I think that if there's one thing I've learned about peace over the last
three years, it's that peace is all about shoes. Let me explain.
As a result of my involvement with CyberPeace, I was able to spend a month at a camp called
Seeds of Peace two summers ago that brings together Arab and Israeli teenagers
from all over the Middle East for a camp experience in Maine. I was a member
of the American Delegation. We played sports and swam in the lake during the
day, and at night we had "coexistence" sessions. They broke us into groups
of mixed nationalities and every evening we attended a different workshop with
a facilitator. These sessions aimed to help us overcome some of our differences
and, just as important, to learn how to accept one another as people with differences.
We discovered that friendship involves not only fun, laughing and comfort,
but also the ability to profoundly disagree, get angry with each other, cry,
and to LISTEN to other perspectives. The process of advancing from the superficial
friendliness on the first day toward real friendship was a very painful one.
It often involved lots of hurt feelings, tears, and the hardest part of all,
listening. Anyway, there was one night that summer that since then has always
stood out in my mind as a defining moment, the first time that I really felt
I knew what real peace is.
It was just before bedtime, and on the bed next to mine, Mutasem, a Palestinian,
sat around with Tuvi and Shaul from Israel, talking casually about their shoes. I was in my cot, thinking,
listening, and it occurred to me that this is real peace. It's nothing grandiose, certainly not famous
handshakes on the White House lawn-though that made this possible. Peace
is normality. Peace happens when three teens who have been brought up to
hate each other can have a friendly conversation about shoes.
I still believe that wholeheartedly. I didn't know before going to Seeds of Peace how
delicate and painstaking a process it is to peel away enough layers of stereotype so that an Arab and two
Israelis can have an ordinary conversation. One of the goals I have for my own program, "CyberPeace:
Youth On-Line for Peace in the Middle East," is to create an environment
in which kids my age in the Middle East will feel safe talking about the things
that teenagers should be talking about. Not necessarily about politics, but about music,
sports, hobbies, families, food, friends, even shoes-anything that might show them that they have something in common.
CyberPeace actually developed out of a hobby I had of collecting autographs. When
I was 13, I watched that first handshake on television between the late
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Chairman Yasser Arafat at the White
House. I remember thinking how amazing and exciting that was. To
me, that handshake represented hope and promise for the next generation, who will one day be the leaders
of the world, and whose job it will be to carry peace into the 21st century. I
decided to commemorate the handshake by getting the photograph signed by all three men
in it: Rabin, Arafat and President Clinton.
Two years, and tons of phone calls and letters, later, my photo was completed. But it was the process
of getting it signed that changed me.
The day that I decided I had to do "something" was
the day I had a private meeting with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
I met with him at his hotel in Los Angeles, and those few minutes were some of
the most exciting in my life. I had never expected that he'd respond to my
request for a handshake and autograph with an invitation to meet
with him. But he really took a personal interest in me, asking me about myself and answering
some questions I had for him. Rabin inspired me-I don't know if he
even realized what an impression he made. All I know is that I left
the hotel wanting to contribute to the peace process in whatever way I could as a then 13-year-old, and I also
wanted to make him proud. I wanted to show him that his example was motivating the next generation
to follow his lead. I decided to establish CyberPeace. The assassination
about a year later devastated me, not only because I admired him so much, but because
I felt as if my inspiration was suddenly stripped from me. That was
a terrible feeling to have, because I knew I'd never be able to share
with him what I was working to do for the peace process. That tragedy
ultimately caused me to rededicate myself to the cause of peace, and CyberPeace became an expression
of my commitment to the Prime Minister's legacy. I wish I could be
writing to him now about the ACS International Peace Prize and the work it represents.
CyberPeace is a non-profit foundation which links Israeli, Palestinian, and, soon, Jordanian
high school students our age via the Internet. The program aims to foster communication
and dialogue in a friendly and non-threatening atmosphere, in the
hope that this interaction will help to break down stereotypes and prejudices,
and to nurture understanding and empathy. I figured the Internet
was an effective way to facilitate communication, since it's safe, can be used from almost
anywhere, and allows people to transcend physical borders. I really wanted to get
Arab and Israeli kids my age, who don't get much opportunity to learn about each
other, talking. I wanted to create a forum for discussion about teenage issues, and also
those special issues that are facing kids in the Middle East. And I've had some success in launching a pilot program.
For about three months at the end of the last school year, nearly 100 students at three schools, one Jewish-Israeli,
one Arab-Israeli, and one Palestinian, were able to correspond over a computer network installed in their schools.
I sent them computers that were generously donated by the Packard Bell company and, with the help of another organization
in Israel, the equipment was set up. Although it's just a start, it's an exciting one for me.
