cb magazine vol. 10 edition no.

38

Can we
believe it?
The Middle East is
desperate for change
after the war on Gaza,
but can president
Obama deliver?
28 journalists on a personal journey into unknown territory
GA ZA SPECIAL GA ZA SPECIAL GA ZA SPECIAL GA ZA SPECIAL
"Over 1,000 souls were dispatched and over 4,000 were
injured on the 19th day of the war; the number totaled
the same as the number of students at my university,
where I was planning to graduate from this spring. Now
my future has become dark."
I
was in the corridors of the hos-
pital when I saw a woman crying
and screaming, “That’s an open
hell!” Her home was bombarded
and she lost her four daughters
and husband in one second. It
was 11:30, when I just left my home,
heading to the university to pick up
some notes for the final exams start-
ing on Wednesday, when a massive
sound of a series of blasts rocked the
city, making a mass of smoke over
different areas of the Gaza city.
I checked the smoke to figure the
explosions’ target, but I have seen
smoke in different areas, so I went
back home to check the news. I didn’t
believe it when I heard over 150 peo-
ple were killed at initial count. I as-
sumed it was just a guess based on the
explosion’s volume.
I was called to document the acci-
dents, where I saw with my own eyes
the body parts and destruction.
We thought the bombings would
2 cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38
War
on Gaza
just stop, but when we heard the real
numbers of casualties rising over
1,000, we realized that it was a new
massacre and aggression that would
change our lives.
A sudden, wide and long aggres-
sion was planned to start on the 27th
December 2008, everywhere in Gaza
strip, and justified as an end to the
Hamas government in Gaza, but ev-
eryone who lived every moment of
this aggression could only call it war
against the Gaza strip.
My family has lived under the same
circumstances as others: We had
to evacuate our home at night af-
ter receiving a threat for attacking a
mosque and other buildings in the
neighborhood, moving to my aunt’s
house hoping it would be safer. Un-
fortunately it was next to the Islamic
university of Gaza, which was bom-
barded the same night we evacuated.
Over days, the situation was getting
worse. People have lived the last year
and half under a severe siege and the
last month with no bread and wheat,
so the new-style aggression made
them dead souls. The power was to-
tally cut, and sewage and water lines
were destroyed. Food ran out in ev-
ery home, and the daylight was ex-
changed with a high level of unsafe,
dark and horrifying moments.
Days passed, and the number of
dead people was increasing, because
the bombardments didn’t stop for a
single hour. Mosques were destroyed
during prayers, gas stations were
burnt because of missiles, and homes
were attacked randomly, causing the
death of whole civilian families.
Over 1,000 souls were dispatched
and over 4,000 were injured on the
19th day of the war; the number
totaled the same as the number of
students at my university, where I
was planning to graduate from this
spring. Now my future has become
dark. Nobody knows, but I do know
that many children, women and ci-
vilians were killed in their homes—
unarmed people whose only concern
was to live in peace like children and
civilians everywhere.
Nasser Barakat is a Palestinian journalist
living in Gaza.
GA ZA SPECIAL GA ZA SPECIAL GA ZA SPECIAL GA ZA SPECIAL
Running From
Shelter To Shelter
Grad rocket after landing in the middle of Ashkelon city
Photographer: Avi Ochaon, Government Press Office
"People in Israel bump into sad reality: bombs from the Gaza strip fall on the
sovereign state. Israeli civilians search for shelter while sirens do their part."
"P
eace is a break between wars,"
said by Leo Tolstoy, the Rus-
sian author. In the Middle
East, peace is something that
supposedly everybody desires,
yet they seem to act oppositionally. "We
are never going to recognize Israel," says a
spokesman of Hamas. This is not good start
for a peace agreement.
A few days before the new year, Israel re-
sponded to eight years of Hamas bombing
cities in the sovereign state. It's sad that in
the 21st century, wars are still used to resolve
problems.
My home is in Beersheva, the city that
Hamas launched Grad bombs on all day,
every day. War is never easy—both sides are
suffering. It's doesn't matter who kills more,
because every one is a person who has the
right to live in this world. The population in
the city under attack is very frightened. No-
body is going to work. Children are sitting in
the shelters. Schools and kindergartens are
closed. A few people are taking their chances
to go out to their businesses: "We shouldn't
stop our lives because of the war," says Josef
(26). “They (the Hamas) started, and we’re
simply defending ourselves."
Suddenly the siren starts crying, and con-
fused civilians start running like mad in all
directions, trying to find a shelter to hide in.
After a couple of seconds a loud noise sounds
in the air. Boom. Everybody is bewildered
and trying to call their relatives to check their
conditions. "Where is my mother?" a little
girl screams, crying and shaking from fear.
No one can know where the Grad bomb will
fall and what kind of damage it will cause.
Unsecured reality makes everybody crazy.
People in southern Israel have lived in fear a
long time, and people of Gaza are suffering
from Israel’s defense against Hamas’ attacks.
As I write these words, the siren is still
working outside, and people on the streets
are probably running from shelter to shelter.
The news shows pictures from the last attack
and describes bombs falling. It was near my
home, in the high school. Luckily the city
council forbids studies while Hamas is shoot-
ing missiles, which means a huge disaster was
prevented and a lot of youth were saved.
At night the siren takes the place of alarm
clocks. At least twice a night we need to run
to the shelter until we hear a boom outside. It's
not hard to fall a sleep after bombing, because
you’re so tired from the situation and you feel
positive that no body got shot this hour.
"After a boom my children are crying," says
Gila (39), a mother of three. "It's so frighten-
ing to be under attack all the time. My nine-
year-old son still wets his bed," Gila sadly
continues. "I don't understand the Hamas,
why don't they care about them selves, about
their children?"
The sound of sirens is creepy. It starts low and
grows stridently, repeating itself until people
are annoyed. "I can’t take it any more, my
house has been struck and it ruined my room,"
says Dana (16), whose parents send her to her
grandmother’s in Tel Aviv. "It's more safe here
without siren and bombs," she claims.
David (78) lives in Ashdod which is also
under attack. He remembers history. "I have
been in all Israel’s wars. In 1948 we didn’t
start the war, but we won, and a lot of Ar-
abs ran away like Jews ran away from Arab
countries. In 1967 again we didn't start the
war and we won. In all wars people die and
lands are conquered," he says. "Nobody
asked them to land bombs on Israel. We have
to defend our citizens.”
Maybe this is the last war. Perhaps there
will be an agreement that will end all deadly
fighting. Unless Palestinians recognize the
state of Israel, silence in the area will never
come. And more blood will be spilled.
Mark Shulman is a 27-year-old Israeli. He
studies communication and journalism at
Sapir Academic College
cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38 3
GA ZA SPECIAL GA ZA SPECIAL GA ZA SPECIAL GA ZA SPECIAL
Who's Embarrassed?
"I absolutely cannot comprehend the logic of Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni’s
statement to the BBC that Israel was targeting Hamas but “unfortunately in a war…
sometimes also civilians pay the price”—an argument she would never make had
the fatalities been reversed."
"A
nd I love my life, because if
I died, I would be embar-
rassed of my mother’s tears,”
wrote the late Palestinian
poet Mahmoud Darwish
while in Israeli prisons in perhaps his
most famous poem: “My Mother.”
So many Palestinian boys and girls,
young men and women loved their
lives, but died in the giant Israeli pris-
on of Gaza since Dec. 27th, 2008, and
so many mothers wept. But only those
who died were embarrassed over the
tears and suffering of their mothers,
who wept, alone. Those who deemed
their lives dispensable and unworthy re-
mained arrogant and unmoved, as they
have been, historically. Israel continues
its blatant usuals of having the legiti-
mate right to kill and destroy others be-
cause they have superior morality, and
the Palestinians, being inferiors should
be killed and destroyed not only be-
cause they should be killed, but because
they actually caused it. How is it that
Israel has, for the most part, convinced
the world that Palestinians are inferior
and have no legitimacy to live and to ex-
ist? How is it that the United States and
Europe agrees and follows along? Azmi
4 cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38
Bishara, a political analyst and former
member of the Israeli parliament, states
that Israeli parlance and media has suc-
cessfully criminalized the victims and
victimized the aggressors.
It required a breaking off of the history
of the Palestinians, deleting the narra-
tive of their tragedy, and avoiding the
grotesque irony about Gaza, which, in
any other conflict, journalists would be
writing about it in their first reports:
that the original, legal owners of the
Israeli land on which Hamas rockets
are detonating live in Gaza. That is why
Gaza exists in the first place, because the
Palestinians who lived in so-called Ash-
kelon, Askalaan in Arabic, were dispos-
sessed from their lands in 1948 when Is-
rael was created. They, along with their
children and grandchildren and great
grandchildren, are among the one and
half million Palestinians crammed into
the overpopulated Gaza, 80 percent of
them who once lived in what is now Is-
rael. This, historically, is the real story.
Most of the people living in Gaza do not
come from Gaza. Watching the Israeli
and foreign media, you would think
that history began yesterday, where a
group of Jewish-hating Palestinians
popped up in Gaza and
began firing missiles into
peace-loving, democratic
Israel, only to meet with the
righteous vengeance of the
Israeli air-force. The truth
is, both Yitzhak Rabin and
Shimon Peres said back in
the 1990s that they wished
Gaza would just go away
and drop into the sea. This
is because the existence of
Gaza is a permanent re-
minder of those hundreds
of thousands of Palestin-
ians who lost their homes
to Israel, who were driven
out or fled during the eth-
nic cleansing of 1948. They
now live in the most over-
populated region of the
world, dispossessed, hungry and living
in darkness, amidst refuse and sewage.
I absolutely cannot comprehend the
logic of Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Liv-
ni’s statement to the BBC that Israel was
targeting Hamas but “unfortunately in a
war… sometimes also civilians pay the
price”— an argument she would never
make had the fatalities been reversed.
Hamas’ Jan. 2006 legislative election
victory seemed to have set the stage for
this power struggle, along its continual
insistence to “refuse” to recognize the
state of Israel, even though every other
sentence uttered by their spokesmen
begins with the word Israel. Their 30
kg Qassam rockets, launched from the
Gaza strip, seem to be the biggest ex-
cuse Livni and others could utilize. The
rockets have definitely been counter
productive; they have not been an ef-
fective means of resistance for the Pal-
estinians nor have they pointed out the
dire realities of Gaza since 1967. Come
to think of it, Israel has utilized the Qas-
sam rockets far better than Hamas has.
For every Qassam rocket that fell, Israel
was capable of portraying itself as a vic-
tim with a legitimate right to vengeance
against an immoral and illegitimate
aggressor. And for every F-16 missile,
weighing 1-2 tons, that fell on populat-
ed buildings in Gaza, destroying them
completely and killing its inhabitants,
the Israeli government and its allies
thought that was deserved.
Israel’s argument, pointed out by Is-
raeli government spokesman Mark Re-
gev, was that “it was pointless to play the
numbers game.” Yet if more than 1,000
Israelis had been killed versus 20 dead
Palestinians, the “numbers game” and
the disproportionate violence would
have been very relevant. The simple fact
is that Palestinian deaths matter far less
than Israeli deaths to Israel and its allies.
Jihan Abdalla is a 22-year-old Palesti-
nian. She studied philosophy and jour-
nalism in the US and is now working as
a freelance journalist.
GA ZA SPECIAL GA ZA SPECIAL GA ZA SPECIAL GA ZA SPECIAL
War under
camouflage
"I live here, this is my country, and I have the right to demand that my
country pay for its historical crimes and starts being the kind of country it
claims to be—democratic and peace-seeking."
W
hen watching the Israeli
news, broadcasting the
Gaza war around the
clock, one might think
that Gaza is only build-
ings, roads and worriers—no civilians,
cars or any kind of normal life. It's get-
ting there.
The Israeli channels systematically show
only pictures of Israeli cities, anxious and
sometimes wounded Jewish people and
soldiers. They do not show pictures of in-
jured or dead people from Gaza, pictures
the whole world is seeing. More than one
thousand people are dead in the streets
of Gaza: women, children and too many
innocent men. And yet, Israeli television
keeps showing the same pictures of a ru-
ined house, a burned car in one of the cit-
ies in Israel, or places in which a disaster
almost happened. This is the way Israeli
media keeps the people of Israel on the
army’s side, avoiding the disaster that is
really happening in Gaza, fueling the pa-
triotic aggression and the fear that main-
tains the notion of the Jewish state.
The killing of civilians in Gaza is mini-
mized and the awful pictures the world
is seeing are classified as a directed pro-
paganda of Hamas. The killing is also
blamed on Hamas and the fact that it
shoots missiles. No responsibility is placed
on the Jewish side. The common agenda of
the Israeli media is that in a time like this
there is no room for criticism. I believe the
contrary—this the perfect time for criti-
cism. The media is blinding the Jewish
public's eyes, choosing to air articles about
birthday celebrations of soldiers and little
children in Sderot, showing their support
in the war, knowing that this is the only
way. Well, it is not and I believe the media
should be the one to show that.
Hamas has been throwing missiles on in-
nocent civilians for the last eight years - that
is a fact. The people of Sderot are suffering
and this is no way to live. Another fact is
that the Israeli government and media ig-
nored Sderot during all these years, only to war and the way it is reflected in the me-
embrace it now as a just cause for aimlessly dia makes all the Jewish public blinded
shooting and killing all over Gaza. Talking with hate. As a citizen of this state, I am
to the Hamas was never a real option. There ashamed, although not surprised; it has
were talks, but these talks never considered happened before and will happen again.
the Hamas as a legitimate representative of That is, until this country decides once
the Palestinian people. It is a terrorist or- and for all to be a brave democracy in the
ganization in the Jewish Israeli eyes, but so shattered world it helped to destroy. I live
were the PLO and Fatah. here, this is my country, and I have the
For Jewish Israelis all around me, this right to demand that my country pay for
war is a force of reality. "We didn’t want its historical crimes and starts being the
it,” they say, "they made us do it.” Jewish kind of country it claims to be—demo-
Israelis prefer to perceive themselves as cratic and peace-seeking.
the ultimate victims, while ignoring 60
years of armed occupation and maltreat- Eness Elias is a 27-year-old Israeli. She
ment, to say the least. There is a great fear is working as a historical researcher in
in the Israeli society of Arabs, supposing television.
they are just waiting for the chance to kill
us, when all that we have been doing since
the first Jews settled here, is kill them.
In Sderot, this war feels like a rescue mis-
sion, especially when watching the unbal-
anced Israeli channels that do not air the
painful pictures from Gaza. The citizens
of Israel don't even have the chance to stop
and think. It seems there is really no need
for thinking during this war. If just a little
thought were put to it, and not only blind
vengeance and electoral calculations, this
killing wouldn't have even begun.
Yes, Hamas is aiming at innocent civilians
in Israel; still, killing innocent Palestin-
ian citizens is not the answer. The conse-
quences of this attack, like many others
before it, will only plant more hatred in
the people's hearts, as it is already doing
and will continue to do for generations to
come. The result of a war is always more
war and never a hope for peace. In my
eyes, only if we stop being so afraid and
accept the Palestinians as our brothers,
with equal rights in this country, we might
start the redemption that is needed in this
situation.
Just before writing this article,
I heard about the decision to disqualify
the Arab parties from entering the elec-
tion. This is another example of how this
cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38 5
GA ZA SPECIAL GA ZA SPECIAL GA ZA SPECIAL GA ZA SPECIAL GA ZA SPECIAL GA ZA SPECIAL GA ZA SPECIAL GA ZA SPECIAL

