Blog con Ema M. Billings Para La Paz Del Mundo ~: The Olive Branch ~ A Symbol of Peace

Monday, December 22, 2008

The Olive Branch ~ A Symbol of Peace

In the small village of Beit Sefafa, in a country torn with conflict and division between the Arabs and Israelis..... you will find a lovely Palestinian family that invites people of varying nations, cultures and religious backgrounds to pick olives, side by side, for a day.

Beit Sefafa, an Arab village, is in the south eastern part of Jerusalem on the outskirts of Bethlehem. In the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the neighborhood was divided - with half in no man's land and the other half in the Jordanian-occupied West Bank. In 1967, after the Six-Day War, the two parts of Beit Safafa were reunited.

What you might not typically find united, in this village, are Arabs, Israelis, and Americans working side by side as a symbol of peace. Yet, that is exactly what happened, this last November, when nine of us BYU-Hawaii students and our Professor participated in a service project with PeacePlayers International, to pick olives, at the Elayan home.

After a day of picking olives I found that it was us the students who had been served in a gesture of peace. While, we did pick olives this family opened their hearts and their home to all of us. They not only graciously prepared amazingly-delectable food, but they sat together around the table sharing their private lives with us.

On this day, the olive branch, a symbol of peace, was never more vivid and alive in our hearts and in our minds.

1 comments:

RIAH said...: I wonder where the olive branch and peace got linked up?? Perhaps it is because there are parallels between the olive tree and peacebuilding. Olive trees take a long time to bear fruit and during this time large amounts of cultivation, caring, and dedication must be put into taking care of the tree in order for it to bring forth good fruit. It is hard work and it takes a lot of love and understanding--knowledge of various ways to produce the best fruit........

I think I am going to read up on olive trees and continue this thought when I have a little more understanding about olive trees...I just thought it was an interesting parallel.; January 10, 2009 11:22 PM

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From The Children of Darfur

The Drawings

Human Rights Watch researchers Dr. Annie Sparrow and Olivier Bercault visited Chad in February 2005 to assess the issues of protection and sexual violence in the refugee camps along the Darfur/Chad border. In her work as a pediatrician, Dr. Sparrow habitually asks children to draw while she talks to their parents or guardians. She did the same thing in Darfur. While Bercault and Sparrow spoke with parents, teachers, and camp leaders, the children drew. Without any instruction or guidance, the children drew scenes from their experiences of the war in Darfur: the attacks by the Janjaweed, the bombings by Sudanese government forces, the shootings, the burning of entire villages, and the flight to Chad.

As Sparrow and Bercault visited schools in refugee camps in Chad, many children between the ages of 8 and 17 shared the drawings they had done in their school notebooks, often alongside their lessons in Arabic or math. Schoolchildren from seven refugee camps and the border town of Tine offered Human Rights Watch’s researchers hundreds of drawings in the hope that the rest of the world would see their stories as described in their own unique visual vocabulary of war.

A sample letter ~ Please send to you government officials to stop the genocide in Darfur.

Dear Representative/ Senator_______:

I am a taxpaying and voting constituent and am writing to appeal to you as my elected representative to do more to help end the genocide in Sudan. As you may be aware, since 2003 the Sudanese government has orchestrated and waged a deliberate campaign of murder, rape and displacement against the people of the Darfur region. More than 4oo,000 people have died, thousands of women have been systematically raped, and more than two million people have been displaced and forced to live in squalid refugee camps. I appreciate your leadership and ask you to do more to help end the crises in Darfur.

First, Congress must continue to support measures designed to protect the civilians in Darfur. The United States provides significant humanitarian assistance to Darfur, but that is not enough. Congress must urge the Obama Administration to rally more UN Member States for a stronger, more robust international peacekeeping force in Darfur until the perpetrators of these crimes are brought to justice and the civilians can return to their lives in peace.

Secondly, the United States must play a stronger role in finding a political solution to the conflict. The Presidential Special Envoy to Sundan must continue to engage directly with relevant parties, including the rebel groups who have not signed the Darfur Peace Agreement, the African Union, the major stakeholder groups, and the Sudanese Government of National Unity to reconvene talks on how to make the Darfur Peace Agreement more inclusive. The Darfur Peace Agreement resulted in part from United States engagement, but we have failed to secure the level of inclusiveness required for a peace agreement to succeed.

