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Special Report |
LAST UPDATE September 17, 2005
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| August 23, 2005 |
Global University – Peace Education Onboard the 49th Voyage |
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| Inside the Hittin Refugee Camp in Jordan. |
As its name implies, Peace Boat promotes peace by creating awareness and action based on effecting positive social and political change in the world. This objective is emphasized in the Global University (GU) peace studies programme, which is taught onboard each voyage. The intensive programme combines studies onboard with exchanges with local communities and NGOs in ports of call. Mr. Masaki Takahashi, the GU coordinator, oversees the programme’s curriculum which this voyage focused on the conflicts in Israel and Palestine, Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka; issues of discrimination and mutual co-existence; as well as Article 9 of Japan’s Constitution. The GU program aims to develop the necessary skills needed to promote peace-building and participation in grassroots level activism. |
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| GU student Tokiko Koyama at her host family’s home. |
The 44 GU participants on this voyage not only represent a range of generations (the youngest is 18 years old, and the oldest 74 years old), but also a wide array of people including university students, teachers, office workers, farmers, and part-time workers. Ms. Tokiko Koyama, who studies hotel management in the United States, joined the GU programme to develop her interest in peace education and current affairs. “I’m interested to learn more about the truth behind what we’re told by the media from Japan and the US”. There were three terms during the current voyage, each focusing on a different topic. In each term, the students meet every morning for a group study session for discussion about the topic at hand. The sessions are frequently supplemented with guest educators and international students who have come aboard, as well as films and other forms of media. |
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| A view of the Hittin Refugee Camp. |
GU students participate in exchange tours in ports of call as a way to acquire first-hand information about each issue they study. In this way, they can directly communicate with local people affected by issues relating to human rights, sustainable environment, and peace. The end-of-term presentations are organized as a way to invite other Peace Boat participants to learn about the GU program and the GU students’ personal experiences. These presentations provide a venue for GU students to practice their public speaking skills and share their knowledge with the community onboard Peace Boat. |
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| Cultural exchange between GU students and Palestinian host families. |
For their first presentation on the issue of Israel and Palestine, the GU students approached the topic by sharing their homestay experiences with Palestine families in Jordan. When participants came into the lecture hall, they were met by “guards” who prevented them from entering the room with the usual ease. Taking an idea from educator Jane Elliott, the GU students labeled each participant as a Palestinian or an Israeli and directed them to sit in areas designated for each group. The “Palestinians” were placed in the far reaches of the room, while the “Israelis” were given seats close to the stage. “We wanted people to come to the presentation and experience right away what Palestinian people feel in their daily lives as they cross checkpoints everyday,” explained Ms. Hiroko Sawatari. Though this was a simple exercise, the GU students summarized their intent before they began their presentation. |
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| A peace banner. |
As an introduction, the GU students outlined the history of Palestinians in Israel and the surrounding Middle East. The presentation took a more personal turn when the GU students described their time in Jordan at the Hittin Palestinian refugee camp. For three days, they were fortunate to stay with local families in the camp where they were exposed to first-hand opinions about Palestine. Accompanied by a photo slideshow, the GU students gave their impressions while the song “Shalom, Salam” (“Peace” in Hebrew and Arabic) played in the background. “When we were in Japan we thought Palestinian refugees had tragic lives, but when we went to the Hittin Camp we saw many smiles,” began the commentary. “They treated us to a feast and we sang and danced. They welcomed us with smiles that hid the real issues behind them. They were deprived of their homeland, their country, and their citizenship.” |
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| Workshop between GU students and children from the camp. |
Like many of the GU students, Hiroko was familiar with the issue of Palestine but could not say she was truly understood the issue. “Before Palestine was a story about the other side of the world, but after being together over the course of three days I felt close to the issue,” she recalled. “We were greeted with smiles, but when the topic moved to Palestine the people’s faces changed and turned serious.” Most notable, the GU students remembered how desperate their host families wished to return to Palestine, not merely as a wish or hope but a natural right. “The first thing I saw was rubbish everywhere, and I was shocked and didn’t understand why they didn’t want to make their community a cleaner and nicer place to live,” Hiroko confessed. “But then I realized the camp is a temporary place to live, and then I realized how desperate people are to return to Palestine. Some people are still in possession of their keys from the homes they were forced to evacuate in Palestine.”
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| Hiroko Sawatari, GU student, with her host family. |
What made the greatest impression on Hiroko was a discussion she had with her homestay father about jihad (in the sense of defending Islam through holy war). He told her that the image of jihad is often associated with having The Koran in one hand and a weapon in the other hand, but to him this was wrong. Instead, he believes one hand holds an olive branch while the other hand holds a weapon. This means “we want to solve our problems together through dialogue, so please don’t cut the hand that holds the olive branch.” If you cut this hand, then “we only have the hand that holds the weapon”. When Hiroko heard this story she could feel her homestay father’s frustration. Moreover, as they talked more deeply she was surprised that he felt kindness towards individual Israelis, even though he felt anger towards Israeli troops. “He saw his enemy as human. Would I think like that? He taught me that accepting each other will lead to peace,” said Hiroko. |
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| A host family enjoys a gift of Japanese carp banners from a GU student. |
Like many of the GU students, Hiroko was familiar with the issue of Palestine but could not say she was truly understood the issue. “Before Palestine was a story about the other side of the world, but after being together over the course of three days I felt close to the issue,” she recalled. “We were greeted with smiles, but when the topic moved to Palestine the people’s faces changed and turned serious.” Most notable, the GU students remembered how desperate their host families wished to return to Palestine, not merely as a wish or hope but a natural right. “The first thing I saw was rubbish everywhere, and I was shocked and didn’t understand why they didn’t want to make their community a cleaner and nicer place to live,” Hiroko confessed. “But then I realized the camp is a temporary place to live, and then I realized how desperate people are to return to Palestine. Some people are still in possession of their keys from the homes they were forced to evacuate in Palestine.” |
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