BY KAROUN DEMIRJIAN | OTISFIELD The buzz along Powhatan Road was enough to attract a small crowd of onlookers Wednesday morning as the newest class of campers at the Seeds of Peace International Camp in Otisfield sang national anthems to accompany the raising of their national flags.
The flag-raising ceremony is always a sight to behold. But this summer, as Hezbollah rockets fly over northern Israel and Israeli bombs explode in the streets of Gaza and Beirut, the sight of dozens of young adults from hostile Middle Eastern nations linking arms and chanting: “Peace, peace, I am a seed of peace” on a quiet road in Maine is particularly noticeable.
To these 180 campers, the connection between the back woods of Maine and the battle zones of the Middle East makes perfect sense.
“I’m part of the ‘war’ effort,” said Israeli camper Omer Duvdevani. “I believe my contribution is here, to peace, with those we call the enemy.”
Palestinian Kareem Uri also saw being in Maine as a service to his people. “It is the biggest resistance you can do for your country,” he said.
For fourteen summers, high school-age students from opposing sides of the world’s worst conflicts have come together for three weeks at the Seeds of Peace camp to live in cabins along the shores of Pleasant Lake and hash out their differences through dialogue, as well as traditional camp activities. This session’s campers include delegates from Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Palestine, as well as a contingent from Maine. Though they are just teenagers, campers are keenly aware of the importance—and uniqueness—of their work.
“Right now, people won’t even talk to each other,” said Mainer Micah Hendler, referring to leaders involved in Middle East conflicts. “Here, you won’t have to deal with that biggest obstacle to peace.”
Still, the real-world situation is bleak. Last week, following the outbreak of war in Lebanon, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Mussa pronounced the Middle East peace process “dead.” Wednesday’s international summit on the resolution of that conflict in Rome proceeded without key players from Israel, Iran, and Syria.
Still, experts contend, the lack of recent international steps toward peace does not obviate the value of programs like Seeds of Peace.
“It’s essential to keep these kind of activities alive to preserve the idea of hope,” said Herbert Kelman, a professor emeritus of social ethics at Harvard University and co-chair of the university’s seminar series on the Middle East. “That’s not just a sentimental statement … these activities make contributions that are very important, especially when there is no formal peace process.”
At the camp, it’s business as usual. “Every summer, every session we’ve had something,” said outgoing camp director Tim Wilson.
Sixteen-year-old Israeli Dani Schoffman and 17-year-old Palestinian Ghassan Faqes come from either side of what many consider the central issue in Middle East politics—the unresolved status of Israel and the Palestinian territories. The boys, who are from the neighboring cities of Jerusalem and Ramallah, met at camp two years ago and have maintained a close friendship by telephone, e-mail and in person, even though a high-security checkpoint separates the two cities. They said it’s often difficult to explain their Seeds of Peace bond to friends at home.
“They said a word in Arabic that means ‘you go and sit with Israelis who are killing us,’ ” said Ghassan. “They still believe that the other side’s an enemy. I mean, technically, they are our enemies, but I’m a human being, and he’s a human being.”
Dani said that resumed fighting could make it more difficult for this year’s first-time campers to come together. “There’s more rage because of what’s going on. So the first stage of getting over just shouting at each other may take a little longer,” he said.
Campers at Seeds of Peace are often reminded that their time in Maine is valuable training for when they someday become leaders in their home countries. But Dani and Ghassan already have messages for current world leaders.
Ghassan said he would remind Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that fighting hadn’t solved anything in nearly 58 years. “Everyone’s going to have to compromise,” he said.