t 15, Shouq Tarawneh, a Jordanian, began
to feel that the facts and ideas she always accepted as truth needed clarification.
She saw Seeds of Peace, a program in the United States, as an opportunity to shed light on her feelings
of darkness. It allowed her, if only temporarily, to live among Palestinians, Egyptians and Moroccans.
Most important to Shouq, she would have her first face-to-face meeting with an Israeli.
Even after their countries agreed to live in peace, Shouq felt the images she had of her Israeli neigh-
bors were nothing more than stereotypes. She wanted to clarify them. She had much hope for Seeds of
Peace in Wayne, Maine.
"Before I came here, I felt like I was walking in a dark room," Shouq said. "I had opinions without
I've learned there are fences of su-
perstition among all of us. We have
old opinions of each other and ... we're
here to destroy those fences."
In mid-August, Shouq and her
peers met in Boston for briefing ses-
sions before spending two weeks at
Camp Androscoggin, in central
Maine.
The teens took buses to Washing-
ton for the final part of the program.
They met with high-level govern-
ment officials and toured the nation's
capital.
The third Seeds of Peace summer
ended last week for 130 participants.
They left Washington with a better
understanding of each other. While
the fences Shouq spoke of remain,
many of the teens said they have a
greater sensitivity toward how "the
other side sees things" and now have
a "face on the enemy."
Seeds of Peace was founded in
1993 by John Wallach, a Jewish jour-
nalist who wrote several books on the
Middle East, including a biography
he co-authored with his wife Janet on
PLO Chairman Yassir Arafat.
Mr. Wallach, who worked as a re-
porter and editor for Hearst News-
papers, planted the program's initial
seed shortly after the February 1993
bombing of the World Trade Center
in New York.
"Something went off in the back of
my head which said, 'There has got
to be a response to this type of ter-
rorism,' said Mr. Wallach, whose par-
ents are Holocaust survivors.
"It occurred to me the only
response was to get young people to- ents are given the option to pay $500
gether who aren't poisoned by the of the $2,500 cost. Other funds come
hostility of their region. With the from American Jewish and Arab
peace process moving forward, this donors.
became possible like never before."
According to Mr. Wallach, private
Mr. Wallach chose to establish the American donors, mostly Jews and
camp in the United States because it some Arabs, contribute a majority of
would put campers on a neutral play- the budget. The rest comes from a
ing field. He also believed it made number of foundations and individ-
sense given America's key role in uals, including an anonymous Saudi
mediating Middle East peace.
Arabian, the American Chamber of
Before Mr. Wallach's concept could Commerce in Egypt, the Blaustein
become anything more than an idea, Foundation, the Goldman Founda-
he needed to gain support. So he tion of San Francisco, the Fox Fam-
turned to Mr.
ily Foundation, the
Arafat, Israeli
Streisand Founda-
Prime Minister
tion and Time
Yitzhak Rabin
Warner Inc.
and other key
Seeds of Peace
Middle East lead-
isn't exclusive to
ers.
Middle East teens.
"I asked them
"We want to be
to trust me with
responsive to areas
some of their
of intense conflict,"
— Shouq Tarawneh Mr. Wallach said.
teens," Mr. Wal-
lach said.
To fulfill that goal, a
At first, the
handful of Bosnian
idea was difficult
and Serbian teens
to sell, especially to Egyptian gov- participated in this summer's pro-
ernment leaders who, according to gram.
Mr. Wallach, were skeptical about
"I can't think of any other place in
sending their children to be with the world where Bosnian and Serbs
are coexisting," he said. "We don't try
Israelis.
By the second summer, Morocco to hide the difficult issues. Instead,
and Jordan began sending their we try to give them the skills they
teens. Although Lebanon and Syria need to effectively debate their
were invited to participate, both issues."
When a bomb struck Sarajevo late
declined.
Funding such an endeavor is chal- last month, tensions at the camp es-
lenging. All participants are heavily calated. The Bosnian reaction was,
subsidized or completely funded. Par- "We hate the Serbs."
"The bravery peace
needs is not any less
than the bravery war
needs."
"We have to get them through
these initial feelings and encourage
them to sit down — with or without
a facilitator — and talk," Mr. Wallach
said. "It took 24 hours of dialogue be-
fore the Bosnian and Serbian teens
got back to their earlier level of friend-
ship."
While days are filled with swim-:
ming, canoeing and arts and crafts,
evenings are spent in "coexistence
groups." Through theatrics, games
and dialogue, the teens learn to solve
conflict through open discussion.
"There is great difficulty involved
in making real peace," Mr. Wallach
said. "The amount of hate and preju-
dice a 13-year-old brings with him
shows us how hard we have to work
to undo what's been taught."
Susan Siegel, a facilitator from
New York, listened last month as a
Palestinian girl told an Israeli girl, "I
hate you," and later apologized, say-
ing, "I really don't hate you, but that's
all I've ever learned."
"Watching this process is draining
and often frustrating," said Ms.
Siegel. "It's an incredible challenge to
work with kids who are so sophisti-
cated and feel a strong sense of
pride, passion and loyalty to their
countries."
During the coexistence groups, pro-
fessional facilitators conduct work-
shops designed to extract open
dialogue, allowing the teens to un-
leash their feelings.
Simultaneous evening sessions
could be spent talking about gender
differences, democracy and identity,
S EPTEMBER
pictures. Seeds of Peace is like a door out of the dark.
41