Lastly, the United States should impose targeted sanctions on National Congress Party officials responsible for crimes against humanity in Darfur. The orchestrators and perpetrators of genocide must be he held accountable and there must be pressure on the ruling National Congress Party until the genocide is brought to an end. I urge you to ask President_______ to ensure that the U.S. government cooperates with the investigation of the International Criminal Court into crimes against humanity in Darfur. Punishing those responsible for atrocities is necessary to achieve justice for the victims and prevent similar crimes from occurring in the future.

Thank you so much for your time and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Credit for this letter goes to: The authors of, Not On Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond, Jon Cheadle & John Prendergast

Background Information about PPI

PeacePlayers International (PPI) is an innovative global organization that uses sport to unite and educate young people in divided communities. PeacePlayers International was founded in 2001 by Sean Tuohey, on the premise that “children who play together can learn to live together.” PeacePlayers International currently operates programs in Northern Ireland, South Africa, Cyprus, and the Middle East that bring together thousands of children to form positive relationships, develop leadership skills, and improve their futures. Over the past six years, the organization has worked with over 45,000 children. PeacePlayers International is led by global network of youth leaders who work together as coaches, mentors and facilitators.

Books and Films about Peacebuilding, Advocacy, and Reconciliation

Born into Brothels:photographer Zana Briski, began traveling to Calcutta to photograph life in the red light district. She literally lived in the brothels for months at a time, and while the prostitutes slowly came to trust Zana, it was their children who accepted her immediately. The children didn’t quite understand what Zana was doing there, but they were fascinated by her and her camera. She let them use it and showed them how to take pictures. She thought it would be great to see this world through their eyes. It was then that she decided to start formal classes in the red light district and teach them photography. Zana thrived on teaching them and the kids eagerly captured their lives and environment through the lens of their point-and-shoot cameras. The results of their work were exhilarating.
Joyeux Noel ~(Film) Based on the true story of three armies in the bloody trenches of World War I - and the miraculous Christmas Eve truce they unexpectedly forge.
Nazrah: A film by Farah Nousheen, is an intimate look at a diverse group of Muslim women living in the US Pacific Northwest. By creating a forum where Muslim women can freely engage in an open dialogue about complex issues, filmmaker Farah Nousheen exposes a vast and fascinating array of thoughts and ideas. The women discuss their views on Islam, current political events and how they reflect on the image of Islam in the West. The women also talk about the difficulty of achieving equality within the Muslim community while also fighting stereotypical portrayals of Muslim women in the US media. NAZRAH (the Arabic word for "perspective") also includes director Farah Nousheen's own views on being a Muslim woman at a time when Islam is in the international spotlight.
Promises ~ (Film) Documentary ~ 2002~ Justine Shapiro and B.Z. Goldberg went to Israel to work on a project about children and conflict, interviewing Palestinian and Israeli kids ages 11-13 to get their views on living in society afflicted with violence, separatism and religious and political extremism. The film culminates in an astonishing day when two Israeli children meet Palestinian youngsters at a refuge camp.
Blind Trust: Large Groups and Their Leaders in Times Of Crisis and Terror ~ Vamik Volkan
Building Peace: Sustainable Reconcilitaion In Divided Societies ~ John P Lederach
Leading Through Conflict ~ Mark Gerzon
No Future Without Forgiveness:Desmond Tutu
Not On Our Watch: The Mission To End Genocide In Darfur And Beyond ~ Don Cheadle & John Prendergast
The Anatomy of Peace: The Arbinger Institute
The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul Of Building Peace ~ John P Lederach

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Monday, December 22, 2008

The Olive Branch ~ A Symbol of Peace

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Article 19 of the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child

From The Children of Darfur

Save the Children of Darfur

A sample letter ~ Please send to you government officials to stop the genocide in Darfur.

Background Information about PPI

Peace Players International ~ Playing for Peace

PPI ~ Middle East

Beit Sefafa ~ Middle East

Born Into Brothels

Joyeux Noel ~

Promises

Books and Films about Peacebuilding, Advocacy, and Reconciliation

Free Books Finder 1.1.