Peace in the Holy Land: Investing in Youth Leaders

Photographs of Palestinian youth playing sports on a windswept sandy beach are not the images anyone might expect to see from Gaza following the violent Hamas coup in June 2007. An eruption of deadly street clashes had ended one week prior with eerie snapshots of hooded Hamas gunmen posing triumphantly in the vacant presidential office of Fatah's Mahmoud Abbas in Gaza City.

Israel responded by swiftly shuttering Gaza's borders to all but humanitarian deliveries. Abbas dissolved the Palestinian unity government from his post in Ramallah, and the international community embraced the West Bank in hopes of restoring negotiations toward a two-state peace accord with Israel.

For 21-year-old Ala'a Abu Tailk in Gaza, the Palestinian infighting created more than a political schism. "This event has caused a fragment in our Palestinian culture — socially, intellectually and in our perception of the crisis."

Ala'a was among a group of 60 university students, men and women, who enrolled in a youth leadership summer camp in Gaza, sponsored by Catholic Relief Services and local church and community partners. Participants engaged in three days of group exercises designed to demonstrate the ideals of effective leadership, good governance, teamwork and social peace.

"The program helped me open my mind to new ways of working together, by making a network of associations," says Ala'a, who volunteers in many local civic organizations. A student of information technology, he plans to open his own business in Gaza after finishing his master's degree.

Mending the Divisions of Trauma

The leadership training camp was planned weeks in advance, but on the heels of the deadly and frightening fighting in Gaza, it also provided students an outlet to help cope with the trauma of extreme violence.

"It was a great moment to see all of those young leaders coming out of their towns and villages, trying hard to challenge the difficulties, fears, and uncertainty, to participate in the camp," says Omar Shaban, CRS' field manager in Gaza.

Students shared their experiences and frustrations in open group-therapy discussions. On the third day, they released tension through beach games like soccer, volleyball and badminton.

"In the beginning, I was very depressed and had hit rock bottom," admits Ala'a. "But now I think I can take small steps that will have a large impact on others.

"The crisis will last for years, but I hope the Palestinian people can move beyond it and remediate our wounds by focusing on social change and tribunal conflict resolution."

Investing in Youth for Peace

CRS' youth initiatives in Gaza and the West Bank, including the leadership camp, aim to engage young Palestinian men and women as a force of positive change in society. Decades of social fragmentation, continued violence, lack of economic opportunity and a weakened educational system have had a significant impact on younger generations.

"Some of the problems in present-day Palestinian society are caused by misdirected youth," acknowledges Tom Garofalo, the head of CRS' programs in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. "But young people make up more than 50 percent of the Palestinian population, and we have to invest in them as the leaders of the future."

The work begins at the community level with programs that integrate school, family and civic participation. Mobilizing youth in their communities helps instill a sense of commitment toward social reform, and also builds awareness in the community of responsibilities toward younger generations.

"In order to secure positive change and progress towards peace, Palestinians need to rely on youth who are tolerant, committed to their communities, educated and highly aware," stresses Garofalo.

'They Treat Us Like Adults'

In the CRS Value Building Education program, student skills such as public speaking, teamwork, problem solving and research are enhanced by activities that also teach teenagers about respect for religion, solidarity, responsibility and acceptance of people with needs.

"We recognize that education doesn't only happen in the classroom, but also in visits to local institutions, social organizations and through community activities," says Garofalo.

Mouna Jaber, a 14-year-old student at St. Joseph's School for Girls in Jerusalem, was struck by a visit to a local orphanage. "I was surprised to know that there are women, whom the kids call 'Mother,' who take care of these children as if they were their own mothers," she says.

"We played with the children there. We visited their rooms, which they call 'houses,' and they were happy to spend time with us. We felt that we were able to do something for them."

Community outings also help promote a sense of social responsibility in young students and encourage active citizenship.

"I feel that we in Jerusalem are isolated in a certain area. We don't know about the rest of the country," says Mouna, whose group went on a trip to see the separation wall in Qalqilya in the West Bank.

"When people or foreigners used to ask about our country, I didn't know what to answer, but now my knowledge has improved."

This new awareness has also helped boost Mouna's confidence. "I feel like now I can take more responsibility. I'm more honest, and I'm not shy or scared to speak in front of people anymore."

Of the teachers she adds, "they treat us like adults; they stopped treating us like little girls."

Building Community Leaders

Most summer camps for youth in the West Bank are for younger children, ages 4 to 12. Older youth sometimes volunteer as camp leaders, but by and large there are few summer activities available to Palestinian teenagers.

Zahi Khoury, 15, appreciates that the CRS Value Building Education camp he attends at the all-boys Terra Sancta School in Jerusalem offers interesting lectures suitable to his age group and education level. "It's very different," he says. "It teaches us how to communicate, how to talk with people."

Joint activities involving other schools in the West Bank are organized to educate students on issues relevant to the greater community. Students and parents work as groups to assess youth problems and needs. They then partner with peer groups in other schools to discuss their findings and seek solutions.

One activity, a media training, connects five students from different schools who work together and learn to express relevant youth issues on a mock television show.

"The joint activities with other schools are great, especially with the schools in the West Bank," says Zahi. "The students there are the same as we are, and they are always happy and smiling."

Of course, there are nonacademic activities too, like basketball, which CRS uses to attract enrollment in the summer months. Zahi is glad to play basketball again with the other boys, and even the experience on the court has improved his interpersonal skills.

"I used to use bad words when I talk, then I stopped," says Zahi. "We used to hit each other when we play and when we fight. Now we don't," he pauses. "Actually sometimes we do, but it is much less than before."

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