Three
high school girls in Canada -- an Israeli, Jordanian, and Iranian --
"clashed" and began with a "healthy dislike" for one
another.
They avoided each another. Then they decided to
talk and listen.
The girls persisted and became friends -- very good
friends.
They began speaking out -- first to their classmates
at Ashbury and then to student groups at other high schools and universities.
Israeli Michelle Divon, 17, believes:
"Television doesn't show the whole picture of what's happening there.
People need to educate themselves. . ."
Iranian Muslim Tara Ogaick, age 16:, said:
"We need a new generation of thinking to put all of this pain in
perspective. Because the old generation has failed."
In e-mail, Divon recalled words of Mahatma Gandhi that
guide her: "We must be the change we wish to see."
Published in The Ottawa Citizen
-- February 19, 2003 -- Ontario, Canada
and on the Web with photo at http://traubman.igc.org/youth3.htm
Diplomats' daughters reach their own peace
accord
A Jordanian, Israeli and
Iranian believe hope for the future begins with their friendship
by Karen Kelly
In the beginning, the three daughters of Middle
Eastern diplomats did not get along. When Jordanian Lana Ayoub met Israeli
Michelle Divon in the halls of Ashbury College, the two exchanged cool glances
and walked away without saying a word.
Then Iranian Tara Ogaick clashed with Ms. Divon during
an English class discussion about the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The
pair left the classroom with a healthy dislike of each other.
"It becomes an instinct, this separation between
us," says Ms. Divon.
Ms. Ayoub agrees. "People make that first
judgment right there, just because someone's Israeli or Arab."
After weeks spent avoiding each other, the three Grade
11 students talked again.
"We just realized that if we can't get along
..." begins Ms. Ogaick.
"... how can there ever be peace?" says Ms.
Divon in reply.
After a long discussion, the young women reached three
conclusions:
-- They would never fully agree on the
history and causes of the conflict.
-- All three were deeply pained by the
violence occurring in their part of the world.
-- And if there was any hope for peace,
it had to start right now, between them.
"We hoped that if the three of us could manage to
talk together and work together, others could do it, too," said Ms. Divon.
They became friends and began speaking out -- first to
their classmates at Ashbury and then to student groups at other high schools
and universities. (They speak tomorrow morning at Elmwood School in
Rockcliffe.)
Their presentation draws heavily on personal
experience.
Ms. Ayoub, 17, a Christian and the daughter of
Jordanian Ambassador Fouad Ayoub, tells the story of her cousin, a Palestinian
living in the West Bank with whom she has frequent contact.
She talks about the hardship of life under Israeli
occupation and describes how her cousin ran from a firing Israeli tank as she
walked home from school after curfew.
Michelle Divon, a 17-year-old Jew and the daughter of
Israeli Ambassador Haim Divon, shares vivid memories of life in Jerusalem in
which she rode the bus and walked the streets with the knowledge that, at any
time, she might be a target. She also reads an e-mail from an Israeli friend
whose father and uncle were killed by a suicide bomber. The letter is
significant because the girl remains committed to peace, despite her family's
tragedy.
As an Iranian-born Muslim, Tara Ogaick, 16, focuses on
the hatred between people of different religions and her experience with
religious extremism in Saudi Arabia, where she lived for five years. While
there, she became increasingly worried as she watched hatred and stereotypes
become even more entrenched, eventually prompting her to come to Canada to
finish her education.
"There's so much death. If you ask anyone in
either place, they have all suffered a loss," says Ms. Ogaick, whose
parents work in the diplomatic community. "We need a new generation of
thinking to put all of this pain in perspective. Because the old generation has
failed."
In addition to sparking a dialogue between Jews,
Muslims and Arabs in Canada, the young women are also challenging the
assumptions of Canadians who aren't personally affected by the conflict.
"People don't understand that CNN isn't always
right," says Ms. Ayoub, a statement which her friends vigorously support.
"Television doesn't show the whole picture of what's happening there.
People need to educate themselves before they start passing judgment."
Ms. Ayoub and her friends have a year and a half to
accomplish their mission. In that time, they hope to host discussion groups,
circulate a petition for peace and raise money for Seeds for Peace, a camp in
Maine with programs for Israeli, Palestinian and other Arab children.
After that, they'll go their separate ways -- Ms.
Ogaick to Saudi Arabia, Ms. Ayoub to Jordan and Ms. Divon to Israel for her
compulsory service in the Israeli military. They intend to keep in touch and
continue to promote peace and dialogue between their countries. They say their
work is motivated not only by altruism but by necessity.
"It is hard for us, because we are on different
sides of the conflict," acknowledges Ms. Divon, as Ms. Ayoub nods in
agreement. "But there's nothing to lose. This is the life we're going back
to. We have to work towards something better."
Letter To The Editor -- Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Re: Diplomats' daughters reach their own peace accord, Feb. 19.
It's inspiring to see these teenagers taking a
stand for peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.?To be able to unite for
this goal, abandoning resentment and accepting their differences, requires a
certain level of maturity many adults never achieve.
A disturbing number of youths don't keep up-to-date
with the news, and do not understand the extent of the violence occurring in
other parts of the world. We can hope that the spreading of knowledge by people
of our age will help strengthen awareness and concern among youth.
As a former student of Ashbury College, I am proud to
know that such outstanding citizens now grace the halls through which I once
walked. I applaud these girls for their efforts thus far, and wish them luck as
they continue their quest for peace.
Nicola Young, 17,
Ottawa