peacecamp 2014

To be honest, before the camp i was a bit skeptic about this whole thing, but my opinion has changed a lot in the end. Before we met I thought that everybody was different because of the cultural variance, but then when we met each other at the airport, i noticed that everybody looked like just my friends. In the first few days, some of us was a bit closed and shy, but I think this is normal.

I went to the camp to listen. Listen to the problems of each of us, listen how people try to get answers, solutions and get over a problem. Before the camp i barely knew anything about the Middle East and their problems, because I haven’t studied about it in the school. For me it was a really significant experience that I’ve heard during the camp. At the first „large group” section some Palestinian and Jewish children started to blame each other and at that moment for me was really tough to hear that voices fighting each other. Personally I think it was really sad to see, that these people outside the „large groups” haven’t argued at all, they talked to each other, laughed and had fun. At home, however the same people hurt each other by words and guns... I cannot accept that there is no solution, because in my opinion this whole conflict is about some political ideology which forces nations to fight, because it is someone’s interest that people hate each other..

This camp made me think a lot about these issues; furthermore I made new friendships and learnt about other cultures.

I came to the peacecamp with a huge feeling of nervousness, what flew away when we started to get to know each other first in the room, and then in the whole camp. First, I couldn't remember those weird names, and at the end of the camp I didn't want to let them go home. None of them.
One of my favorites parts of the days was the art session, when we did a lot of interesting, funny, and sometimes weird things. It was cool to see how almost everyone a little bit confused about the exercises, because they aren't usual, but then everyone started to think that 'Who cares? That's fun, just do this!', and we not just laughed at the others, but laughed with the others and that was the best.
16 students in 10 days can't make peace in the whole world, can't change the people's mentality of a whole country, can't solve global problems, but they can learn and change. And I think everyone, who was at the peacecamp changed a lot, became a better person – maybe that won't show up for a long time, but I believe that the stories we've heard, the serious topics we talked about in the large groups and the others-what sometimes wasn't less serious- we talked about in the second, night large group, the experiences we lived through together, and the inside jokes we shared left a mark in everyone.
For me that was a really emotional 10 days what provided me with much food for thought.
A have learned a lot about people, humanity, the world, cultures and about myself too.

Peacecamp for me was a wonderful experience. First I didn’t know what to expect but when we arrived among the teenagers of various nationalities and the kind trainers, I realized it would be more than a holiday camp.
In the first days, when a they talked about her experiences, I was shocked. I have never lived in a war but I understood, their everyday life is different in Israel from ours. As we later found out, we watch the same films, listen to the same music, still, they live in much more fear, their life area is more restricted and they don’t have the freedom we have in Europe.
The original Large Group was really serious and helped consider the whole world from different perspectives. Sometimes it was hard to make compromises between the Palestinian-Israeli group, even though they like each other. At least, we realized, the Austrian-Hungarian conflict does not exist in our eyes.
I got amazing roommates. We talked through the nights, had memorable moments together and we managed to create valuable friendships.
The large groups we created were also a lot of fun. We sang together, danced together, thought each other a few words in our languages and forgot about our problems for a while.
I really enjoyed the culture evenings. Before the camp, I hadn’t known much about Ramadan, now I got to understand it. Shabbat Shalom was a very interesting dinner. And at the Austrian evening I realized Vienna and Budapest are really similar to each other. And all the dances and the music were marvelous and I still remember them now.
All the games Lucas and AnnPhie made cheered us up, even in a tiring morning. My favorite game was when we were in the woods, and we needed to help each other to get to the goal. It had more meaning than just an adventure. It showed me how important it is to focus not only on my own way but to notice others’ needs as well.
The Show4peace was a great performance, I think. I enjoyed it immensely, as well as the sightseeing.
The saying goodbye was the worst part of the week. Even when we did yoga at the airport, I knew, I can hardly have a chance to meet them all ever again. Now I miss all of them.
So, that was peacecamp for me.
(Tábi)