I am a twenty-year-old Israeli citizen, who is very active against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian people. In my opinion it is important for Albertans and Canadians in general to know about the Israeli occupation. The occupations effects on the state of human rights in Palestine and of security in Israel, is in your interest to know about, because the Canadian government has supported Israel almost completely in the past decades. It is my opinion, that supporting the current Israeli government and the ongoing occupation and military control and robbery of the Palestinian people is not beneficial to the Israeli people. Besides the daily human right violations that the Israeli military engages in, and besides the disappearing moral spine of Israel, the occupation is spreading more hate and anguish that will eventually ricochet back at Israeli civilians. Secondly, I believe a country that presents itself as modern, liberal and democratic does not withhold equality, independence and freedom from an entire nation living under it. A democratic country does not fire rubber bullets and live ammunition at demonstrators on a regular basis.
In my work with the human rights organization, Rabbi’s for Human Rights I have learnt about the mass land expropriations from Palestinian civilians in favor of Jewish settlements. I have witnessed house demolitions as a form of collective punishment, aimed at getting Palestinians to abandon their lands, which they own, but are not allowed to build on. I have suffered with my neighbor Palestinian Jerusalemites, whose ongoing discrimination in municipal resources can only be described at exploitation. Pushing Palestinians to desperation while using every governmental tool in order to despair them into immigrating is a crime that continues to be carried out now by privileged Israeli’s, and that with the financial and political support of your governments and others, is sure to leave my future children victims of the violence and the vengeance which are sure to come.
.GIF)
Friday, September 3, 2010
Planting Peacer Profile: Rosemary Kojoki
Kojoki RoseMary, a 25 year old hails from the Northern part of Uganda, which is located in the Eastern part of Africa. Uganda is also known as the “pearl of Africa” because of its all year round green vegetation cover and beautiful sunlight. I come from a family of eleven and we live in Kampala (capital city of Uganda). I studied social sciences particularly Administration and Gender studies from Makerere University in Kampala.
Between 2003 and 2009 I felt an inner urge to work in St. Monica Girls Tailoring Center in Gulu (Northern Uganda), a school that warmly receives formerly abducted girls, women and children who have been tortured, traumatized by the LRA rebels as well as rejected by their families and communities thus leaving them very vulnerable. This school therefore helps to restore the dignity of these disadvantaged girls, give them love so that they are able to give love to the children of these rebels, give them psycho-social support, and impart basic skills of tailoring, computer, beads making, secretarial, home care management and cake making so they are able to rebuild their lives, restore their dignity, cope with the future and are given a chance to survive and succeed.
I have personally contributed to this institution and particularly to these disadvantaged women by listening to their stories, encouraging them to forgive the rebels, counseling some of them, opening my heart and life to them, showing them and their children love and teaching them how to make beads as well as baking cakes inorder to make a living. This gives them a sense of hope.
Living in a conflict free world maybe a dream- but we must dream towards it: it is only the dead that do not dream. I have a dream to create a conflict free world, a passion deep within me that made me take up my job with Mennonite Central Committee Uganda as a logistics officer. Together, horizons will never be infinite.
Passionately Ugandan I remain.
Between 2003 and 2009 I felt an inner urge to work in St. Monica Girls Tailoring Center in Gulu (Northern Uganda), a school that warmly receives formerly abducted girls, women and children who have been tortured, traumatized by the LRA rebels as well as rejected by their families and communities thus leaving them very vulnerable. This school therefore helps to restore the dignity of these disadvantaged girls, give them love so that they are able to give love to the children of these rebels, give them psycho-social support, and impart basic skills of tailoring, computer, beads making, secretarial, home care management and cake making so they are able to rebuild their lives, restore their dignity, cope with the future and are given a chance to survive and succeed.
I have personally contributed to this institution and particularly to these disadvantaged women by listening to their stories, encouraging them to forgive the rebels, counseling some of them, opening my heart and life to them, showing them and their children love and teaching them how to make beads as well as baking cakes inorder to make a living. This gives them a sense of hope.