New Middle East out

of Gaza Crisis, and
the way out
"In Palestine we need a government based on pragmatic solutions, not radical
and irresponsible means which, as we see in Gaza, lead to death."

T
he crisis in Gaza uncov-
ered a new Middle East. The
big players in forming and
structuring the new Middle
East were named as Tahran-
Damascas Axis against the
Arab Moderate Axis, trying to lead
the region instead of Egypt. I find
myself obliged to discuss this crucial
turn in the Middle East which might
they were willing to support and back
us in this conflict. But after weeks of
continuous mass killing and mass de-
struction in Gaza, I don't see any real
support by Syria or Iran nor Hezbol-
lah as an Iranian proxy in the region. I
thought they would attack Israel from
The Golan Heights or from Lebanon in
order to help the Palestinians and fight
with Palestine as they always claim they
be deployed in order to have real truce
and time for peace negotiations with
Israel. They should be based on a re-
gional package solution, because peace
will not come true unless the Syrian-
Israeli conflict has an end and the Ira-
nian nuclear weapons program ends,
as well.
Mohammad AboRamadan is a Palestinian

A Cry of Warning
lead to a new era in the region. We see
the Tahran-Damascas Axis is cur-
rently using cultural violence against
Egypt through media campaigns us-
ing Al-Jazeera TV and Al Aalam TV
to create chaos in Egypt. They do so
"If you allow me, when it all ends, I will be the first to come and help by positioning one party against an-
you rebuild your houses and hopefully you’ll be able to rebuild your life." other: The Islamic Brotherhood in
will. I thought Iran, as Mahmoud Ah- from Gaza living in Sweden. He has an MA in
madinejad said, would “wipe Israel off Peace, Conflict and Development Studies.
the map.” Isn't this the time to wipe if
he really was honest in his speeches and
goals? But why would we need to wipe
Israel out?
I think we must live with Israel as a re-
ality and in peace with them. I think the

W
hat is the scale of destruc-
tion and what are the con-
sequences of the devastat-
ing war in Gaza? How can
we measure it? Should we
compare?
The lust for blood and human body parts
shown on TV, sent by email, uncensored,
is cheap and degrading. Have we become
animals?
We assume that human beings since an-
cient times have the right to the freedom of
movement and to be able to live anywhere:
to trade, to work, to study, to grow. What
about my country, my rights? Democra-
cy, legitimate decisions as well as chosen
leaders, can have devastating effects even
though they are considered acceptable.
Who draws the line? Is it acceptable to use
the word ‘resistance’ for shooting rockets?
Is it acceptable to teach someone the mean-
ingful term of hatred towards someone
you disagree with? Is it acceptable to use
innocent children and civilians as human
shields? Is it acceptable to inscribe violence
on your flag as a trivial way to solve prob-
lems? Is there a choice?
Israel is a democratic country, named un-
der the name of its people. Hamas, meaning
"Islamic Resistance Movement," was cho-
sen democratically and calls for the recap-
turing of the State of Israel and replacing it
with a Palestinian Islamic state in the Gaza
area. Eight years ago the Hamas started to
claim it, and for eight years the civilians in
Israel suffered a daily death threat. Today
Israel had made a decision to put a stop to
it—eight years too late.
When the air alarm is activated, people
feel helpless. ‘What would happen to me if
the rocket actually falls here?’ goes through
the mind. Once, when an alarm caught me
unprepared, I prayed to God and started
crying. I thought I would get used to it,
but as time passes by, I realize what it all
means. I was crying and at the same time
I asked myself how I could be crying when
there are people in a much worse situations
than I just 40 kilometers away? It didn’t
matter. I was still afraid and as helpless as
those 40 kilometers away from me.
Yes, there is a choice: Life. We understand
how precious it is only when it is at stake.
We share the same fear today, not know-
ing for sure what will be tomorrow. I ask
of you, the citizens of Gaza, to condemn
those who use you and your faith in them,
to treat you like someone they could spare.
Condemn the ideology of violence as a way
to solve problems. What matters is life. As
Albert Einstein said, “Don’t let dead rules
kill healthy sense.” You could read those
lines thinking I have gone mad, giving you
lectures on good behavior. You could throw
this away and go back to the same life style
you had, but you could also stop for a mo-
ment and wonder for a minute what is good
for you? What is it that you really want at
the end of the day, for you and your family?
There’s no winning here, only the loss of
many innocent lives, destruction, fear and
a questionable future. It is your choice. I’ve
already made mine. If you allow me, when
it all ends, I will be the first to come and
help you rebuild your houses and hopefully
you’ll be able to rebuild your life.
Ravit Ben-Naim a 26-year-old Israeli. She
works as an interviewer for a National
Student Magazine, Student for Environ-
mental and Natural Science.
Egypt against the government, reach-
ing the point were the street and the
militants unite against the govern-
ment and then Qatar, Syria and Iran
will lead the Middle East and imple-
ment their own agenda. The Tehran-
Damascus Axis is also strengthening
Hamas’ Islamic brotherhood against
the legal Palestinian Authority for
the same reasons—to assist Iran and
Syria in its talks about nuclear weap-
ons in Iran and the creating pres-
sure in Gaza regarding the Syrian-
Israeli peace process. sis?” everyone asks. From my perspec-
This means that Iran has no real inten-
tion to hit the US with nuclear weapons.
I believe it’s only propaganda to be be-
lieved by all Muslims and Arabs in the
Middle East and also to end the Islamic
Sunni power in the Middle East and
to make the Islamic Shiites spread out,
which is an old aim for Iran, especially
in the Arab Gulf region.
It’s time to point to the problematic
Gaza-Israeli conflict and violence. Be-
fore the Israeli attack on Gaza and the
Gazans, we heard speeches from Ira-
nian and Syrian figures sounding like
Palestinian factions must be more prag-
matic since they are alone in the battle
and no one will fight with them. No one
wants to die and why should they have to
die? I believe we have peaceful means to
get our rights.  Therefore my question
is, why must Palestinians always pay
the price of the regional political inter-
ests? And why have we entered this war
with Israel? This pointless conflict must
be solved with peaceful means—not
death.
“How do we get out of the current cri-
tive, the way out of the crisis is by mak-
ing our own decisions, not depending
on other regional influential political
wills, then trying as much as we can
to create a unified government in Pal-
estine, governed by moderate figures
with no influence from radical parties.
Palestine needs a government based on
pragmatic solutions, not radical and ir-
responsible means which, as we see in
Gaza, lead to death and genocide.
I think this is the main step Palestin-
ians have to take before international
observers between Israel and Gaza can

