A Palestinian, an Israeli, an Austrian and a Hungarian go to the bar. Well it seems to be a start of an awful joke, but it actually happened in Lackenhof.
Before we arrived at the Vienna Airport the Peacecamp for me had been making posters, cutting classes to practise for the culture evening, travelling by bus, so everything was so ordinary and Hungarian. But from the airport meeting the Peacecamp became new languages, new cultures, new people, new thoughts, new ideas and new perspectives.
I’d thought that the warming up & feel good would totally destroy me in one and a half hour but - after the artist workshop and the meals - it was my favourite programme. It made my body, muscles and also my nerves free and prepared my soul and brain for the large group. Of course it was also a great fun to watch the sleepy faces slowly waking up in a tired way.
The large groups were new lessons for me. In these sessions I realised that the wars I considered to exist only in history books are real and absolutely current. Here I could see that the world is much worse than it seems to be.
The most amazing experiences were the practising for the show4peace and the show itself (in Lackenhof and in Vienna). During this time I got a lot of essential virtues for life: courage, self-criticism, confidence and trust. I learnt how to stand in front of people and express myself. For the present I can do this only by singing but thanks to the camp (and Lukas, without Him I couldn’t do anything) I will develop myself.
Now, after I have seen teenagers’ pain, the truth, and the dark side of the world I can see things in a more realistic way. So thanks for my teacher Szilvia Kneusel who invited me to Peacecamp and thanks for all the participants and organisers who gave me a lifetime experience.
(Mónika Nagy, 17)
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