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THE HANDSTAND |
DECEMBER 2002 |
| PORTUGUESE
PEACE ACTIVISTS WRITE TO THE HANDSTAND By Barbara
Kovats Dear friends, colleagues, peaceworkers! The
International Peacecamp “Peace for Israel and
Palestine” which took place in Tamera, Portugal from
August 19th to September 6th 2002
was a promising beginning which demands consequences now.
The Camp became an international love issue for all
involved and now we face the crucial question: How do we
make this emerging love last? The
participants came from all walks of life and all age
groups. The younger ones particularly were a reason for
hope. Young Palestinians who live under the Occupation
everyday, who have to witness the violence right in front
of their door without a chance to do anything about it,
impressed us deeply with their steady
“NEVERTHELESS”. With all their determination
they insisted on their truth: violence only creates
counter-violence, we need a different solution. They put
a lot of energy into their work with children and their
artistic work and say: “We need an education which
enables us to overcome the idea of enemies!” From
the younger section there were conscientious objectors
from Israel, ‘peace fighters’ from Palestine
politically committed students. Their understanding of
the conflict, commitment and determination to create a
process of peace between Israel and Palestine was
enlightening. For
many of the Co-workers of Tamera it was a first direct
contact to people of a current war zone. It makes a big
difference whether you see the cruelty only on TV or
whether you see the suffering of the people right in
front of you. Our hearts were moved, many tears of
compassion were shed and at the same time our political
commitment gained strength and grew more determined. For
the friendships that developed made the whole Peacecamp
an ‘international and political love affair’. For
three weeks Tamera reached a new level of international
co-existence; politically, intellectually, spiritually
and creatively. There were times when the common longing
and the common goal to create a cosmic home and connect
to all beings on this earth became visible - A healing
power surpassing the history and implanted image of
‘two enemies’. Peaceful thinking involves
building up a vision of peace which is fundamentally
beyond the thought of enemies. There were many conflicts
to solve and we could study ourselves and on others to
find what it means to solve conflicts on a higher level
of a common goal and through the discovery that in the
end we all share the same longings, hopes and fears. Our
contribution was that we offered space for perception and
listened to many different voices. That the camp was outside the conflict area and within a living, working community had great effect. For most participants it would be impossible to meet in Israel and Palestine, but here they cooked together, played music, took walks, all important aspects in finding common ground. So two parallel parts came to merge; a heart space of friendship, and the political task of discovering concrete strategies in group discussion. PAt
the center of these strategies was the idea of the
Peacevillage. Very soon this possibility started to shine
on the horizon as a possible alternative. And now … post-camp: After a period of reflection it is now time to bring together some of the ideas and visions, to formulate them into practical realities.At the moment there are five main lines along which we plan our further cooperation: 1.
The first and most important consequence we take is to
place the coming Summer university 2003 under the motto
“Movement for a Free Earth”. We want to put our
work here in Tamera into the service of the
worldwide peace movement. The Peaceschool Mirja will
prepare and plan the next Summer University. We will
emphasize the global aspect of the peace movement,
strengthen it and work out models of solution. To this we
invite our friends from Israel/Palestine, committed
peaceworkers from Columbia, Ex-Yugoslavia and other areas
of crisis to work on mutual alternatives and
perspectives. Give the voice of peace the strength and
the publicity that it needs 2. Towards the end of the Peacecamp the idea came to organize a Peace Concert in the Nativity Church in Bethlehem. A participant from the Occupied Territories has already taken the first steps to realize this event. Israeli musicians and a first group from Tamera are already determined to make their way to that concert and the choir of the Peaceschool Mirja in Tamera would perform there as well. For the students of the Peaceschool the preparation and organization of this journey will be part of their education towards peacework. We will go if we find sponsors for this journey. We are grateful for direct financial support and ideas are very welcome as well. 3.
We have spoken to a German publisher who is interested in
publishing a documentation of the Peacecamp as a book. In
this case the book would be published in autumn 2003 at
the earliest. Whoever knows a way for a quicker
publication please let us know. At the moment we have a
writing workshop in Tamera where we work out all the
material we have and do further future planning. This
material must go into the world. 4.
We plan a Peace Concert tour summer 2003 through Germany,
Switzerland, France, Spain and Portugal together with the
Israeli musicians Yair Dalal and Avi Agababa, as well as
Palestinian and International musicians and lecturers. It
would be combined with short peace visions and project
presentations. Peacetalk contribution and musical acts
shall strengthen and support each other. We plan to end
the tour at the big Summercamp “Movement for a Free
Earth” in Tamera, Portugal. 5. An initiative for a Peacevillage in Israel/Palestine developed. Moshe Berger founded the Motivation Circle for the founding of a Peacevillage on the Peacecamp. Since we believe in the field building power of peace models and we ourselves follow this principle in the building up of Tamera, we think a lot of how we can strengthen and support this growing initiative. We think of a next meeting attended by the co-wokers of Tamera already this winter when we travel to Bethlehem. (http://www.geocities.com/motivation_circle)
Our strongest motivation is to build up the Movement for a Free Earth and bring together more and more people who are committed to peace. Our work on the inside as well as on the outside serves the realization of this vision. Again, we want to thank you for your support, ideas and interest in our work. In the name of the IGF - Shalom and Salaam! Sabine Lichtenfels and Benjamin von Mendelssohn Institute
for Global Peace Work, Tamera, Monte do Cerro, P-7630
Colos, PortugalTel: +351-283 635 -484, Fax: -374,
email: igf@tamera.org,
www.tamera.org ArtArt and culture belonged together in earlier cultures
and served the celebration of origins. Artistic work in
Tamera draws upon this connection and translates it into
a modern form, especially in painting and architecture.
The idea is to start an artist's centre, where the
artistic impulses can be realised. The Site
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opponents might claim, the State of
Israel is a democracy and its army is the people's army.
I woThe enduring hope and commitment of all the
participants was, at times, mixed with anger,
frustration, suffering, celebration and joy. But, the
hope was ever present acting as a thread that guided us
towards the depth of belief in a culture of peace that we
all commonly hold.
Tamera.