Christians flee from Radical Rebels in Syria

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/christians-flee-from-radical-rebels-in-syria-a-846180.html

Dispensary Summer Activities

Message from the participants of the International Work and Study Camp

For the past 10 days I was an assistant and participant in the FDCD's International Work and Study Camp. On the second to last day we had a press conference and we had the opportunity to share our message about peace and dialogue with the television news and newspapers.  The group wrote all of their ideas and then I compiled them into this speech/message to be presented.  Then my friend translated to speech into Arabic.  At the press conference it was presented in English and Arabic.

Listen, because I am Madagascar, Iraq (Kurdistan), Lebanon, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Syria, Palestine, America, Sudan, Iran, Egypt.  Listen, because I am young and old and full of life.  Listen, because I am full of faith in something, in my God, my dream, our future.  Listen, because I am different from you and you have much to learn.  And I promise that I will listen to you because in the deepest rooms of our hearts we are also the same.

We have gathered together youth from 12 different countries, cultures, religions, languages and traditions at the International Work and Study Camp to learn about dialogue and peacebuilding.  We have been transformed and we want that this transformation does not stop with us but that it lives through us and through you as we all carry this message to our homes, offices, and our places of worship.

We have been gathered for 10 days in dialogue and in that short time we have begun the process of taking down the barriers that have been built between us over thousands of years of history.  It does not mean that differences do not exist.  We have differences but we have come to believe that we must try to understand these differences, and we have been inspired to leave behind our assumptions, our stereotypes, and our fears.  We are young and passionate with the promise to continue to build bridges from living stones of mutual respect, acceptance, love, freedom and security.   But we need your help.

We ask that when you gather at fancy tables to discuss the future of our countries and our world, when you gather in kitchens and cafes to organize the revolutions, when faithful gather before you to better understand the word of God, that you remember us…

Listen now, and remember me when you sit and speak of my freedom and my rights.  Remember that I have stood before you and asked from the depth of me that you try to know yourself, your humanity and the humanity of others.  Remember that I have asked you to accept and respect your neighbors with all their differences because a person is either your brother or sister in faith or your equal in humanity.  Real dialogue begins with a sincere desire to understand each other, a willingness to see our common values and the courage to push our boundaries and deal with differences in a positive way.

We ask that you practice true dialogue in your daily lives and work by seeking equally to understand and be understood, that as much as you speak, you try to listen more.  By practicing this form of dialogue we have realized that despite the differences born in the traditions of 12 different countries, we have common values, fears, hopes and demands. 

Listen now, and remember your children and mine when you speak of good and equal education and healthcare for all.  Remember your beliefs and mine when you speak of freedom of religion, freedom of speech, gender and ethnic equality.  As you make political decisions, don’t base them on religious opinions or personal benefits.  Remember us.  When you publish articles and pictures in your newspapers, remember that we have stood before you and demanded that you tell the truth.  We demand a media and government that does not hide or manipulate the people.  Let your words reflect the reality and your own humanity because it is only from truth that we may begin to know each other and build again.  Help us to work for social justice and against persecution and oppression. 

In 2006, the second year of this camp, a war broke out between Israel and Lebanon and the participants had to return to their countries.  The experience of having a war begin at the start of our training for Peacebuilding and Dialogue helped to shape the form that this camp has taken while the new conflicts and struggles that surround us today remind us of the depth of our barriers and the importance of this work.    Our surroundings continue to inspire our passion and belief in this work as we seek a common future in which diversity is seen as a gift. 

Listen now, because we are closer than you think and in this changing world we need each other more every day.  Look into my eyes and remember me, because I am a piece of the heart of God and we belong to each other.  All my love, anger, fear, passion and hunger is as real as yours.  

You Have Your Lebanon and I Have My Lebanon by Khalil Gibran

You have your Lebanon and its dilemma.  I have my Lebanon and its beauty.

Your Lebanon is an arena for men from the West and men from the East.

My Lebanon is a flock of birds fluttering in the early morning as shepherds lead their sheep into the meadow and rising in the evening as farmers return from their fields and vineyards.