6 cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38 cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38 7

 Change for a The Other Side
Ravit Ben-Naim proposes peaceful activism as a way to fight
11
Change
CB Advisory Board the powers-that-be.
Prof. Munther Dajani (Chair Person), Mr. Herbert
Pundik, Ms. Else Hammerich, Ms. Lotte Lund,
A Bunch of Faithful Participants Awaiting

Mr. Hanna Siniora, Mr. Jakob Erle, Mr. Mossi Raz
and Mr. Greg Newbold
Executive Board
Ms. Anja Gustavsen (Chair), Ms. Rosa Dich (Vice Chair
Person), Ms. Britha Mikkelsen, Mr. Jørn Faurschou,
Ms. Louise Breum Brekke, Ms. Anne Gyrithe Bonne,
Ms. Mette Juel Madsen, Mr. Asbjoern Petersen
Executive Secretariat
Mr. Garba Diallo (Director), Mrs. Nina Brinck (Chief Fi-
nancial Officer) and Ms. Farhiya Khalid (Project Intern)
Contact Us
Crossing Borders, Krogerup Højskole
Krogerupvej 9, 3050 Humlebæk, Denmark
Tel +45 49213371
Web www.crossingborder.org
E-mail cb@crossingborder.org
Crossing Borders partner organizations
Israel Givat Haviva
12
When we ended the autumn seminar in Aqaba, Jordan, last
November, we asked the participants to fill this issue with the Intervention of the Supernatural
their hopes and aspirations for the future. Less than two One Crossing Borders participant demands less talk and
more action—of both herself and her peers.
months later we learned once again that hopes are a fragile
commodity in The Holy Land.
Just as we were finishing the magazine, the Israeli govern-
ment declared that it was going to invade Gaza to stop rock-
et attacks on its Southern cities, and launched a war on the
strip. Hamas fought back, and the vicious circle of violence
Obama is a Leader to Rely On
Fakhria Ali hopes that Obama’s presidency means
more peace for the Middle East. 14
16
and hatred spun at a frightening speed.
Soon the drama spread to our email inboxes; shocking-but-
The Palestinian Audacity of Hope
Jihan Abdallah encourages fellow Palestinians to dream big,
familiar pictures of death, suffering and fear took over when just as Obama did.
words were deemed insufficient. Strong accusations fol-
lowed suit, and participants threatened to withdraw their ar-

18
Palestine Peace and Democracy Forum
Jordan Masar Centre ticles or pull out of Crossing Borders altogether. Fortunately, The Refugees Must Return
Germany Dialogue Lab no one did. Everybody stayed on board and remained loyal Ines Mrieh stresses the importance of helping displaced
Finland The Finnish UNESCO Asp.net
to the principles of Crossing Borders. Palestinian refugees above all else.
Palestinian Coordinator As a dialogue-oriented organization, we try to remain true
Ms. Suheir Hashimeh
Tel +972 544292574 to our principles. We allowed the parties of the conflict to
Cold Peace in a Warm
20
E-mail suheir@crossingborder.org speak for themselves, we tried not to speak for them and we
Israeli Coordinator remained on the side of those who want dialogue and non- Environment
Ms. Dorit Maor
violent means of communication and conflict resolution. Mark Shulman proposes travel and tourism as keys to a
Tel +972 544901415 true peace in the Middle East.
E-mail dorit@crossingborder.org At the time of writing the war seems to be over, or at least
in recess. While the individual suffering continues in the af- The Nile, a Source of
24
Jordanian Coordinator
Mr. Khaled Shorman
Tel +962 795545574
fected areas, at least the TV-screens, airwaves and newspa-
per columns are somewhat cleared of the suffering for now.
Conflict as Well as Peace
E-mail kshorman@gmail.com One Eritrean writer hopes that Crossing Borders can
Egyptian Coordinator
In this issue of Crossing Borders Magazine we’ve dedicated a help to heal parts of Africa, too.
Ms. Marianne Nagy special section to views from several sides of the Gaza con-

26
Tel +20 180 21 5331 flict, but still devote most pages to the hopes and visions
E-mail marianne@crossingborder.org
for the new year and the years to come. The new Ameri- A Push for Tolerant Arts
Editor-In-Chief Khaled Al-Hilaly sees that art has acted as a catalyst
Martin Selsoe Sorensen can president who was elected based on his campaign for
for change throughout history.
E-mail martinselsoe@gmail.com change seems to be a hope-generat-
Language Editor ing force. If he as president also takes

28
Shawna Kenney
E-mail shawnajean@yahoo.com
on the Middle East, that would be a Plastic Cards do Double Duty
most welcome change. Miki Levi enjoys the unexpected connections made
Photographers
Patrick Holbek, Andrew Pellett and Peter R. Pouls- through his father’s phone card collection.
en, Cover photo by Shawna Kenney (Poster mural —Martin Selsøe Sørensen,
by Shepard Fairey taken at 14th and U. Streets, editor-in-chief
NW, Washington, DC)

Art Director
Matt Baumgardner
E-mail mbaumgardner@ec.rr.com
Crossing Borders is a non-profit, non-partisan NGO
that provides youth, young journalists and educators
from conflict zones with impartial dialogue space and
communication, media and conflict management skills
training. The aim of CB is to increase the possibilities
for world peace with special focus on the Mideast.
30
This magazine has been produced with the finacial support Being Cool in Arabic
of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ DEMENA Youth Preserving one’s native language while integrating
Fund through the Danish Development NGO MS and Politi- internationally is music to Ghassan Khoury’s ears.
ken & Jyllands-Postens Fond. The opinions expressed in the
articles do not reflect or represent the opinion of the Danish
Less Dreaming, More Doing
31
Ministry, MS, Crossing Borders or the partner organisati-
ons. The opinions are the sole responsibility of the individu-
Qamar Daher finds satisfaction in actively reaching
al writers. We invite you to comment on any of the articles out to Haifa’s youth.
in this magazine by emailing us at cb@crossingborder.org
 LETTERS EDITOR to
the

Nobody wants to man a check-point
I share Nivine’s hopes and I wish for a time
that neither walls nor bomb shelters were
needed. There are some mixed studies on
the separation wall. The security services
of Israel are saying that the separation wall
improves the security in the streets of Is-
rael. We as citizens do feel that we are be-
ing terrorized. Anyway, I wish for all this
to be over soon so both sides feel safer. I
really do not think that any Israeli prefers
to guard a checkpoint all day instead of be-
ing at home with his or her family or on
holidays.
able way. Also the choice of images/pictures
may attract attention, but must be balanced
to underline the topics in the text without
obscuring the message.
For example: Page 10 of this issue includes
an article called "Dancing Moon," about an
Arab flamenco dancer, who finds freedom
from societal constraints in an Israeli dance
studio. This text is bold. What does this
mean? The readers would think that Pales-
tinians persecute and threaten the art, and
that an Arab woman must escape to Israel to
be free. Yet we, or most people, know where
belly dance originates.
For instance, home-made rockets called
‘Al Qassam’ (not more than 2 meters in
length, carrying less than five kilograms of
explosives, with little ability to be directed)
have been launched by Palestinian resis-
tance fighters upon Israel. Statistics show
that such rockets have killed eight Israelis
since the start of the escalated violence in
Gaza, and many others have suffered from
shock associated with their sound. On the
other side of the coin, more than 1,000
Palestinians have been killed in Rafah and
Khan Yunis by Israeli air force attacks and
other kinds of ground tanks. So we are now

The other side

—Meir ’Miki’ Levi, Israel Another article on page 14 contains the under the Israeli formal news umbrella so
thoughts of an "anonymous Arab" about the far from objectivity and reality. It will be
Responsibility future of the Middle East. The weakness of better if you just mention that the rockets

Ahmad Safi, Palestinian Vision
I was very impressed by how one Danish girl
presented herself as an activist in a Crossing
Borders workshop arranged by the Jordan
River Foundation in October 2008. She told
how she was inspired by a Palestinian lecturer
and went on to play a role in society for the ad-
vancement of all humanity. While she looked
at the audience with her big shining eyes, I felt
optimistic about the new generation.
Afterwards, she started to distribute publica-
tions (the CB Magazine vol. 9 no. 36), which
has an attractive cover with powerful words.
With a quick look at the subject matter, I not-
this article relates to four issues: First, the
"anonymous Arab" presents himself as an an-
alyst or predictor of war in the Middle East,
while he is actually only a journalist. Second,
the editor and the writer must have believed
his credibility, since both allowed the article
to be published (which does not include the
information, knowledge or background on
which he based his point of views). As a re-
sult, many readers now will want to know
what will happen, since such a war, as he
predicts in the Middle East, will not be easy.
Third, why is it so important to put ‘that he
believes a war will come’ in quotation marks
came from the Palestinian side because
of _____ and that the sky is not raining
rockets above Israelis. Since Hamas won
the election in 2006 no rockets have hit
Sderot.
No mention was made of the thousands of
kids in Palestine living in fear who developed
sleeping problems since the Israeli air attacks.
In the article named "Love Beyond Borders",
Inas Mrieh tried to explain the barriers Pal-
estinian love can face. The wall isolates 15 vil-
lages from contact with the rest of the West
Bank so 13.000 Palestinians are isolated be-
tween the wall and the 1948 borders. The wall
"S
treets Come Alive as Relief
and Exuberance Greet End
of Conflicts…" said a state-
ment on the cover of The
New York Times handed out
in the streets of Manhattan on November
12, 2008.
On behalf of a collective of liberal ac-
tivists, 1,000 volunteers across the US
handed out 1.2 million copies of a spoof
of The New York Times, dated July 4th,
2009 under the sensational headline ‘All
THE NEWS WE HOPE TO PRINT.’ The
group looked into the legal issues raised
by the use of The New York Times name-
"Violence is never a wise weapon."
within the bounds of what's known as ‘fair
use’ under federal copyright law. "The pa-
per provides this vision of what's possible
if we all work together," said Steven Lam-
bert, an editor of the parody.
Actions cannot be undone. That is a fact.
We often aren’t asked before decisions are
put into action by our leaders. The ques-
tion is, do we act ourselves to make any
difference?
Asking myself how I would act if I was
on the other side of any wall, I would
consider myself an activist. Talking is not
those who don’t have democracy under-
stand the importance of being united
to achieve their rights and freedom in a
democratic way. As the proletariat grows
by numbers, it will become aware of its
power. After-school programs, theater
plays, movies, festivals, youth move-
ments, sport events etc. will allow us to
be a legitimate party with the ability to
fundraise and grow.
Too much power can make people lose
their sense of morality and patience. It
can make them judgmental and patron-

