Can the Troubles help Israeli and Palestinian students understand their own conflict? Gráinne Fallerreports on a pioneering scheme.
A tragedy of any conflict is the number of voices that get lost in the noise of battle. The media focuses on big incidents and body counts. The aftermath of a bomb in a market square is broadcast across the world so many times that it becomes impossible to imagine that people are still carrying on their lives in the city where it happened. We hear only about the actions and demands of those with weapons, often forgetting ordinary people.
Coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict is particularly dominated by violent images and political wrangling. Regular citizens just get muscled out. Darran Irvine, a Dubliner, was interested in doing something to help but he wasn't quite sure what. "I went out to do some voluntary work in Hebron with a Palestinian NGO that was involved in youth outreach," he says. "I saw how the students go through a really difficult time. In Hebron the city centre is out of bounds for Palestinian kids. They have to be escorted to school. The conflict is widely reported on television, but nobody is asking how the kids are affected."
After getting to know the young people and the schools in Hebron, Irvine contacted two Dublin schools. The International Palestinian Youth League helped him establish relations with schools in Hebron. He approached some Israeli schools through another organisation, the Israel-Palestine Centre for Research and Information, and, finally, because he "thought we should be doing something in our own back yard", he invited some schools in Belfast to come on board. In 2002 Schools across Borders was officially established.
The project aims to get students thinking about universal rights and values by looking at the conflicts in Israel, Palestine and Northern Ireland. It also enables them to educate one another. Irvine and his team visit schools to tell students about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Irish students watch videos that Israeli and Palestinian students have made about themselves and their situations. Over several weeks they reflect on and discuss the issues that are addressed in the videos, then make a video of their own in response.
These Irish videos are then used in the Israeli and Palestinian schools, to provoke discussion and debate about very sensitive issues for both sides. The Israeli and Palestinian students in turn make a video responding to the Irish students - and so the process continues from year to year.
Andrea Korman is a teacher at Givat Gonen and Keshet schools in Jerusalem. "It's a process," she says. "We discuss the issues, and slowly students begin to question their own position.They start rethinking things that they had been taking for granted."
St Michael's Holy Faith Secondary, in Finglas, is one of the many Dublin schools involved. The girls have just finished making their video, and there has been no shirking of the issues. "The discussions get really heated," says Lauren Somers, a transition-year student. "Feelings start coming out."
Maud Joyce says: "It's easy to look at the news and see the big Israeli army and the defenceless Palestinians, but you have to look at both sides of the story."
"Even with the videos we probably don't know the half of what's going on," says her schoolmate Katerina Koulianou.
They often find it hard to agree on issues. "Suicide bombers kill completely innocent people," says Susan Downey. "Yes but you have to look at it," says Maud. "When innocent Palestinians are beaten up and killed, the bombers look at it as revenge."
These classroom discussions are brought to life every year when two groups of teenagers - one Israeli, one Palestinian - make the trip to Ireland. The groups come separately. "We're Schools across Borders, not Schools without Borders, unfortunately," says Irvine. "There are restrictions there, and, so far, bringing the students on the same trip hasn't been possible. We're more of a two-state solution, I suppose you could say."
The students, who stay with host families, visit the Dublin and Belfast schools that are taking part, answering questions and arguing their points of view with Irish students. The Israeli group was in Ireland in November; the Palestinian group arrived at the end of January.
Yael Luria was part of the Israeli group. "It was frightening at first to talk in front of classes, but it came to a point where we were almost running the sessions," she says. Aharon Topper, an Israeli student, says: "There was sympathy there from Irish students. Some people didn't understand our end of the situation, and some people had their facts very wrong. I really wanted to understand how people see us and why they see us in that way."
"Different schools focused on different issues in the discussions," says Yael. "When we were in Mount Anville, in Dublin, the discussion really focused on joining the army. That's a trivial matter in Israel, because it's built into our culture and society, so we had a hard time explaining that."
Dionne Hanney, who is a student at St Michael's in Finglas, says: "There were different opinions among the Israeli students. A few of them didn't want to join the army and would have preferred community service. Most did want to join, though, which seemed strange. It's in their culture, I suppose."
"I just don't think it's fair that the students who don't want to serve in the army are put in prison if they don't," says her classmate Lindsey Williams.
The Palestinian students came over with a message to deliver. Adli Daana, the head of the International Palestinian Youth League, who accompanied the students, explains: "Palestinians feel misrepresented by the media. All they seem to show when they show a Palestinian teenager is a vicious, filthy-looking boy throwing stones at tanks. It is very important for people to see that we are human beings, that we like sport and music, just like the Irish people."