Living in a conflict free world maybe a dream- but we must dream towards it: it is only the dead that do not dream. I have a dream to create a conflict free world, a passion deep within me that made me take up my job with Mennonite Central Committee Uganda as a logistics officer. Together, horizons will never be infinite.
Passionately Ugandan I remain.
Planting Peacer Profile: Nicolas Attallah
My name is Nicolas Atallah, I am a Palestinian living in East Jerusalem, an occupied territory by Israel. I am 25 year old, I have a B.A in Communication and Political Science, and now working in Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation theology Center, that seeks a Just Peace for the Palestinians who suffers daily from the Occupation, we work with the community and especially the young adults who suffers the most from the 43 year old occupation.
Being a Palestinian living in Jerusalem is not an easy life at all, we face daily obstacles, enormous ones, when I step out of my house every day I am usually not sure that I am coming back, its a daily battle for surviving, I start my regular days with checkpoints that are monitored by Israeli soldiers that prevents us the Palestinians from easy traveling all around the West Bank or Even inside Jerusalem, after standing in line for hours waiting to pass these checkpoints, another obstacle will appear directly, now I need to deal and face the discrimination, the stereotypes built upon me as a Palestinian living in Jerusalem, the Government doesn’t even recognize me as a citizen, I am just a resident, that must pay more taxes for the same services that other Israeli gets, and with a bunch more taxes just to get the privilege that I am living in Israel, and if I can’t afford, my Identity as a Jerusalemite resident will be taken away, and I will be another refugee suffering from the lake of services, and unrecognized by other countries, eventually to be added to the huge number of Palestinian refugees living in misery and in refugee camps. If I survived all of the above, it’s still not the end, when the dark comes, and sun falls from the sky, another nightmare starts, Palestinians living in Jerusalem, suffers also from Home Demolition, and the occupation Bulldozers usually comes after midnight to demolish a house in the Palestinian neighborhood, so every morning we thank God that we still have a roof above our heads, and a place to sleep in the cold nights, while an unfortunate Palestinian family just lost their house that other night.
However, I usually find my comfort zone in my work, when I work with the young adults living in Jerusalem, that usually faces the loss of Identity, high rates of unemployment, Poverty, Discrimination, Homeless. When I look at their eyes, and I can see the fear of the future, it even encourages me more to show them the way to find a better understanding of the future, by giving them the right tools to discover a new system of living and new opportunities to explore in their own messed up world, to reach their inner peace.
In the end, I would like to say that the solution for every conflict in this world is in the hands of the peacemakers of this world, they need to enlighten all the nations and speak up about the importance of Peace and Harmony, and to bring the concept of sharing into the surface, in order to put pressure on every government in this world, who are usually the benefiters of other nations conflict.
Being a Palestinian living in Jerusalem is not an easy life at all, we face daily obstacles, enormous ones, when I step out of my house every day I am usually not sure that I am coming back, its a daily battle for surviving, I start my regular days with checkpoints that are monitored by Israeli soldiers that prevents us the Palestinians from easy traveling all around the West Bank or Even inside Jerusalem, after standing in line for hours waiting to pass these checkpoints, another obstacle will appear directly, now I need to deal and face the discrimination, the stereotypes built upon me as a Palestinian living in Jerusalem, the Government doesn’t even recognize me as a citizen, I am just a resident, that must pay more taxes for the same services that other Israeli gets, and with a bunch more taxes just to get the privilege that I am living in Israel, and if I can’t afford, my Identity as a Jerusalemite resident will be taken away, and I will be another refugee suffering from the lake of services, and unrecognized by other countries, eventually to be added to the huge number of Palestinian refugees living in misery and in refugee camps. If I survived all of the above, it’s still not the end, when the dark comes, and sun falls from the sky, another nightmare starts, Palestinians living in Jerusalem, suffers also from Home Demolition, and the occupation Bulldozers usually comes after midnight to demolish a house in the Palestinian neighborhood, so every morning we thank God that we still have a roof above our heads, and a place to sleep in the cold nights, while an unfortunate Palestinian family just lost their house that other night.