ed some points which made me uneasy. I was
drawn to reading the magazine and zoned-
out from the rest of the presentation.
As a journalist I have learned that ethics are
not what they used to be in the journalistic
world. Nonetheless, as journalists we must
be smart when dealing with objectivity as to
not have it come-off as propaganda to oth-
ers. I am not trying to be a teacher, but in my
and bold, on page 16?
Fourth, the big picture of the wall (page 14)
is not related to the subject of the article.
The comment on top left corner, which the
reader thinks relates to the picture, con-
tains a huge mistake when the editor makes
a general description of generations. The
whole article shows how much danger Israel
lives in, how pitiful and poor a nation they
has created a security area east of the Jordan
River, used by 22 percent of the West Bank.
This area includes 40 settlements. Security ar-
eas at the west of the green line, and are used
by 23.4 percent of the people from the West
Bank. A security area used by 4.7 percent
from the West Bank divides the big Palestin-
ian city into eight areas like holes in Swiss
cheese. This is not all, but maybe not only love
»
plate style and used it believing they were enough– words are shouted a lot easier
than deeds are done, so in order to make
We often a difference, even the slightest difference,
one must act. How can we be heard with-
aren’t asked out harming anyone and protecting our
own interests?
before decisions I see myself as the head or one of the
founders of an unarmed party. I gather
are put into action people I trust with the same morals and
by our leaders. ideology to reach those who wish to lis-
ten through education. There should be
izing. I would spit back on someone for
being disrespectful. The self-defense jus-
tification usually cannot be applied to ac-
tions committed after a crime has taken
place. Violence is never a wise weapon.
One should look deep inside himself to
see how good a person he or she is, before
making any judgment or taking any ac-
tions. Both sides are here to stay. Can we
start by accepting that?

opinion the editor has no right to give people
directions, disguises, or aliases. The editor
has no right to analyze and make predictions
that are not substantiated. Quotation marks,
bold or underlined text can help the reader to
understand the text, if it is used in a reason-
are. Indeed, most people on the planet have
the general idea that Israelis and Palestin-
ians are enemies, but do they know why? I
do not think it is a hard question, but per-
haps it would be best if both sides of the
coin were shown.
is obstructed by the wall, but so is the life and
humanity in Palestine.
Lastly, I apologize if I challenge the knowl-
edge of some, but I think we are in a free
world where we have freedom of speech,
without fear.
The question is, do no forcing, but if necessary, imposing.
We should be concerned with being wise
we act ourselves more than being right. Sometimes saying
to make any nothing is saying more than anything, as
in silent demonstrations alongside riots.
difference? Reasonable conversation should happen
with reasonable people. We want to help
"Things do not change; we change."
Henry David Thoreau.
Ravit Ben-Naim a 26-year-old Israeli. She
works as an interviewer for a National
Student Magazine, Student for Environ-
mental and Natural Science.

cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38 11

A bunch of faithful
participants awaiting
the intervention of
the supernatural
"I get a growing
suspicion that
many of the CB-
participants have
been infected by
the very contagious
pandemic, also
known as passivity"
I
’m sitting in a rooftop bar in Aqa-
ba smoking an argeila after a long
day of seminars in the Crossing
Borders Media course. We have
been sitting in a room with artifi-
cial plants and painted windows and
air that just keeps getting heavier as
the day goes by. Brave Mozn from
Egypt is sitting with her feet in the
couch, inhaling the smoke with a se-
rene satisfaction, explaining to me
why the focus in our discussions has
been quite wrong.
Far too often we ended up discuss-
ing the conflict between Palestine
and Israel, talking about the invis-
ible hand, also known as “the occu-
pation.” But as Mozn explains with a
determined look burning in her eyes,
there are much more crucial topics to
discuss.
Women’s rights, discrimination,
poverty and social inequality are still
deadly relevant topics for the major-
ity of the people on this planet, so
12 cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38
why focus on a conflict that has been
going on forever, with no apparent
solution in sight? Listening to the
» the
endless discussions that have taken
People here
in the course
focus too much on
the things they can-
not change, and too
little on the things
they can.
place and lead nowhere, I get a grow-
ing suspicion that many of the par-
ticipants have been infected by the
very contagious pandemic known as
passivity.
This disease is characterized by a
faithful waiting for the intervention
of the supernatural, instead of tak-
ing matters into one’s own hands.
All the participants in this course
have shown good will, by even at-
tending it, but it is fair to ask if it is
not possible to demand more from
each other. Instead of talking about
the famous cartoons from Denmark,
let’s instead talk about issues that are
much more pressing. We could, for
example, talk about human rights,
gender equality and censorship.
These are all issues relevant to all of
the participants, despite nationality.
It is much easier to talk about the
things that are not easily changed.
This does not require active partici-
pation and at least it does not de-
mand involvement and . Still, the
next time I attend a course like this
one, I hope we all - myself included
– will have been cured from the vi-
rus. Discussion and action, instead
of abandoned talks in favor of party-
ing, would be more useful.
This night on the roof in Aqaba – a
simple conversation over a lit argei-
la, on satin pillows in bright colors,
drinking cheap Jordanian beers – at
least fired up my thoughts. Now I just
have to take action!
Kathrine Tschermerinsky Lund Kirkeby
is a 20-year-old Dane. She studies
anthropology at Copenhagen University
To see
sea
I grew up in Haifa, I took the sea for granted as it’s
part of the scene here. Adnan is 39 years old, he
lives only half an hour from Haifa and was never
allowed to see it.
E
very year is a big challenge
for me—lots of expectations
and hopes, especially for
someone living where I live.
I'm living in Jerusalem but I
travel between Ramallah, Jenin, Nab-
lus and Bethlehem on a daily basis for
work, meeting so many people with
interesting stories to tell. I really want
to live a calm and stable life, but living
under Israeli occupation is not easy at
all. I want a normal life like anybody in
the world and to be able to travel in the
West Bank without checkpoints, walls,
soldiers, dirt barricades and other ob-
stacles, and to be able to plan my life
well. Here, things change all the time.
I don't know how long it will take from
Jerusalem to Ramallah. I know it’s 14
kilometres, but sometimes it takes 40
minutes, one hour or two hours. God
knows.
But when I know that I can go to all
these places as a journalist I feel lucky,
since so many Palestinians can’t do
what I do.
In November during the American
elections, I was optimistic that maybe
this time there will be a change, as the
Palestinian people have been waiting
for a change now over 60 years to have
independence and freedom like any-
body else. The Bush administration
didn't solve the conflict in the Middle
East yet and people are still waiting for
change to come.
In this part of the world we have
heard so many promises of ending the
occupation and having a better life,
but people lose hope when they see
the facts on the ground. Israel is still
building more settlements, walls and
checkpoints.
In this new year, I'm thinking of
people I met throughout the past year,
wondering what will happen to them
and to their lives. And I’m thinking
about the dreams they shared with me.
I remember Rabiha from the Jabaliy
Refugee camp in Gaza. She is 65 years
old and her dream is to see Jerusalem.
She told me “I want to go to Jerusalem,
to walk in the streets of Jerusalem to
smell the earth of Jerusalem, to see the
city we are dying for.” I felt so bad for
Rabiha because Jerusalem and Gaza
are only one hour apart, but the Erez
checkpoint makes it impossible to
leave the Gaza strip. I looked into her
eyes and felt so bad. It shouldn't be a
big deal to travel to or from Gaza, but
now it’s a big dream to do so.
Another guy I remember is Adnan
from Jenin who was 39 years old. When
I saw him, he asked me where I was
coming from. “Haifa,” I answered.
“You are so lucky to live there by the
sea, my dream is to see the sea. I have
pictures of it and I want to see it and to
swim in it,” he said.
For me it was a shock. Growing up in
Haifa, I took the sea for granted as it’s
part of the scene here. I can see it from
every angle of my house. As a child I
enjoyed going there to swim, play and
eat ice cream. It's part of me and my
memories. Yet Adnan is 39 years old,
lives only half an hour from Haifa and
was never allowed to enter because of
the checkpoints.
These two small dreams mean a lot to
Rabiha and Adnan, and I really hope
these dreams will come true in 2009.
Inshallah.
Nidal Rafa is a 32-year-old Palestinian. She
is a journalist and a producer with CNN in
Palestinian Territories.
cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38 13