"We miss contact with other students," says Lubna Taha, a Palestinian student. "We can't move freely in Palestine. We just want our freedom. It's very important to make people know about our situation."
The parallels between the situations in Israel and Palestine, as well as the improvements in Northern Ireland, are not lost on the students. "You can see the similarities," says Rajah Dana, another Palestinian student. "Ireland is divided into North and South. Hebron is divided into H1 and H2. But we have big problems from Israeli soldiers. In Ireland Catholics and Protestants can meet each other. In Hebron this is impossible."
Belfast schools on both sides of the community are involved in Schools across Borders. Natalie Mullaney is from Our Lady of Mercy girls' school in north Belfast. (Unfortunately, for this piece we were unable to contact students from the unionist community.) "The day with the Palestinian students was very emotional at times," she says. "We spoke about people we knew who were beaten up. Some of those students were beaten up themselves. I suppose I could relate more to the Palestinians, although you could sympathise with the Israelis, too. They were a bit more guarded when telling their story, but you can see that, if every time you get a bus you're thinking about the possibility of a terrorist attack, it's very tough."
"The students in Belfast were very serious," says Hakam al-Nazer, a Palestinian student. "We really felt they knew something about our situation." "I think in Belfast generally you could see a bit more tension," says Aharon. "There was a bit more understanding of the complexity of the situation in the discussions." "Belfast was a very special day," adds Samia Shaheen, a Palestinian student.
Students are encouraged to make their minds up about the rights and wrongs of issues such as Israel's "security fence", a 350km barrier separating it from the Palestinian West Bank. The process can be difficult. "There always seems to be a 'but'," says Aharon. "People say, 'We know you're under attack, but . . .' The thing is, there shouldn't be a 'but'. Israel is under attack every single day. No other country in the world has to deal with that." Lubna says: "We aren't able to go to Jerusalem. There is the problem of the separation wall; we have to abide by a curfew; so many things."
Straight-talking is encouraged. "The students here are very mature," says Andrea Korman, the Israeli teacher. "Israelis prefer to talk about real issues. They say: 'Don't be polite, just ask and let us deal with your questions.' "
Adli Daana, of the International Palestinian Youth League, emphasises the role of such communication. "It's so important to bring teenagers together to speak about their concerns and the conflict itself. It's very important to open minds and introduce them to new ideas."
"Students asked us about everything," says Hakam. "They asked about the separation wall and suicide bombings. I feel our message reached them directly." "We depend on the Irish kids to let people know about our situation," says Samia. "I hope to do my duty and send that message out there."
It's not all serious, however, and tourist trips are also part of the experience. A visit to Killiney beach, in south Co Dublin, is also a must. A fortnight ago one of the Palestinian students, on seeing the sea for the first time, ran in, clothes and all. "He was pretty cold for about half an hour," says Irvine. "But it was really something."
The host families receive high praise from all sides. "My family was wonderful," says Yael. "They were really interested in different aspects of my culture and religion; they bought new dishes for kosher food - they really went to a lot of trouble."
All of this discussion and reflection in Ireland, Israel and Palestine leads on to the main educational aim of Schools across Borders, which is to get students thinking about universal values, how they feed into universal rights and how those are compromised in conflicts. "One side can't have complete freedom at the expense of another," says Irvine. "Palestinians use the words 'freedom' and 'independence' a lot, whereas Israelis use the words 'security' and 'defence'. We basically say you can interchange."
There are plans to achieve the ideal get-together of Irish, Israeli and Palestinian students, but all sides must be happy about it. In the meantime, the work will continue. "We just want people to think about what's wrong and right. I have very much enjoyed the project," says Nadine Hejja, a Palestinian student.
"It has been amazing," says Maud Joyce of St Michael's. "You learn about the Israel-Palestine situation, but you also learn more because of the parallels with the North." "It hasn't changed my opinions so much as it has made me aware of other points of view," says Yael. "I think it's very important for Irish students to have a perspective on the situation as well." "What's really important for people to remember is that everyone wants to resolve this," says Aharon.
Daana says: "No matter what students believed, all agreed that nobody wanted to live in a conflict zone. All agreed that a resolution must be found through non- violent negotiation. It is very important to add this element to the curriculum." "It's important to share together and talk together," says Samia. "Maybe it depends on us."
