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September 5, 2008
Conquering with love
Young filmmakers try to be leaders in peace.
JULIA NAIM SCHRIVER
Whenever you are confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love." Mahatma Gandhi's life-affirming expression of compassion captured a powerful and timeless message. Real change begins in the heart and, in time, migrates to the mind. Diminishing negative attitudes toward "the other" through a program of dialogue, conflict resolution and filmmaking is what the Vancouver-based charity Peace it Together is all about. Their goal is to change perceptions – one youth at a time.
The Aug. 17 première film screening at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage showcased eight mini-documentaries about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as seen through the lenses of 30 youth affected by it. Encouraging hope while acknowledging the difficulty of real fear is just one of the themes that appeared in the eight mini-documentaries produced by the 10 Israeli, 10 Palestinian and 10 Canadian youth chosen to participate in this year's Peace it Together summer camp on Bowen Island.
Perhaps the most poignant of the eight films was My Enemy, a serious portrayal of two young men and how each one reacts to crossing an Israeli checkpoint. "I'd rather live in fear than see you suffer," was a sentiment expressed by Israeli participant Tom Leifer, and it captured the emotion revealed in this short piece.
Each of the 30 students that took part in the 2008 summer camp displayed sincerity, optimism and infectious energy toward their common goals of friendship and understanding. And friendships did develop, some very strong – program director Adri Hamael remarked that there was one very noticeable bond that formed between Leifer, who is Israeli, and Mohammed Abumaria from the Palestinian territories. The two young men became very close. "Everyone noticed this connection," said Hamael.
Cindy Garmaise from Toronto, who was in the audience at the gala screening, was inspired. "It makes me wish I could have participated somehow and makes me wonder how we could bring this to Toronto."
The next stage in the Peace it Together program is to take the documentaries that were produced on Bowen Island and include them as part of an educational package to be disseminated to Israel and the Palestinian territories. Peace it Together regional co-ordinators will work with the teenagers over the next 12 months and enable them to become community leaders in places like Ramallah, Nablus and Jerusalem. Together with educators from the Peace Research Institute in the Middle East, plans are underway to train the teens who participated in the summer camp, as well as groups of teachers, to use the films as educational tools in Israeli and Palestinian high schools.
Hamael acknowledged that the vision is ambitious, but reaffirmed his passion for promoting understanding. "You need to teach them to practise compassion or nothing will change. I don't see any other way. In the absence of this kind of work, I can't imagine the consequences."
This year's Peace it Together program received a significant grant from Steven Spielberg's Righteous Persons Foundation, an organization funded by the revenues of Spielberg's films Schindler's List and Munich, as well as financial support from the North Growth Foundation and the Vancouver Foundation. Peace it Together hopes to gain the support of the Canadian International Development Agency in the coming months.
Despite these grants, money continues to be a real challenge, according to Hamael. "For each Israeli and Palestinian youth that takes part in the three-week summer camp, approximately $5,000 is needed just to get them over here and pay for their costs."
To watch the movies made in previous years and to learn more about the program, go to www.peaceittogether.com.
Julia Naim Schriver is a Vancouver freelance writer.
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