To even get three schools to participate has required unending persistence. Often
it felt like it would just be easier to give up. I've been rejected by companies a million times for support, and that's sometimes
made me incredibly frustrated. How can I do this? Why should I even bother? I can't accomplish anything real!
I'm just 16, and to top that off, I don't even live in the Middle East. It's a powerless and very
discouraging feeling when it seems like you can't be active and make a contribution to a cause you believe in just because
you're young. It's not true, though. More than anything, I want this award to show other people my age that
most of what it takes to accomplish a dream is dedication and the confidence to try to succeed. I also
hope that other world leaders, like Prime Minister Rabin, will reach out to young admirers and
encourage them, as he did for me, to take an active role in shaping their world.
I would like to share with you briefly some of the messages that were sent between the participants of CyberPeace, which keep me hopeful
that understanding and acceptance are still possible.
A group of Israeli students wrote to their Arab counterparts: " . . . We all are from a Kibbutz. In the Kibbutz
we have cows, horses, and volunteers from Denmark and USA. This week we have Purim,
and we're going to wear costumes (Shira is going to be a rabbit!) Write us and we'll
write back!"
The Arabs responded: "Hello . . . we are a group of seven
students from different places . . . we like very much to listen
to music such as zohar, zhava, elvis, spice girls, no doubt. We also like to watch a little
bit T.V. At last we [are interested] to know other people from different places."
The Israelis then wrote: "Hi guys, it was so nice to hear
from you. How are you? We are writing to you instead of learning
Physics, and that's great! It's Purim now and there will be a huge party, and everybody
will wear their costumes. Shira will not go as a rabbit but as
a cat (a purple one). Bye for now."
The Arabs sent a prompt reply: "Hi everybody. What a beautiful
day we have here that makes us feel wonderful. What about your
day? We wish you all happiness and happy Seder night Pesach. It's amazing thing that we have you
our friend. Hi SHIRA . . . good for you, you won't be regret for
chosen that costumes. Bye for now, and we will keep in touch."
I want to expand on this kind of interaction in the future.
I see a larger network installed in many more schools, bringing
real-time, hands-on peace and conflict-resolution experience into
classrooms throughout the Middle East. I see a program that can
dissolve physical borders and bring young Arabs and Israelis together, without them
ever having to leave the safety of their classrooms. I see structured events and
a dedicated, consistent time during the day for students to discuss in
real-time what's on their minds, with the help of facilitators
to guide these discussions in productive directions. I see Arab
and Israeli students working together on joint school assignments, researching information together,
and combining their ideas to produce projects that represent both an Israeli and Arab perspective.
I see all this happening in a "virtual community" which promotes understanding through dialogue and gives
its members an opportunity to practice applying the tools and values they
will need to make peace in their own communities and in the future.
It won't be easy. In fact, I learn something new each day about how challenging this will
be for me and especially for the students involved. Some people are afraid even
to associate themselves with this project because it might be dangerous for them. I'm
not sure that I've ever truly dealt in the "real world" before, and I'm learning it can be pretty
scary. The amount of mistrust and suspicion that still exists alarms me and, though I know
it will take time, lots of it, I harbor cautious hope that we can change things. And I believe the Internet can be a vehicle for
making change.
I read an interview a couple years ago in People Magazine with Sherry Turkle, an Internet
expert and Professor of Sociology at MIT. I found what she said to be very relevant
to what I'm trying to accomplish with CyberPeace:
She said, "With e-mail and the Internet, we're using computers to develop new kinds
of relationships with other people. [We are turning it] to profoundly personal purposes.
I've seen people develop social skills or become able to discuss emotional
and physical problems . . . that they previously were unable to confront. ". . . And increasingly," she
added, "people are experimenting with moving from virtual worlds into real relationships.
The Internet is becoming a place for community building . . . people are using computers
to build new, supportive friendships."
She ended by saying, "The online explorer can return to the real world better equipped to understand
it. Computers and the Internet have created a new space for growth." (4/1/96, pp.96-97)
Through CyberPeace, I hope to foster this type of experience for as many young people
in Israel, Palestine, and Jordan as possible. I want to make
it possible for participants to make "virtual" friendships that
hold the potential to become real; to encourage a "virtual" spirit
of peace and understanding that can also become real.
Thank you, Professor Said, and everybody at the ACS International Schools,
England, for giving me this wonderful honor. I am so appreciative for the
recognition of my work, and also
for the encouragement to stick with it.
I hope I have been able to convey my goals and hopes for
this program, and I also hope that everyone who can will want
to get involved and support my project and other projects that work to foster peace, coexistence,
and the end to conflicts around the world. Thank you.