However, I usually find my comfort zone in my work, when I work with the young adults living in Jerusalem, that usually faces the loss of Identity, high rates of unemployment, Poverty, Discrimination, Homeless. When I look at their eyes, and I can see the fear of the future, it even encourages me more to show them the way to find a better understanding of the future, by giving them the right tools to discover a new system of living and new opportunities to explore in their own messed up world, to reach their inner peace.
In the end, I would like to say that the solution for every conflict in this world is in the hands of the peacemakers of this world, they need to enlighten all the nations and speak up about the importance of Peace and Harmony, and to bring the concept of sharing into the surface, in order to put pressure on every government in this world, who are usually the benefiters of other nations conflict.
Planting Peacer Profile: Dina Sha’er
My name is Dina Shaér, I’m twenty two years old, I live in Amman, the capital of Jordan, I’m fresh finance graduate from the University of Jordan which is also in the capital Amman, i have one brother who is 28 and one married sister who is 27.
I am a representative of Jordan; my duty is to tell more about my country in order to replace the wrong stereotypes with the right ones and present the problems that faces Jordan, at least that’s what I thought I’ll be doing, then I recognized that my duty is not just to tell about myself and my country but to learn about countries I’ve never heard about, to hear the other side of the single story that the media present and to open my eyes more about issues I’ve thought about before!
The reason behind me being in Canada is because I’m a participant in a program called IVEP; International Volunteer Exchange Program, this program is cultural exchange young youth from all over the world to serve in Canada and the US, however, I’ve been placed to serve in Calgary, Canada for one year in the Mennonite newcomers centre.
Jordan is very peaceful place to live in; this became a target for the refugees to settle down in although it’s a small country. The problem of poverty, homeless and lack of water existed long time ago, but it was controlled and minor, but the big issue started after the United States invaded Iraq, and the rich Iraqis started to immigrate to Jordan, they came with a lot of money because of the resources they own like oil and fuel, so they took over the industry as they can afford to pay, as a consequence, the prices, mortgages and life became so expensive and unaffordable according to the Jordanians, moreover, the financial crisis was like cherry on top for this problem; low salaries and high prices.
There used to be three layers of people’s financial situation; rich, middle and poor, but now it’s either rich or poor, the middle layer is about to be diminished.
Most Jordanian citizens love show off in term of cars, houses and the brand names even if they live in hell and they don’t have money to eat, they think by doing that they will be accepted in the community and otherwise they won’t. This is a huge problem because admitting the problem is a part of solving it, however, the government is trying to solve this problem but not as effective as if the people strike or demonstrate peacefully to push the prices and inflation down.
At the end, i would like to thank MCC who gave me the opportunity to be part of this wonderful peace implanting team.
I am a representative of Jordan; my duty is to tell more about my country in order to replace the wrong stereotypes with the right ones and present the problems that faces Jordan, at least that’s what I thought I’ll be doing, then I recognized that my duty is not just to tell about myself and my country but to learn about countries I’ve never heard about, to hear the other side of the single story that the media present and to open my eyes more about issues I’ve thought about before!
The reason behind me being in Canada is because I’m a participant in a program called IVEP; International Volunteer Exchange Program, this program is cultural exchange young youth from all over the world to serve in Canada and the US, however, I’ve been placed to serve in Calgary, Canada for one year in the Mennonite newcomers centre.
