Tonight I attended an event supporting Creativity for Peace, a three-week camp in Santa Fe for teenage girls from Israel and Palestine. Although I went to this last year, the speeches and lessons tonight were fresh and new.
Their philosophy is to teach and implement conflict resolution, compassionate listening and authentic speaking while building future leaders poised to usher in peace in the Middle East. These girls have spoken at the UN and to groups of soldiers.
“An enemy is someone whose story you haven’t heard. When you share prejudices, healing begins.” One Palestinian girl told how she was up the whole first night of camp figuring out how she was going to kill her Israeli roommate. By the end of the three weeks, they were best friends.
Girls on both sides are tired of living in fear and hatred, never feeling safe or free. They want to find a better way. In camp, they are able to be their authentic selves knowing that others will accept, respect and understand their experiences. They are grateful for the privilege to ask questions with an open mind and heart.
As one girl said, “Peace and change will come from people, not governments. Things change from the bottom up starting with one person.” It was heart-warming for me to hear these girls bravely tell their stories of loss and devastation and, with the support of psychologists and other professionals, take the initiative to move forward to make the world a better place.
One more note, they asked the audience not to post pictures of the girls for their safety.
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I love that!! So powerful!