peacecamp 2014

Peacecamp. For me this camp was not just about peace. It was about meeting new people and culture. I learned a lot about different people here, from young to old and from Hungarian to Jewish. We got to know each other with the participants and to know the others life better, but we also understood it. This was the best thing I think, to listen to and to understand them. Now I know how someone else feels in Israel or in Palestine. It was great for me and with their feelings I got closer to understand the whole situation over the world but mostly the Middle East. I just got a little of their life but this little was enough to feel what they are going through every day. It was also good to know it from both sides because we shouldn’t be one sided.

By the way the programs during the camp were all great. They made us a real group and I think that now every one of us feels that we are not that different from the other. I loved the artists and the work they did with us. I think they were the people who made us better.

In the beginning speaking in English was a little bit difficult for me but the 10 days made my English better (I hope). This camp made me more silent. I was a very talkative person but after the camp I become more silent. Now I prefer listening and making decisions and opinions in myself. Most of the time I think before I talk, because, I don’t want to hurt the other with my words or I just don’t want to say weird or stupid things. As Evelyn said we went there to listen and this camp really thought me to listen to the others.

I really loved the Culture Events. In my opinion they put the crown on the head of the nights. The large groups were the best to learn but the real winner was the talks4peace. I loved when we talked in small groups or we talked about not daily things because than we were so much more talkative and everyone said what they thought. On the other hand sometimes i didn't know what i was really talking about but it was correct for the task.

In the end I would like to thank the organisers for this experience. I learned a lot about the real naked world, the other people and also about myself.

(Gergely Csatari, 16)

The peace camp started even before our arrival in Austria, since we met with the Palestinian group in Jerusalem, we talked and made posters together. We met again at the airport and we flew as one group.
When we arrived at the airport in Vienna the Austrian and Hungarian groups welcomed us with “peace” signs and lots of love.
On the first day we got to know each other, a clear separation between the groups could be seen, each delegation kept together, and on the dining room each delegation sat on different tables.
Soon this situation changed, we startled to bond with each other and we discovered great people and good friends. We no longer sat on different tables.
We started each morning with warming up, yoga and a lot of beat with AnnPhee Lukas. At first we found the activities rather strange and somewhat embarrassing, but very soon we became more open-minded, and we had a lot of fun.
We continued with discussions in the “large group”. Sometimes they were tense and sometimes more relaxed.
In the talks4peace we sat in smaller groups and we discussed the meaning of peace for each one.
I learnt about new cultures in the culture evenings, we sang and danced together. After days of working on the final show about our experience, we presented our show in Vienna.
The experience was very meaningful for me, and I feel my point of view has changed a little about what is happening in Israel and the world.
I am so happy that I had the opportunity to participate. I enjoyed every moment.
Maya

The Peacecamp in Austria was a very meaningful experience to me in two aspects:
The social aspect:
I was surprised to discover that I am open-minded and can communicate and cooperate people who are supposed to be enemies. But I guess that is what happens when you spend 10 days with 26 kids from 4 different cultural backgrounds. It’s a real special experience because you eat, sleep, fight and laugh with them. It was a lot of fun, very educational and a real unique experience.
The political aspect:
Hearing the stories and opinions from kids my age from Hungary, Austria and from the Arab delegation changed my mind and my view of many things. To hear stories from a person is quite different from hearing information on the news and from what is generally shown in the Israeli media.
I never imagined that I would be able to connect to an Arab teenager, but I did. I learned to listen and to be tolerant and that is very important to me. I hope to see everyone again, soon.
Dana Kelerich