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S. Watt: Reflections on the MEPI Pilgrimage for Peace
Written by Shantu Watt, Women's Federation for World Peace-Austria
Friday, May 16, 2014
I had never before been to Israel but have always felt a desire to see and experience the contradiction of a "holy land" that is also a zone of conflict. I was invited to speak on “Women’s Role in Peacebuilding in the Middle East.” As I am not an expert on the Middle East, I chose to narrow the focus of this topic and speak on “Overcoming Conflict through Education and Conciliation.”
I saw the traumas of the Syrian refugees who seek medication in an Israeli hospital. (Ziv hospital, Safed). The determined efforts, from the International Red Cross team, to provide medical care and emotional support to the wounded who arrive every day at nighttime, give hope and a sense of acceptance. These wounded children have nowhere to return. They are the most vulnerable casualties who express their dreams and wishes to return to a normal life. Nevertheless, the practicalities surrounding where, how and when they return to a long-term sanctuary left me tearful, with a sense of deep sorrow. The uncertainty of their future and their plight remains with words like "the face of the enemy has become the face of caring help" lingering in my mind. Many of the experiences of personal meetings and exchanges were powerful. Some of the communications were at a deep level of love, compassion and understanding. They have had a profound effect on my spiritual being. This has been an extraordinary, powerful and indeed incredible journey at physical, emotional and spiritual levels.
As an invited group, we were fortunate to be made part of various activities, which contributed towards furthering our understanding of what is required to achieve peace between the people of Israel and Palestine. I was surprised that throughout our visits, the Jewish guide spoke about Israelis and Arabs, except when we visited a school run by a Palestinian woman. I did have discussions regarding this denial of identity in a smaller group. These interactive, mature and informed discussions created a sense of connectedness. Such modes of connectivity are unique and of great significance. Experiences of differences and the lenses through which these are perceived create an understanding regarding the legacy of bitterness, which continues to be bequeathed to both sides. The visits to the Sur Baher school as well as the peace walk and the visits to the holy sites, the organized talks and discussions in the Knesset and in the hotel - these and all the other events remain vividly in my memory and serve as a reminder what friendship and enmity mean in such a context.
There is a clear need to strengthen people’s resilience on both sides. At the Wailing Wall, passionate pilgrims and locals wept. It is obviously a place where the spiritual and the emotional are intertwined and inseparable. At the Yad Vashem museum, I sat below in the coffee place with a few others who shared similar feelings of not wanting to "re-visit" traumatic events in a voyeuristic way.
The final session was filled with speeches of appreciation and gratitude. The video and explanations from Edna Calvo Livne on her art education project with masked young people from Israel and Palestine showed one practical solution towards building peace. The group expresses and works through their own daily experiences of uncertainty, fear, violence and pain through masks. This was a great finale for such a conference.
I listened, I spoke, I watched, I cried, I laughed, I felt a deep sense of connectedness and love and compassion with so many of the members of the delegations from all over the world. I found myself surrounded by positive, uplifting and loving people. Among them, I felt safe and secure; it was like being member of a caring family. To me this was a living example of what is possible when it comes to ‘living in peace’ and without fear. There is obviously a need for many more small steps on the bumpy road to peace. Rather than focusing on tragedies, I witnessed the collective WFWP/UPF community catalyzing change and activism. There is a great need to foster better understanding and radically change negative perceptions by means of positive actions - for words alone will not do.
On the level of education, children in Israel and Palestine need to learn more about justice, dignity, respect, empowerment and compassion for those whom they see as "the other." In general, it was a conference which vividly demonstrated the dilemmas of living in fear of one’s neighbor. It showed the need to unlock many unanswered questions at different levels. It also showed that there is a need for a permanent commitment towards working for peace, requiring collective support from outside as well as inside the region.
This visit to Israel has strengthened my resolve to be an agent of change and an Ambassador for Peace in the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi who said, "Be the change that you wish to see in the world."
Thank you for making this experience possible.
Warm regards,
Shantu Watt