Obama is a leader
to rely on
"I put great expectations on Obama not because his father was Muslim or
because has an Arab middle name, but because he seems realistic and frank."
O
n November 5th 2008, the
USA elected Mr. Barack
Obama as the president of
the most powerful country
in the world. America got a
very bad reputation in the
last eight years (2001-2008) because of
George Bush and his gang. Actually I
felt very happy for this election's result.
Not just because the world is rid of the
ex-president, but also because Obama
really deserves it. He represents the
14 cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38
Democratic Party, which is the same
party as President Bill Clinton, who was
considered more just and balanced in
dealing with the conflicts in the Arab
world. The world, in his era, was better
with less news of war, bloody conflicts,
terrorism and discriminations than
Bush's era; he filled all our lives with
blood, war and hatred to get oil from
Iraq and to serve special agendas. Many
Americans themselves hate and refuse
Bush's policy. An American woman
told me once “if McCain – the Repub-
lican candidate – wins the election, I'll
never go back to America, and I'll con-
sider Yemen as my real home. McCain is
another Bush.”
I put great expectations on Obama not
because his father was Muslim or be-
cause has an Arab middle name, but be-
cause he seems realistic and frank. In his
first speech as President Elect, Obama
confessed that the US has a bad image
and he'll do his best to reform its picture
» My religion,
country and
nationality have
been in danger since
Carmen Godeanu
Romanian. 24. A BA in international relations and
intern at Bna'i Brith International in Brussels. Has
»
Bush became presi- participated in CB since 2007.
dent and my perso- Through all of the CB activities I learned every
nality and identity story has two points of view (and usually
became defensive. many more), which taught
I hope this will end me the importance of
with Obama's era. hearing other points of
and reputation. He called for equality, view. The people I’ve met
peace and change for the better. in CB have made me more
I am an Arab citizen, so I should not
rely much on the leaders' speeches, but optimistic about finding
this time it is a different leader who a solution to the conflict
himself had suffered from discrimina-
tion for his color and name. and these people aren’t
Some people will laugh at me for put- strangers to me anymore.
ting such expectations on one person.
But all of this mess I want to rid the I won't refer them as
world of is from another person's deeds. others, but as friends.
Now Obama is replacing him and he
will amend all the mistakes of the ex-
president who had shoes thrown at him
by a journalist in Iraq as a farewell to
his bloody period and for the widows
and orphans resulting from his war. I
Amira Chaykh
Danish. 19. Working as a substitute teacher
will not just wait for the support from
Obama; I will still work hard, fighting while studying medicine at the University of
for my cases and challenges, using my Copenhagen. Has been a part of CB since 2007.
»
role as a journalist and activist to reduce
the conflicts and call for a policy of dia-
logue. I will lead awareness campaigns My
experiences
to let the people in my country respect
the law, gender issues, and integrity. in CB made
The average people are not my sole tar-
me realize how
get, there are also many others I have
to make aware—people who don't know condemning
about my religion and my country and people can be, just
judge me by my name and shape with- because one has
out caring about what I have inside.
People should know that there are bad
a certain religion
or comes from a
and good people from any party, reli-
gion or country, even among the people particular country.
of their own religions and countries. The impression
My religion, country and nationality
that the media
have been in danger since Bush became
president and my personality and iden- gave me about the
tity became defensive. I hope this will Israeli-Palestinian
end with Obama's era. conflict is quite
different from the
Fakhria Ali is a 26-year-old Yemeni. She experience that I
works as executive director at the Media had in the program.
Women Forum in Sana’a, Yemen
cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38 15
The Palestinian
audacity of hope
"Should dreams be restricted to those that reality can accommodate? That would
clearly go against the concept of dreaming, and certainly the American Dream."
P
President Barack Obama wrote
a book entitled, "The Audacity
of Hope," highlighting not only
the importance of hope but its
possible effects, its power. It
challenges the idea that hope is simply
stating what you would like happen in the
future but doing nothing to ensure it. For
Obama, hope is audacious, daring, and
effective. Obama achieved the American
Dream, starting from scratch and reach-
ing ultimate greatness. In the American
mindset, Obama is the embodiment of
the term and the dream itself. Of mixed
race and with a funny name, as he put
it, Obama has neither the face, nor the
name or background for success. But that
is part of the dream, the unlikelihood of
the person, and the dream itself. It is sur-
passing the challenges, being stronger
than the challenges and the many disap-
pointments along the way.
Achieving a dream is envisioned as a
journey, which is difficult and rocky at
the beginning but perpetually improves
as the person gets stronger, learns and
surpasses the necessary challenges. At
the end of the road there is ease and per-
fection – that is the reward for having
reached this far.
What about us Palestinians, are we even
entitled to dream in the first place? What
happens when dreams conflict with oth-
ers’ dreams? Dreams and hopes are noth-
ing but the infringement of desires on the
»
future. Setting aside the road or journey
The Palesti-
nian dream
has not been
dreamt—let alone
lived and
achieved.
metaphor of achieving dreams, dreams
are either an extension of the present
into the future, assuring sameness, or,
the hope for the negation or overturn-
ing of the present. The case of Obama is
a classic case of overturning; he negated
others’ expectations and stereotypes of
him. For us Palestinians, our hopes also
include overturning: overturning our
current conditions. We fantasize about
the removal of the power and injustice
that is exercised on us. We fantasize
about coming and going without regard
of a cement wall or checkpoints guarded
by soldiers, we imagine entering or leav-
ing Jerusalem to visit, or go pray without
Israeli permits, and we dream about the
day we can travel without mistreatment
at the airport. And yet all these fantasies
are nothing but the direct opposite of
what is happening now. Can we imagine
a future that is beyond the overturning
of the present?
Occupation in its state and being is re-
strictive, of life, and of dreams too. It
restricts life now, and extends towards
what dreams can include. The Palestin-
ians’ dream of emancipation can only
be achieved through replacing the Is-
raeli state with a Palestinian one – some-
thing that is conceived to be impossible.
And so maybe another dream should be
dreamt. Are dreams a choice, then? They
ought to be, I think. But should dreams
then be restricted to those that we think
reality can accommodate? That would
clearly go against the concept of dream-
ing, and certainly the American Dream,
which is based on the unthinkable, the
extraordinary.
Our dreams are limited because the
’Palestinian dream’ has not even been
dreamt yet, the road has not been laid out
and the obstacles have not been cement-
ed. The Palestinian dream has not been
dreamt, let alone lived and achieved.
Indeed it would be extra ordinary for
Palestinians to override their current
conditions and establish their own state.
But it should be envisaged, drawn and
dreamt. And without anyone going to
sleep, the unlikely Palestinian dream
should be seen, lived and realized in our
wake. We need to live the rocky road
metaphor.
Jihan Abdalla is a 22-year-old Palestinian.
She studied philosophy and journalism in
the US and is now working as a freelance
journalist.
Schlomit Atzaba
Israeli, 24. Art student at the Hebrew University in
Jerusalem where she is the spokesperson of the
»
Students Union. Joined CB in March, 2007.
Sometimes you feel you know
everything about certain things…
you were in the army, you were
an officer, you know many Israeli
Arabs, you’ve lived in Jerusalem
all of your life, you know what
the Conflict area looks like.
Then sometimes you’re
surprised by how different a
situation seems when you
talk about it thousand
kilometers from home.
Words like “check-point”
and “terror” sound
different and the faces
of "the other side"
become unique and
personalized.
Sa'ad Amira
Palestinian, 19. Has been a part of CB
since 2007. Studies media and journalism at
»
BirZeit University near Ramallah.
The Crossing Borders program and
Daniel Pearl Foundation gave me a
good start in practicing journalism
at the International news agency in
Ramallah. As a Palestinian I knew
how foreign people from Europe and
other Mediterranean countries view
Palestinians through their media.
After participating in these
seminars and activities
I chose to study
Media and
Journalism
at Bir Zeir
University.
cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38 17
The refugees
must return
"We live here and this
matter is not due to a
favor by anyone. We are
not guests or passersby
in our country."
I
n conflicts between the oppressor
and the oppressed, the oppressor
always has powers that outdo the
oppressed. This is t he case with my
Arab Palestinian people, who have
been groaning under the sword of
the Zionist occupation for 60 years,
since the Palestinian calamity took place
in 1948.The Palestinian people were dis-
placed to Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.
My hope and future vision is that the
ordeal of my Palestinian people will
stop. Everybody should know that Is-
rael is an apostate state. That is, it is a
revelry state that breaches resolutions
of the United Nations and the Security
Council, according to Zuhair Andreas,
a media expert who specializes in Mid-
dle East affairs. When I interviewed
him and in statements to many Arab
and Hebrew newspapers, Andreas said
that Israel hasn’t carried out around 60
International Security Council resolu-
tions paramount of which are the UN
partition resolution No. 181 stipulating
that, “the Palestinian land should be
divided into three new entities; that is
an Arab state, a Jewish state, while Je-
rusalem and Beit Lahm stay under the
international custody.”
This resolution was the first attempt
to settle the Arab-Jewish conflict in the
Palestinian land, but Israel didn’t con-
form to it. The second UN resolution
No. 194 stipulates »Palestinian refugees
who were displaced during the calam-
ity are allowed to return to their houses
inside the areas occupied in 1948«. This
is considered the most UN important
resolution with regard to the Palestin-
ian problem. However, Israel refused to
abide by any of these resolutions.
I hope and dream of the return of the
018 cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38
» I hope and
dream of the
return of the Palesti-
nian people to their
homes during the
upcoming year as
their return is more
important than
establishing the
Palestinian state.
Palestinian people to their homes during
the upcoming year as their return is more
important than establishing the Palestin-
ian state. Palestinians will not calm down
until all refugees come back to their plun-
dered home, Palestine. I say that during
the time I feel pain for those Palestinian
refugees living in the scattering camps in
conditions that are, to say the least, ‘non-
humanitarian.’ I don’t want to feel the
same depression that comes every year
when I see Israel celebrating its indepen-
dence day. I wonder how they celebrate
their independence whereas they occupy
others’ land by the power of weapons.
Therefore, I don’t think that Israelis have
the right to celebrate their independence
at the expense of the Palestinian people’s
pain and land.
I hope that the state that pretends de-
mocracy—Israel—will give us, the Pal-
estinians living as minority, affiliation
to the state. We, the Arab Palestinian
minority in occupied 1948 areas, are dif-
ferent from the other minorities in the
world. We were born in the holy land of
Palestine. We live here and this matter is
not due to a favor by anyone. We are not
guests or passersby in our country.
Since I was a child, I have heard state-
ments by officials that talk about equality.
Unfortunately, these slogans remained
ink on paper. Governments talked about
equality while stabilizing the apartheid
policy against Palestinians, the original
people of the Palestinian land. The Is-
raeli successive governments distanced
the Palestinians from their lands and no
one cared. Amid all these conditions,
we will not renounce our rights.
Inas Mrieh is Palestinian. She works as
journalist for the Arabic Ma’ Alhadath
newspaper.
Smart
resistance
in the
forgotten land
"What we've done shows that people can do what
governments should have done. If people stand up
against injustice, we can truly be the conscience of
the world."
A
Palestinian art student
painted a mural depicting
the siege around Gaza, yet
showing some hope. His
portrait shows a ship sail-
ing in the Mediterranean and cross-
ing the sun in order to break the siege.
Two weeks later, on the 23rd of August,
two small boats, the SS Free Gaza and
the SS Liberty, successfully landed in
the Gaza fishing port, breaking the
Israeli blockade of the Gaza strip. It
might be considered coincidence that
what we create with a brush could be
realized by a human insistence.
On board the boats were a group of
47 international human rights activ-
ists from 17 countries, bearing one
simple message: "The world has not
forgotten the people of this land. To-
day, we are all from Gaza."
After sailing over 350 kilometers
through the choppy seas and experi-
encing its rough conditions, and de-
spite threats from the Israeli govern-
ment, they continued with hope that
materialized as they arrived in Gaza
to the cheers and joyful tears of Pales-
tinians who came out to the beach to
welcome them.
Jeff Halper, an Israeli professor and
one of the Free Gaza ship partici-
pants said, "What we've done shows
that people can do what governments
should have done. If people stand up
against injustice, we can truly be the
conscience of the world."
Huwaida Arraf, a human rights ac-
tivist and a member of the Free Gaza
ship, described what they've seen in
Gaza as total devastation and more
than what they read about. They vis-
ited hospital without basic medicines
or basic equipment. Hundreds of pa-
tients have died and people in Gaza
cannot travel outside, which means
that students cannot leave to study
abroad. This is punishment, which is
illegal and violating the Geneva Con-
vention. “Israel is clearly violating the
international conventions and no one
is doing anything about it,” said Mrs.
Arraf. "We recognize that we're two,
humble boats, but what we've accom-
plished is to show that average people
from around the world can mobilize
to create change. We do not have to
stay silent in the face of injustice.
Reaching Gaza today, there is such a
sense of hope, and hope is what mobi-
lizes people everywhere."
Maybe this action didn’t bring free-
dom to Gaza or changed the humili-
ated life of the Palestinians living in
it, but it has definitely enriched the
souls of us with hope and insistence
to continue our struggle for freedom
and life. What these 47 humans rights
activists did is inspiring for every hu-
man willing to live with dignity and
hope.
Eventually, I would like to say that
"what one man can do, another can
do,” so let's all work for the sake of
equalizing our humanity.
Nasser Barakat is a 21-year-old Pale-
stinian living in Gaza. He works for the
Media Town Agency and Mercy Corps
International Organization.
cbcbmagazine
magazinevol.
vol.109 edition no. 38
37 019
Crossing Borders
Crossing Borders is the
only way
To achieve a peaceful and
sunny day.
Crossing Borders moves
like the sand,
In a safe and wild land.
Crossing Borders is
always online
It makes you feel fine.
And changes your wrong
political mind.
Crossing Borders makes
you feel
the light, white and bright
peace in the Middle East.
Even if you are already wise,
It usually brings an
unbelievable surprise
Its mission gives us permission
on certain matters
In her daily edition………
Crossing Borders is our way
To achieve coexistence today
and everyday.
Crossing Borders always
stands here for you, dear!
And makes you forget your
painful tears.
Crossing Borders uses hope
and knowledge it drops…
It won't stop.
Written by: Sahar Samara – Arab Israeli
20 cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38
Cold Peace
in a Warm
Environment
"Even the Arabs who have Israeli passports claim
that the Jordanians and the Egyptians consider them
traitors, seeing them as Jews who speak Arabic."
I
t's my first visit to Jordan, and I’m very
excited to meet my Crossing Borders
fellows again. When I heard that the
meeting was going to be in Jordan, I was
a little bit worried. The simple reason
is that "It’s not safe for Israelis to go to
Arab countries," as it says on the homepage
of the Israeli Foreign Ministry. The Hezbol-
lah organization spreads fear and threatens
Israeli targets, so Israelis are more careful
when they leave their country now.
But why does that fear grip the region? We
have a peace agreement with Egypt and Jor-
dan. Israel made peace with Egypt in March
1979, and with Jordan in October of 1994. So
why is it unsafe for us to visit those places?
The reason is that we have a “cold peace,” a
peace that is written on cheap paper with
poor signatures. Many people in those
countries don’t believe in the peace proj-
ect. Israel evacuated its citizens from Sinai
for the sake of peace with Egypt. In Egypt,
president Anwar Sadat was killed because of
his agreement with Israel. With Jordan, it’s a
little bit different; we have a peace, a peace of
mind. But I don't see Jordanians visiting my
country since the agreement between us was
made.
Cold peace is when you have peace agree-
ments and everything appears peaceful. But
everything is not peaceful. Under the surface
there are more and more frustrated people,
who don’t believe in peace and who hate
their neighbours more and more. In the end
everything will blow up and the peace agree-
ments with those countries won’t be worth
the ink that signed them.
Even the Arabs who have Israeli passports
suffer from this kind of peace. They claim
that the Jordanians and the Egyptians con-
sider them traitors and see them as Jews who
speak Arabic. "Because we accept the citizen-
ship of Israel", says a 28-year-old Palestinian
girl living in Israel and working as journal-
ist, "they blame us that we are enjoying while
they are suffering", she explains, concluding:
"They believe that we sold our lands to Jews".
What to do about the cold peace is to warm
it up, but not with guns and more conflicts.
The cold peace will melt if the relations be-
tween nations – and not between politicians
– get stronger.
"We should encourage tourism from Arab
countries to Israel and in the opposite direc-
tion,” says one Muslim girl with an Israeli
passport. I remind her that the Egyptians
and Jordanians are afraid to come to Israel,
because of national security.
"The security will see this visit as non-
acceptable; the national security will
refer to them as dangerous persons," she
»
says.
Cold peace is
when you have
peace agreements
and everything
appears peaceful.
But everything is not
peaceful.
To build relations among neighbouring
countries demands change of minds through
education. So the people in the Middle East
must learn each other’s history and explore
the culture of one another.
Mark Shulman is a 27-year-old Israeli. He stu-
dies communication and journalism at Sapir
Academic College
021
Coffee with a
difference at the
Little Prince
"I couldn't help but notice his confusion about having his first real
conversation with a Palestinian. Not as a soldier or a client in some
cheap market, but as an equal counterpart."
I
t was a typical summer night in the
“Little Prince,” a bohemian book-
shop-cafe in Tel Aviv. Writers, jour-
nalists and students of literature
and philosophy enthusiastically ex-
changed texts and ideas in a flirtatious
ambiance. It was a nice hang-out and
perhaps a kind of intellectual Renais-
sance, compared to the dull alternatives
in commercialized Tel Aviv.
I visited the cafe, as I often do, to do
some work and scratch some muse from
the bottom of a restless day. Tel Aviv is
no city for Arabs, everybody knows that,
but it's even harder to locate an Arab in
the Little Prince. Time after time, I find
myself being the only Arab around. On
this day, I stepped into the smokers’
zone to find myself amidst a raging po-
litical discussion.
"Don't you understand they want
us out of here and will kill you in
every chance they have?" shouted a
self-confident, but sentimental man
at a younger lady. "A naive leftist", he
said.
"You're blinded and paranoid!" she
screamed back at him, "When was the
»
'You're blin-
ded and
paranoid!' she
screamed back at
him, 'When was
the last time you
spoke to an Arab?'
22 cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38
last time you spoke to an Arab?" I kept
silent as everyone in the room joined the
discussion – the realists, the pacifists and
the cynics.
“Ask any Arab in the street and he’ll tell
you how welcome you are in this land,”
the right-winger asserted. “The Jews will
always be persecuted,” he said, and then
he brought up the holocaust.
While looking somewhat amused by the
situation, a member of the group turned
to me and asked "what do you think?
You're the only one who didn't speak." All
eyes gazed at me, waiting for an answer.
"Well, I'm that Arab from the street that
you're talking about," I replied. A few sec-
onds of deafening silence followed. The
air was heavily charged with deep embar-
rassment. It took no more than one cup
of coffee until I started hearing the right-
winger apologizing to me, reasoning his
belligerent accusations. I couldn't help
but notice his confusion about having his
first real conversation with a Palestinian.
Not as a soldier or a client in some cheap
market, but as an equal counterpart. I
still wish to believe that this man left the
table with at least slightly different views.
I want to believe that more coffee con-
versations are making a difference out
there.
Hakim Bishara is a 29-year-old Palestinian.
He is working as a freelance journalist.t
My journalistic dream
"Arab Palestinians are underrepresented in the Israeli media landscape,
and there is no Arabic television station."
I
t has always been my dream to be a
journalist. I believe that I have the
skills, the dedication and a deep un-
derstanding of the media landscape in
Israel, from the perspective of a Pales-
tinian Arab citizen, to really make an im-
pact in journalism. I’ve participated in a
number of foreign trainings for journalists
– at Al-Jazeera in Doha, Qatar and most re-
cently with Crossing Borders in Denmark.
But unfortunately, like most Palestinian
journalists in Israel, not only are the train-
ing opportunities scarce in Israel, there
is little room to implement the skills and
knowledge gained through participation in
such trainings.
Arab Palestinians are underrepresented
in the Israeli media landscape. According
to research, only one percent of all Hebrew-
language journalistic reports present news
on the Arab Palestinian society, 80 to 90
percent of which promote negative images.
There is no Arabic television station. Arabs
account for a mere one percent of the total
staff employed in all Israeli media institu-
tions. “They are totally excluded from par-
ticipation in media policy-making bodies,
and are underrepresented on the boards
of media regulation bodies,” said Haneen
Zoubi, General Director at I’lam Media
Center for Arab Palestinians in Israel in
June 2006.
When Palestinian citizens of Israel do ap-
pear in Hebrew media reports it is most of-
ten as a "security threat," or a "demographic
threat." The security-heavy perspective of
the Israeli establishment ignores this seg-
ment of the population’s own political and
cultural visions and discourse, reinterpret-
ing them into "enemies of the state."
There seems to be some hope on the ho-
rizon with talk of the Arabic commercial
channel, which although not yet existent,
would be a possible outlet for young Pales-
tinian journalists like myself. For the last
seven years, I’lam, the non-governmental
organization for which I work, has been the
foremost NGO advocating for the Cable &
Satellite Authority to release funds for the
Arabic commercial channel. I'lam contin-
ues searching for suitable candidates or
groups showing real or sustained interest
in applying for financing.
I hope the Arabic Commercial Channel
will materialize so that I can bring my skills
to an environment supportive of growth
and development of the Arab Palestinian
community. I could report on the positive
aspects of Arab society, its culture, instances
of cooperation among its communities, the
various activities happening at local, grass-
roots levels in education and social out-
reach, all of which work towards building
a stronger, more resilient society. I would
work towards providing more Palestinian
perspectives in reporting on Palestinian is-
sues and society rather than the biased and
skewed writing that currently makes up the
majority of the media in Israel. This is my
journalistic dream – to tell of the truth of
diversity and hope in our community.
Kholod Massalha is a 29-year-old Pale-
stinian. She works for the media center
Ilam – a Palestinian NGO.
cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38 23