Jordan is very peaceful place to live in; this became a target for the refugees to settle down in although it’s a small country. The problem of poverty, homeless and lack of water existed long time ago, but it was controlled and minor, but the big issue started after the United States invaded Iraq, and the rich Iraqis started to immigrate to Jordan, they came with a lot of money because of the resources they own like oil and fuel, so they took over the industry as they can afford to pay, as a consequence, the prices, mortgages and life became so expensive and unaffordable according to the Jordanians, moreover, the financial crisis was like cherry on top for this problem; low salaries and high prices.
There used to be three layers of people’s financial situation; rich, middle and poor, but now it’s either rich or poor, the middle layer is about to be diminished.
Most Jordanian citizens love show off in term of cars, houses and the brand names even if they live in hell and they don’t have money to eat, they think by doing that they will be accepted in the community and otherwise they won’t. This is a huge problem because admitting the problem is a part of solving it, however, the government is trying to solve this problem but not as effective as if the people strike or demonstrate peacefully to push the prices and inflation down.
At the end, i would like to thank MCC who gave me the opportunity to be part of this wonderful peace implanting team.
Planting Peacer Profile: Diana Patrah Karungi
I am Diana Patrah Karungi. I come from Masindi in the western part of Uganda and a graduate from Gulu University which is located in the northern part of Uganda and waiting upon graduation come January next year. Uganda is a conflict prone country with a history of ethnic, political and cultural violence which has escalated due to stigma, stereotype and discrimination. I work with the youth in helping them have good life skills, good relationships with themselves, with others and relationships with the environment. This is done through a program known as “Living with Shalom” which means living with peace. This is done by bringing youths from various parts of Uganda who have different backgrounds, different tribes, different religions and different cultures, who spend three weeks under intensive training practicing together and learning from each other which helps in the treatment of trauma, stereotyping and stigma, and transforms communities in which these youths come from. Living with Shalom actually shaped me into what I am and it has empowered many youths into transforming society in the name of Jesus Christ the prince of peace. Amen.
Planting Peacer Profile: Daniel Serrano Bernal
My name is Daniel Serrano, I’m Colombian and I’m philosophy student. It’s hard to see people suffering for hunger and pain for their families looses for our hidden civil war. The peacemakers in Colombia, have to affront a lot of faces of the conflict and we have to see how the conflict and the violence hide in every corner and transform in something new, but there’s always hope for work for each other. I’m going to tell you a story that shows you how we can walk and make food together for the justice and the dignity of the human being.
There is in Colombia a town called San Pablo in a zone with a lot of natural resources, water, petroleum, gold, silver, platinum, natural gas, etc, this is a very conflictive place because everyone wants everything only for himself. In this town you can find the Police, the Army, the Guerrilla (Leftist Extreme, Rebels) and the Paramilitares (Ride Wind) in the same place. Every group thinks only about his own good and development and the rest of the people always suffers because nobody cares about them.
One day, Some of the social organization that works with community development decided to celebrate women’s day with a communitarian soup in the central square in San Pablo specially for women, and they didn’t have enough money to buy the ingredients for the soup, so we decided to walk to the stores to ask for contributions in order to get to our gathering celebration with three enormous pots at 6 p.m. We ask and walk in all stores and at 1 p.m. we collected like 50 kg of food (). At 2 p.m. we decided to start peeling the potatoes, cut the vegetables and we invited the police and the army to help us. We told to them “you can’t bring your guns with you because this is a peaceful meeting in honor of women”. Some didn’t agree and a few accepted our advice to cook the soup and so we built a community in that circumstance. At 4 p.m. everyone was working and helping each other to prepare the dinner. At 6 p.m. we started to serve the soup, but the servers were a hip hop and break dancing youth group who have a bad reputation just because they’re young people and they wear different clothes, the mothers and all of the whole neighborhood couldn’t believe that this was happening, everyone said “we never imagined they will serve the people that’s quite impossible, but it’s happening”. That’s the second shocking moment.
