BY CATHERINE PARROTTA | OTISFIELD Tucked into a quiet corner of Otisfield, Seeds of Peace may look like any Maine summer camp. But that’s where the similarities end.
On Wednesday, the camp opened its 19th international session. For the next three weeks, nearly 200 teenagers from the US and seven Middle Eastern nations in conflict will call the camp home.
They come with some big goals. In addition to the typical summer camp activities, they’ll live with teens they’ve considered enemies, while attending dialogue sessions and conflict resolution activities.
Campers returning for a second year say Seeds of Peace is a unique experience that gives them an opportunity to spend time with people they would never have a chance to meet back home, while understanding perspectives other than their own. They say the biggest challenge is bringing that understanding back to their countries, where conflict often makes it difficult or impossible to maintain the dialogue started at camp.
The seeds join over 4,000 who have gone before them. While they know creating peace is difficult, they say they do believe it can be done. During this session, the campers represent the US, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, India and Pakistan.
Teenagers from Afghanistan were also slated to attend, but haven’t been able to fly out of their country due to documentation and logistical problems.