The Nile, a source
of conflict as well
as peace
"The river is a precious resource representing connection, and a means of
communication rather than a source of possible hostilities."
"A
t the beginning it all seemed so
absurd. In Asmara, the travel
agency assured me that the
best and easiest way of get-
ting to Uganda, a country
less than 2000 kilometers away, was to
the Horn for Yemen, and then United
Arab Emirates, taking off and land-
ing four times just to arrive at another
part of the greater Horn. As I had no
other choice than to accept their offer,
I followed this route, but even those two
days in the air and in between countries
24 cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38
was not enough for me to understand
the situation. This situation needs a so-
lution, I thought to myself.
Hopefully one day our efforts in Cross-
ing Borders will bear fruit and solve the
problem of such anomalies. And then
we will be able to boast that it all started
in Kampala, in the very first evening of
the seminar, when all the participants
that had reached the venue had dinner
together. And the rest will be history:
We were all ’ear-witnesses’ to Dr. Nya-
ba's enlightening presentation, in which
British explorer, on his expedition to
Africa between 1857 and 1858 had real-
ized that he was standing at the source.
Just opposite that very place, across
the river we were shown to a memorial
dedicated to Ghandi whose last will was
to have his ashes thrown into the Nile.
Although these two persons' intentions
could not be farther from each other,
the lessons we could learn from both of
them are invaluable.
One of these men told us about the
source, which is seen as a precious re-
source and hence a possible source of
conflict, while the other envisioned a
peaceful flow, where the river represent-
ed connection, a means of communica-
tion rather than a source of hostilities.
My vision is that we follow the lat-
ter advice. We are not to forget that at
some point in time and space we shared
our present. Our ideas met in Kam-
pala, near Lake Victoria, and after the
enlivening experience there they have
started their individual flow along the
river Nile. May the source never dry...
The writer is an Eritrean participant and
wishes to remain anonymous due to the
political situation in Eritrea
(The girls in this photograph are not
affiliated with CB or the article in any way.)
Fact box:
Apparently, the Horn of Africa is a
turbulent area. Strictly speaking, the
Horn consists of Ethiopia, Eritrea, So-
malia, Djibouti and Sudan—countries
that may sound familiar to everyone
and are mostly associated with war.
At present, Ethiopia and Eritrea are
belligerent states, although there is no
war. Actual fighting lasted from 1998
to 2000, but their relationship has not
yet normalized. Ethiopia, on the oth-
er hand, is engaged in the civil war in
he emphasised the importance of the Somalia, where she backs the present
pillars on which the unity of a nation government. Sudan and Somalia both
should be based: justice, freedom, de- fight internal wars. Somalia has been
mocracy. We all listened to Garba's pre- in a seamless state of anarchy since
sentation about the nature and possible 1991, and at present the so-called Is-
resolutions of conflicts in Africa. We all lamist insurgents refuse to accept the
had the opportunity to spend a highly Western-backed Somali government.
entertaining evening in Ndere Centre Meanwhile, the conflicts in Sudan
where we were briefed on the cultural that the government has been fight-
diversity of Uganda in a most amusing ing with the southern peoples and the
manner. The next day we were all taken notorious Darfur area have attracted
to the Source of the Nile, and where we much attention worldwide.
were told that John Hanning Speke, the
The Hardest
Borders to
Cross are Also
the Closest
There is no reason to wait until the future
to try to resolve the conflicts in our region.
T
ake 20 youngsters from five east African countries, add a small hotel in
Kampala, Uganda and spice it with discussions on the conflicts in the
greater horn of Africa. Some might think that this was a recipe for a
Molotov cocktail, but I beg to differ.
On my way from Copenhagen to Kampala I had just one single thing on
my mind. ‘Peace in the Horn’ was the name of the seminar, but I had not
been to east Africa in more than a decade and the suspense was killing me. Nine
days of discussions with youth from the horn of Africa: Ethiopians and Eritreans,
Somalis and Ethiopians, Sudanese and Ugandans. What did I have to offer, and
was my knowledge of the challenging conflicts in the region insufficient? Was this
going to end up in a giant melting pot creating a neo-African dream or one more
conflict to add to the thousands already occurring as I write this?
I am happy to say that all the anxiety was unnecessary. What I met there were im-
pressive youth from the Horn not only able to reflect on the situations in their own
countries, but also able to put themselves in the shoes of the ’rival’, so to speak.
Through games, discussions, films, lectures and marvellous project proposals, we
all learned more about our neighboring relatives in the Horn of Africa than one
could ever learn from years of studying. Every single participant had something to
offer. Whether it was dialogue, conflict resolution or silly games to erase the first
signs of shyness, it worked because we all pitched in.
The most important thing I learned from this seminar was to see an individual for
who he or she really is. Many times one has the tendency of looking at nation’s inhab-
itants as a mass instead of people with different characteristics. As Dr. Peter Adwok
Nyaba, Sudanese Minister of higher Education put it: “To think of youth of the Horn
as the leaders of tomorrow is a mistake; they are the leaders of today.”
There is no reason to wait until the future to try to resolve the conflicts in our region.
Unfortunately, it seems some of the hardest borders to cross are also the closest. But
not all youth think of this as an impossible mission. Ephrem from Ethiopia wrote:
“It would be naive for one to
believe that the complexities
and intensity of conflicts in the
Horn could not be alleviated by
the efforts of the youth from the
Horn.”
Such positive thinking
shows that if one is not afraid to
lend a helping hand and the other
side not too proud to take it, the
future looks bright.
Farhiya Khalid is a 24-year-old
Somali-Dane. She is an intern
at CB in Denmark and a future
journalism student
cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38 25