Before 8th of March with these young people we made 200 paper flowers for the women and before the dinner start the 12 b-boys gave the flowers. That was the first socking moment. When the dinner finished we realized that the soup was enough for more than 400 people in the town, that was the third socking moment for the town and the first shocking moment for the people who was in charge of the meeting, us. At 9 p.m. we talked to the town’s people and we said “you always can use a public place to share something like this”. This was a small step to build a new future with peace and justice, only if we work together like, wonderful things can happen. That is the beginning for a peaceful revolution. That is an example about peace building.
That’s a cruel reality because in Colombia we spilled and still spilling a lot of blood, but we can’t always think for the destruction or the hidden civil war in Colombia because maybe you can’t find a peaceful way to walk. We have to know the background where we are living but we have to think of different ways to build peace, hearing each other and respecting the opinions but we have to try making the conversation provocative which seduces you to make some proposals, things to help the people who are living near and far away of you.
We have a beautiful country with a lot of nature and you can find the weather of the four seasons in Colombia. Not everything is war and suffering because of people’s warmth and we like to laugh a lot, the 90% of Colombians is good but the other 10% gives the country a bad reputation because of the drugs and the bad government, but you can always find a kindly face and good things to build a peace in the community.
There is in Colombia a town called San Pablo in a zone with a lot of natural resources, water, petroleum, gold, silver, platinum, natural gas, etc, this is a very conflictive place because everyone wants everything only for himself. In this town you can find the Police, the Army, the Guerrilla (Leftist Extreme, Rebels) and the Paramilitares (Ride Wind) in the same place. Every group thinks only about his own good and development and the rest of the people always suffers because nobody cares about them.
One day, Some of the social organization that works with community development decided to celebrate women’s day with a communitarian soup in the central square in San Pablo specially for women, and they didn’t have enough money to buy the ingredients for the soup, so we decided to walk to the stores to ask for contributions in order to get to our gathering celebration with three enormous pots at 6 p.m. We ask and walk in all stores and at 1 p.m. we collected like 50 kg of food (). At 2 p.m. we decided to start peeling the potatoes, cut the vegetables and we invited the police and the army to help us. We told to them “you can’t bring your guns with you because this is a peaceful meeting in honor of women”. Some didn’t agree and a few accepted our advice to cook the soup and so we built a community in that circumstance. At 4 p.m. everyone was working and helping each other to prepare the dinner. At 6 p.m. we started to serve the soup, but the servers were a hip hop and break dancing youth group who have a bad reputation just because they’re young people and they wear different clothes, the mothers and all of the whole neighborhood couldn’t believe that this was happening, everyone said “we never imagined they will serve the people that’s quite impossible, but it’s happening”. That’s the second shocking moment.
Before 8th of March with these young people we made 200 paper flowers for the women and before the dinner start the 12 b-boys gave the flowers. That was the first socking moment. When the dinner finished we realized that the soup was enough for more than 400 people in the town, that was the third socking moment for the town and the first shocking moment for the people who was in charge of the meeting, us. At 9 p.m. we talked to the town’s people and we said “you always can use a public place to share something like this”. This was a small step to build a new future with peace and justice, only if we work together like, wonderful things can happen. That is the beginning for a peaceful revolution. That is an example about peace building.
That’s a cruel reality because in Colombia we spilled and still spilling a lot of blood, but we can’t always think for the destruction or the hidden civil war in Colombia because maybe you can’t find a peaceful way to walk. We have to know the background where we are living but we have to think of different ways to build peace, hearing each other and respecting the opinions but we have to try making the conversation provocative which seduces you to make some proposals, things to help the people who are living near and far away of you.
We have a beautiful country with a lot of nature and you can find the weather of the four seasons in Colombia. Not everything is war and suffering because of people’s warmth and we like to laugh a lot, the 90% of Colombians is good but the other 10% gives the country a bad reputation because of the drugs and the bad government, but you can always find a kindly face and good things to build a peace in the community.