You have your Lebanon and its people.  I have my Lebanon and its people.

Yours are those whose souls were born in the hospitals of the West; they are as ship without rudder or sail upon a raging sea.... They are strong and eloquent among themselves but weak and dumb among Europeans.They are brave, the liberators and the reformers, but only in their own area. But they are cowards, always led backwards by the Europeans. They are those who croak like frogs boasting that they have rid themselves of their ancient, tyrannical enemy, but the truth of the matter is that this tyrannical enemy still hides within their own souls. They are the slaves for whom time had exchanged rusty chains for shiny ones so that they thought themselves free. These are the children of your Lebanon. Is there anyone among them who represents the strength of the towering rocks of Lebanon, the purity of its water or the fragrance of its air? Who among them vouchsafes to say, "When I die I leave my country little better than when I was born"?  Who among them dare to say, "My life was a drop of blood in the veins of Lebanon, a tear in her eyes or a smile upon her lips"?

Those are the children of your Lebanon.  They are, in your estimation, great; but insignificant in my estimation.

Let me tell you who are the children of my Lebanon.

They are farmers who would turn the fallow field into garden and grove.

They are the shepherds who lead their flocks through the valleys to be fattened for your table meat and your woolens.

They are the vine-pressers who press the grape to wine and boil it to syrup.

They are the parents who tend the nurseries, the mothers who spin the silken yarn.

They are the husbands who harvest the wheat and the wives who gather the sheaves.

They are the builders, the potters, the weavers and the bell-casters.

They are the poets who pour their souls in new cups.

They are those who migrate with nothing but courage in their hearts and strength in their arms but who return with wealth in their hands and a wreath of glory upon their heads.

They are the victorious wherever they go and loved and respected wherever they settle.

They are the ones born in huts but who died in palaces of learning.

These are the children of Lebanon; they are the lamps that cannot be snuffed by the wind and the salt which remains unspoiled through the ages.

They are the ones who are steadily moving toward perfection, beauty, and truth.

What will remain of your Lebanon after a century?  Tell me!  Except bragging, lying and stupidity?  Do you expect the ages to keep in its memory the traces of deceit and cheating and hypocrisy?  Do you think the atmosphere will preserve in its pockets the shadows of death and the stench of graves?

Do you believe life will accept a patched garment for a dress?  Verily, I say to you that an olive plant in the hills of Lebanon will outlast all of your deeds and your works; that the wooden plow pulled by the oxen in the crannies of Lebanon is nobler than your dreams and aspirations.

I say to you, while the conscience of time listened to me, that the songs of a maiden collecting herbs in the valleys of Lebanon will outlast all the uttering of the most exalted prattler among you.  I say to you that you are achieving nothing.  If you knew that you are accomplishing nothing, I would feel sorry for you, but you know it not.

You have your Lebanon and I have my Lebanon.

Peacebuilding and Dialogue International Study Camp

One of the organizations that I work with (The Forum for Development, Culture and Dialogue (FDCD) is currently hosting its annual summer camp.  This is the 8th year that FDCD has brought together young people, ages 20-30 from the Middle East and Europe, men and women, Muslims and Christians...to live together and learn about peacebuilding and dialogue processes.  I am both a helper and a participant in the camp with 34 others from around the world.  We are staying in a retreat center in the mountains called "Dhour Chour" for the 10-day camp.  This year we have participants from 12 different countries including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Denmark, Norway, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Madagascar, Sudan, Iraq, Egypt and me...from the United States.  From this information alone, you can already be sure that this diversity sets the stage for a very interesting and unique experience.  The camp has only just begun.  Tomorrow (Sunday) morning, we will all (Muslims and Christians and atheists) go to a protestant church service in the closest village.  I am sure I will have some interesting stories to share in the next week.  Personally, I am especially interested in using this time and experience to reflect and learn more deeply about how the Bible commands to behave in relation to people of different faiths and how I should speak and be a witness of Christ in such a situation.  Living in the Middle East, it is very important for Christians to think about this question and read the Bible and pray about how to live out their faith boldly in a region that is heavily dominated by Islam.

Pictures from my month in Armenia