A PUSH FOR
TOLERANT
ARTS
"So let's forget the hate, even if it's true that you hate me; I should be
able to listen, talk with and respect you."
T
heater, cinema and television
in particular are some of the
most effective ways of raising
tolerance and awareness in
society. Journalists and media
can draw attention to certain artwork,
increasing their audiences while in-
creasing the possibility of religious co-
existence. Journalists and media work-
ers in Crossing Borders have a better
chance than other participants of using
our work to create a sustainable dia-
logue of tolerance.
Art has been a source of many miscon-
ceptions between nations and religions,
but it can also celebrate peace and im-
plement tolerance. Art can do what
politicians fails to do or mass media are
trying to do. It can cross into the minds,
hearts and consciences of its audience.
It is more effective than speeches or
articles. For example, only very little
attention has been paid to the edito-
rial that was published alongside the
controversial cartoons in the Danish
newspaper Jyllands-posten, while the
cartoons themselves have been debated
26 cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38
for months. Regardless of the freedom
of speech, the cartoons have created
confrontations between Muslims and
Danes. The cartoons were border-mak-
ers rather than border-crossing art.
Recently, the play ''Nathan the Wise,''
the masterpiece of German writer Got-
thold Ephraim Lessing, was performed
in Arabic in six Yemeni governorates.
The play is set in 12th century Jerusa-
lem. It shows how Jews, Christians and
Muslims maintained friendship and re-
ligious tolerance crossing racial and re-
ligious divides. The performance by the
Yemeni ‘May 22 Theater Troupe’ was
aimed to help educate public about re-
ligious tolerance and was supported by
German House in Sana'a, the German
ngo Deutsche Gesellschaft für Tech-
nische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) and the
European Union. Banned by the Nazis
in 1933, this play teaches us that it's very
possible for reconciliation and com-
munion to replace the current religious
persecution and violence. Surprisingly,
the issues addressed in this old text
are suitable for the current the era. The
theme of prejudice is very much alive.
The new Egyptian film "Hassan Wa
Margus"(Hassan and Margus) discusses
the religious conflict between Egyptian
Muslims and Christians in a comic way.
The story is about a friendship between
a Coptic Christian priest and a Muslim
cleric. As a Muslim, it helped me know
some of the Christian perspectives and
made me develop an understanding to-
wards their beliefs and behaviors. On
the other hand, the movie also illumi-
nates how intolerance can quickly turn
into hate and racism, and ultimately,
violence.
Songs of Ofra Haza, the popular Is-
raeli pop star of Yemenite Jewish de-
scent, have bridged the split between
Israel and Arab countries. Singing
in Arabic, Hebrew and English while
blending Middle Eastern and west-
ern instrumentation and dance beats
helped her recordings find their way
to a wide audience both in the Middle
East and internationally. You can hear
Haza songs coming from a shop or a
car in streets of Sana'a. Haza is also
»
Art has been a
source of many
misconceptions bet-
ween nations and re-
ligions, but it can also
celebrate peace and
implement tolerance.
known for her performance for peace
in Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo
in 1994.
Let's highlight all kinds of tolerant arts.
If we really want to disseminate tolerant
values, renounce violence, extremism
and hatred, we should not ignore plays,
films, television or even songs calling for
genuine dialogue between civilizations.
"If you start judging people you will
have no time to love them," Mother Te-
resa once said.
So let's forget the hate even if it's true
you hate me; I should be able to listen,
talk with and respect you.
Khaled Al-Hilaly is a 29-year-old Ye-
meni. He works as a journalist for the
Yemen Times
Why stay, if
you can leave?
Everybody knows that Palestinians did not come
from France—Palestinians came from Palestine, and
they did not choose to be in a war, nor live in these
harsh conditions.
A
t a Crossing Borders seminar,
after a long day of heated dis-
cussions, the participants re-
laxed in a cozy rustic lounge,
sipping white wine and chat-
ting easily. We were finally able to shed
our cloaks as representatives of Palestin-
ians, Arabs or Israelis and just be our-
selves, genuinely crossing borders in that
chill late night atmosphere with Danish
pop music blaring in the background.
“My mom grew up in Paris and then moved
to Israel,” one Israeli person told me.
“Nice,” I said. “France is beautiful.”
Her face clouded, and with a tense and
disappointed tone she said, “I haven’t
been to France.”
“No?”
“No, and she didn’t teach me French.
She knows French and I don’t.”
Her mother had probably come to Israel
in search of a better life. I looked at this
Israeli girl, once a soldier, and now a fel-
low Crossing Borders participant. Did
she long for a better life?
I wondered if she dreamed of going to
France someday. How many people liv-
ing in Israel and Palestine dreamed of
moving to France?
On another day, I had another memo-
rable Crossing Borders discussion. “Don’t
think that as an Israeli I am comfort-
able, because I am ‘the occupier’ and you
think we are the strong ones, because
I am afraid. I am afraid to go out of my
house. I am afraid every day,” said one
participant.
I was grateful for my own safe home yet
feeling ill-at-ease upon realizing that I
was in a room full of people living in a
state of war, not far from my home, whileI
could not do anything to help. Even say-
ing, “I understand” in compassion made
me feel like a fraud. I could not fully un-
derstand what it meant to continuously
live in fear of being killed. I have never
experienced a war.
I wasn’t alone, though. In that work-
shop there were Palestinians, Israelis,
Jordanians, Yemenis, Egyptians and
Danes. Yet everyone was voicing his or
her opinions about the conflict quite
strongly. A Tracy Chapman song went
through my mind. The soulful lyrics
say: “Don’t you know, talking about
revolution sounds like a whisper?” I was
reluctant to add my voice to the mil-
lions of people voicing their opposition
of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, while
knowing that it was all just a whisper.
Upon reflection on the Crossing Borders
workshop, I had one question burning
in my mind: Why don’t the Israeli par-
ticipants, who were unhappy with their
lives, leave? If their parents had chosen to
come to Israel for a better life, did they
not have the right to choose a better life
as well? If we remove the political mo-
tives and jargon and just get down to the
basics, people were not supposed to live
in these inhumane conditions, not for a
minute, and definitely not for a lifetime.
Placing blame and finding rhyme and
reason for staying in Israel just did not
make rational sense when perceived on
a personal level. I cautiously broached
the subject with some Israelis and got the
general response of ‘why should we leave?
Why shouldn’t the Palestinians leave?’
Everybody knows that Palestinians did
not come from France, Palestinians came
from Palestine, and they did not choose
to be in a war, nor live in these harsh
conditions. Israelis did. Not my fellow
Crossing Borders colleagues, but their
parents. The reality was that they had
an alternative; they could choose to live
freely and lead a happy and secure life for
themselves and their children, yet they
decided to end all hope of a better future
by living in a seemingly endless war. I
have yet to find somebody to explain this
personal choice.
Dana Shekem is a 27-year-old Jordanian.
She works as a freelance journalist.
cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38 27
 Plastic Netta Moshe
Israeli. 23. Student of Philosophy, Politics and

Cards
Economics. Working at the Israeli National Institute for

»
Testing and Evaluation. Has been part of CB since 2007.