Planting Peacer Profile: Beatriz Alejandra Romero
“Swimming Against the Current”
Sometimes the kingdom of the darkness seems very strong, but there are those, who, from many parts of the world, are lighting lights of hope, bringing happiness in the middle of pain and peace in a world of turbulence. This is what I have come to learn here, in “planting peace”. This time has served me to learn to know how other hands work for justice and peace in this world.
My name is Alejandra. I live in Cali, Colombia and work in the Fundacion de Educacioin for Peace, and Conflict Resolution (EDUPAZ). Through this foundation I develop a program of conflict resolution in two schools. The students are between 5 and 18 years old. Every day they fight to survive in a hostile world. In their communities there are gangs now that have territorial control. The young people that belong commonly consume and sell drugs, and walk around with knives and guns.
One day, upon arriving at class, Martin, one of the children, told me that Felipe had gone to buy some Caramellos to fill his album. He approached some young people who were in the corner to ask where they sold the Caramelos. You have money?... they asked him, showing him a knife, and telling him to give them the money. Felipe only had 12 years, and began to cry, which one should never do in front of their peers at school, to avoid the jokes, but at this moment, the fear invaded him and the tears were inevitable. Martin began to laugh, and said, “don’t touch that boy; he studies in my school. Felipe left, but Martin stayed with the gang. They are his friends. In the school, Martin and Felipe meet in a room for mediation to talk about the conflict that exploded in the street. Felipe, Martin said, I won’t be protecting you. Be careful where you go. These streets belong to those boys. Here in the school we can talk if we have a problem. But there on the street, things are different, and things are resolved in different ways.
Nonetheless, inspite of the harshness of the words of Martin, these boys are friends from that day. In my context working for peace is to swim against the current. It is not easy to commit to live in peace when there are people there are people willing to harm you, and when It may be necessary to defend yourself to protect your life. There are young people who use knives to go to study. They fear that in their walk, there are boy who may hurt them. This is very sad … this situation that includes now, many children in my community.
I wanted to talk with you about my country to be able to tell you also about lovely things that are there, tell you that not all is drugs and war, that there are lovely people, diverse people, honestly moving forward. But it is also my job to denounce the injustices that are committed in my community, those that don’t make the press, that are hidden because of a homogenous power. And to do that, I will review my time at University.
The public university in Colombia is a conflictive and you can see represented the political conflicts that exist in the country. During my 5 years of study, one could say that the state repressed different manifestations which opposed the privatization of the University, health and public service, and the public peace and order officers threw tear gases on the crowd of students that were protesting, and some students launched bombs and rocks at the police. This situation repeats itself over and over, in a dance where the countries know the steps.
Really, my heart wanted to comprehend more than the ideologies and discourses that I heard. It wanted to know what motivated my friends to confront the government, and for that reason I looked for spaces to dialogue with them and frequently, while having a drink of coffee we do dialogue about the social problems of this country, and the reason for being of these insurgent groups.
I remember between the shadows and the pain, one day, when a friend came and confessed that he was a spy for the military, that his work at the University was to identify guerrillas, and that with this information the dark forces of the state make sure that the ones the consider inconvenient just disappear. I knew that they had already assassininated 3 people, but I have always thought that because I am a pacifist, none of this will apply to me.
Nonetheless, that day, my friend told me that I was on a list. They have seen you talking with them, and they think you are part of that group, she said to me. I still don’t understand why we live thinking that he who is not for me is against me. I don’t want to live under that logic, and because of that, daily I teach the children that there is another way, that war is not a game, and that we need to respect the sacred character of life, even though the adults are not doing so.
Upon formation of the children and adolescents as peace builders, we teach them that peace is not a state of animation, but that it has to do with the possibilities of studying, with having good food to eat, with protection for your family, with being well treated by your parents, with having medical attention when your sick, and that this peace is built in the careful relations when talking with your companions to solve a problem and also to take care of the planet. Peace in integral and if you want peace, don’t prepare for war; work for peace.
