deal signed in Cairo yesterday. “I felt that our efforts were crowned with success. Our presence as children at the Washington signing was not all in vain,” he said.
Five of the students are pupils at the Al-Nasr School, selected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the other ten attend Cairo American College (CAC).
Samia El-Babbli, one of the child-minders of the peace children, was ecstatic. “I can hardly believe my eyes or my ears. Looking at my sons I know that their future is secure. I could not contain my joy,” she said.
Essam Ahmed Iskandar, 14, was also aware of the importance of the event. “I’m proud to be an Egyptian, because Egypt has played a very important role in the peace process. Egypt was the first Arab country to acknowledge the inevitability of peace with Israel.”
Tamer Nagi, 14, also of Al-Nasr school, emphasized that the peace process must not be relegated to the politicians and statesmen. “Our presence as children at the signing of the PLO-Israeli agreement in Cairo is of vital importance because it puts the spotlight on the children of the future,” he said. “It is important that the Israeli and Palestinian children intermingle and learn how to communicate with each other,” he added.
Mohamed Hassan, 13, of the CAC in Maadi, said, “Now there is a need for the Arabs and Israelis to resolve their differences once and for all. We stand a better chance now more than ever before to advance the peace process.”