Crossing Bor-
ders has given

Do me the oppor-
tunity to meet new
people. I have seen
how my country, my

Double religion and my life

look through foreig-
ners’ eyes. I had
earned friends that

Duty have helped me to

discover new parts
of the world as well
as parts of myself.

Razan Nasser
"Phone cards were some kind of catalysts, things encouraging
» Suddenly,
those cards
23. Works in the financial markets at Citigroup and is
a freelance journalist. Has attended

»
us to interact and overcome our ideological differences." 8 CB seminars.
reminded me of

T
he green plantation, old brick
houses and mountains in the
background are not in northern
Israel, my homeland, or Aqaba,
from where I'm writing this. It's
scenery from Yemen. The big
temple with the marble floor isn't the one
I'm looking at from my hotel window. It's
in Syria. Those pictures are only two of
almost 30 that are spread on the table in
front of me. Spring in Jordan, local plants,
a mosaic from Madaba – these are all ex-
amples of the images decorating the phone
cards from those respective nations.
The first thing I did after returning from
Vallekilde wasn't an assignment for school
or for Crossing Borders. Right after pick-
ing me up from Ben Gurion Airport, my
father asked me to send an e-mail to all of
my CB friends. "Ask them to bring you
some phone cards from their homelands
for the next meeting," he said, as if his life
depended on trading these cards. He is a
serious collector of those colorful, but ar-
chaic, plastic cards. He owns a few thou-
sand of them.
As soon as I arrived to Aqaba, a place that
I was fascinated to see, I immediately re-
ceived two gestures from my friends: a
handshake with one hand, some cards in
the other. Afterwards, a short explanation
came. The places, objects and images on
the cards came to life. Each friend, with his
own voice and attitude, told me stories of
the images on the cards and the way they
connect to their personal lives. I, myself,
exchanged some cards from Israel with a
Jordanian fellow, which is how I learned he
is breeding turtles.
"Stay in touch" is written on one of the
cards. "Now you can talk from anywhere at
any time to anyone" is written on the other.
Suddenly, those cards reminded me of their
initial purpose – connecting people in re-
Crossing Borders left me
mote places. Ironically, that's what they did
for me, only in a different way. We joined their initial pur- with a broadened set of
horizons. Something
together in one particular place and didn't
connect through a wire, from a distance. The
pose – connecting that remains with me in
fact is that those cards were some kind of people in remote every aspect of my life; in
catalysts, things encouraging us to interact
and overcome our ideological differences. places. Ironically, dealing with problems,
But can you really talk "from anywhere in work, in my writing
at any time to anyone"? What will hap- that's what they or even when I'm just
pen to this interaction after each of us goes
home and leaves this so-called laboratory
did for me, only in a watching the news. It
taught me that there
that CB is? Can we stay in touch? Will we? different way is more than one side
Will I ever see those places with my own
eyes or will they stay decorative images on to every story and
old, used phone cards? tour those places on the cards myself, with not to take things at
The distance, geographically and prob- the guidance of the people who revealed
ably perceptually, won't vanish. Despite them to me for the first time.
face value. It offered
this, interacting, even around insignificant me a priceless set of
objects, can reveal a world – personalities, Meir ’Miki’ Levi is a 27-year-old Israeli. He skills, great friends and
emotions and lives. This is a start of over- studies communication and journalism unforgettable memories.
coming perceptual borders, and can make at Sapir College and writes for the college
a difference. Hopefully, sometime I can newspaper, Spiralar.

28 cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38 cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38 29


Being cool in Arabic
"Are young Arabs speaking English in rebellion against our identity?
T
he end of a long week in Amman had finally ar-
rived. I grabbed my books and headed to my
neighborhood coffee shop to study. As I settled in
the corner and started to read, my concentration
was cut short by the chatters of what sounded like
a group of American tourists. But to my surprise it was a
bunch of local teenagers who kept on chatting in English
without mentioning a single word of Arabic.
I started to wonder why. Does it arise from the fact the glo-
balization is making the world one city with one language?
Should we blame it on the media? Does it extend deeper to
the level where we are rebelling against our own identity, in
denial of who we really are?
I walked over to their table, invited myself to their conver-
sation and after getting to know them I dropped the bomb-
shell, why do you speak in English?
They were caught by surprise, but soon started sharing
their thoughts. Some stated that it’s because their high
school education was mostly in English, this being a crucial
period in their development of social skills and communi-
cation meant that they would express themselves better in
English.
Others said that the job market demands fluency in Eng-
lish which encourages job seekers to invest more time and
effort in learning English.
Moreover, some were attracted to western tv, music and lit-
30 cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38
erature requiring proficiency in English, which stems from
the wide diversity western media offers.
I was glad to hear that despite the world wide attacks
against Arabs and their culture, these teenagers took pride
in their Arab roots and the Arabic language. However, they
were dismayed that Arabic was being left in the background
due to the global as well as local preference of English as a
means of communication in most fields such as business,
education and even art.
Our beloved Amman is a rapidly changing city. In it’s
versatility you find people from different social and ethnic
backgrounds. The rich, poor and middle class live side by
side oblivious to the existence of the other. United by geog-
raphy and a common tongue.
I believe in the beauty of learning other languages as it ex-
poses us to new dimensions, but we should never forget who
we are and where we come from!
I hope we can integrate our identity – our mother tongue
– with science and progress forward without being consid-
ered backward thinkers. In my opinion we can even be 'cool'
in Arabic. All we need is to believe in ourselves and have
faith in the beauty of our language.
Ghassan Khoury is a 22-year-old Jordanian. He studies
medicine in Amman
LESS DREAMING,
MORE DOING
"H
e is repeating, in a very ironic
way, a sentence he has heard
from his grandmother—a
sentence that clearly means
nothing to him except for a
punch line. He uses a sen-
tence that was said by an elder with a tone
of hope, belief and a pinch of pain. The
young man is a very effective reminder of
how important it is to educate the youth
of Haifa regarding the Palestinian cause.
I have been introduced to my nation’s real
historical struggle only recently, mean-
ing about a year ago. In light of this fact
I promised myself I would try to reach as
many youth as possible and remind them
of the truth that must not be forgotten.
The fact that Haifa is the city of a so-
called coexistence, that it’s a mixed city
located kind of far from the region of hos-
tility and tension, makes it easier for an
average citizen to excuse herself for being
ignorant regarding the cause and for be-
ing very self-concerned. I believe many
teenagers are being raised in a normal-
ized home with the principle of the new
"I find that we are
at a very sensitive
state in which it is
more than important
to educate what
we believe are the
next generation, the
future leaders."
millennia: “my city is the best as long as
all material needs are covered.”
However, if one takes a very good look
into the hidden consequences laying in
such a materialistic principle, then she
might find that it can actually be deceiv-
ing. Some are taught that even basic rights
should be considered as privileges. My
point is that I find that we are at a very
sensitive state in which it is more than
important to educate what we believe are
the next generation, the future leaders.
Currently, I'm working with a group of
teenage students in a program touching
on daily issues: human rights, identity,
history of the Palestinian nation, gen-
der and equality. We meet once a week
for two hours, trying to build together a
core messenger group–a group of 15-20
people that are aware of the situation and
have the power to influence many other
teenagers.
I intend to provide this group with all the
necessary tools for understanding the
issues and our ability to face them in a
reasonable and practical way. With this
program I feel I have begun fulfilling my
hope and vision for 2009 even before the
year starts, maybe because I see it as an
urgent step that must not be considered
a hope or a vision, but rather an essential
need. I want to avoid spending time on
hopes and dreams; it is better to be dedi-
cated to working on the cause itself.
Qamar Daher is a 21-year-old Palestinian. She
studies Communication Disorders; Audiology
and Speech Therapy
cb magazine vol. 10 edition no. 38 31
 DEMENA
MS Danish Association for
International Co-operation

Autumn co 9
urse
b e r 200
dat em
e: 23 ec
August – 19 D

JOIN THE
CROSSING BORDERS
GLOBAL STUDIES
People today live in a networked world. The borders of our lives are no longer limited to towns, regions or countries.
Our connections are spread across the world. Emails, chats and online social networking facilitate global communication.
The people we care about are no longer just the ones we see everyday.
Crossing Borders Global Studies
gives you the opportunity to:
• Live, study and develop projects with fellow students
from around the world
• Explore the roots of democracy and despotism
• Examine globalization through the lens of fair trade, freedom
of speech, religious fundamentalism, and climate change
• Gain skills in interpersonal and inter-group conflict resolution
• Acquire tools for analyzing international conflicts
• Understand how globalization around the world
• Undertake study tours to Turkey to learn about this
important country’s past, present and future perspectives
• Visits and placement at Danish NGOs that are active in
making the world a better place
• Free access to the world famous Louisiana Museum of
Modern Arts
• Prepare yourself for higher university education and/or
work in international organizations
THE PRICE
Autumn/fall course: 23 August - 19 December 2009: 26.175
Danish kroner (3.512 Euro)
WHAT THE FEES PAY FOR
• Full Tuition costs
• Full Accommodation in double shared room. A single
room costs 600 Danish kroner extra per month
• All meals - except during the study tour
• Ten-day study tour to Istanbul and other cites of
interest in Turkey.
• Three-day tour of Denmark
For details, log onto:
www.krogerup.dk or www.crossingborder.org
Scholarship Possibilities
Students from new EU member countries can apply for partial
scholarships through the college.
For more information, contact the Krogerup Administration by
email at: HYPERLINK "mailto:kontoret@krogerup.dk" kontoret@
krogerup.dk or by phone at: (+45) 49190380

Become active in CB by becoming a member, volunteer
or writer. Annual membership is 150 DKK, 200 DKK for a
family, 100 DKK for students. Institutions and companies
are welcome to support CB activities at their own discretion.
www.crossingborder.org
As a member, you will receive the CB magazine sent to your
private address, be invited to CB arrangements and courses
and above all support a meaningful dialogue within the
Middle East and across the Euromed region.