Sometimes the kingdom of the darkness seems very strong, but there are those, who, from many parts of the world, are lighting lights of hope, bringing happiness in the middle of pain and peace in a world of turbulence. This is what I have come to learn here, in “planting peace”. This time has served me to learn to know how other hands work for justice and peace in this world.
My name is Alejandra. I live in Cali, Colombia and work in the Fundacion de Educacioin for Peace, and Conflict Resolution (EDUPAZ). Through this foundation I develop a program of conflict resolution in two schools. The students are between 5 and 18 years old. Every day they fight to survive in a hostile world. In their communities there are gangs now that have territorial control. The young people that belong commonly consume and sell drugs, and walk around with knives and guns.
One day, upon arriving at class, Martin, one of the children, told me that Felipe had gone to buy some Caramellos to fill his album. He approached some young people who were in the corner to ask where they sold the Caramelos. You have money?... they asked him, showing him a knife, and telling him to give them the money. Felipe only had 12 years, and began to cry, which one should never do in front of their peers at school, to avoid the jokes, but at this moment, the fear invaded him and the tears were inevitable. Martin began to laugh, and said, “don’t touch that boy; he studies in my school. Felipe left, but Martin stayed with the gang. They are his friends. In the school, Martin and Felipe meet in a room for mediation to talk about the conflict that exploded in the street. Felipe, Martin said, I won’t be protecting you. Be careful where you go. These streets belong to those boys. Here in the school we can talk if we have a problem. But there on the street, things are different, and things are resolved in different ways.
Nonetheless, inspite of the harshness of the words of Martin, these boys are friends from that day. In my context working for peace is to swim against the current. It is not easy to commit to live in peace when there are people there are people willing to harm you, and when It may be necessary to defend yourself to protect your life. There are young people who use knives to go to study. They fear that in their walk, there are boy who may hurt them. This is very sad … this situation that includes now, many children in my community.
I wanted to talk with you about my country to be able to tell you also about lovely things that are there, tell you that not all is drugs and war, that there are lovely people, diverse people, honestly moving forward. But it is also my job to denounce the injustices that are committed in my community, those that don’t make the press, that are hidden because of a homogenous power. And to do that, I will review my time at University.
The public university in Colombia is a conflictive and you can see represented the political conflicts that exist in the country. During my 5 years of study, one could say that the state repressed different manifestations which opposed the privatization of the University, health and public service, and the public peace and order officers threw tear gases on the crowd of students that were protesting, and some students launched bombs and rocks at the police. This situation repeats itself over and over, in a dance where the countries know the steps.
Really, my heart wanted to comprehend more than the ideologies and discourses that I heard. It wanted to know what motivated my friends to confront the government, and for that reason I looked for spaces to dialogue with them and frequently, while having a drink of coffee we do dialogue about the social problems of this country, and the reason for being of these insurgent groups.
I remember between the shadows and the pain, one day, when a friend came and confessed that he was a spy for the military, that his work at the University was to identify guerrillas, and that with this information the dark forces of the state make sure that the ones the consider inconvenient just disappear. I knew that they had already assassininated 3 people, but I have always thought that because I am a pacifist, none of this will apply to me.
Nonetheless, that day, my friend told me that I was on a list. They have seen you talking with them, and they think you are part of that group, she said to me. I still don’t understand why we live thinking that he who is not for me is against me. I don’t want to live under that logic, and because of that, daily I teach the children that there is another way, that war is not a game, and that we need to respect the sacred character of life, even though the adults are not doing so.
Upon formation of the children and adolescents as peace builders, we teach them that peace is not a state of animation, but that it has to do with the possibilities of studying, with having good food to eat, with protection for your family, with being well treated by your parents, with having medical attention when your sick, and that this peace is built in the careful relations when talking with your companions to solve a problem and also to take care of the planet. Peace in integral and if you want peace, don’t prepare for war; work for peace.
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