OTISFIELD | As Israeli and Arab boys play together at Otisfield’s Camp Powhatan, the camp directors hope this next generation will bring peace to the Middle East, a peace which has failed their parents.
For the first time in history, children from warring delegations have come together at a United States camp—here under the guidance of Joel Bloom, director of Camp Powhatan.
The Seeds of Peace program was launched by John Wallach, Hearst newspapers foreign editor, just four months ago, “in hope for a lasting peace, which would come from the young.”
He chose Camp Powhatan because his own son had attended the boys’ camp a few years ago.
Wallach “worked on it full-time as if we were going to do it,” he says. The camp has been funded by individual contributions from corporations and their owners.
The camp succeeded largely because the Mideast peace talks have been successful this summer, according to Barbara Gottschalk, Seed’s of Peace associate director, who is also a psychiatric social worker.
The program rode the waves of the Middle East peace talks, she says. Conflicts with Lebanon prompted Egypt to pull out at the last minute. They were finally allowed to come after the boys’ parents petitioned their governments.
Because children tend to mirror their parents, boys from 11 to 14 years-old were chosen, ones who haven’t been unduly influenced. They were picked by their governments and members of the Palestinian negotiating team to the Mideast peace talks.
Nevertheless, there were conflicts at the start, says Gottschalk. She points out an Israeli boy walking to his cabin—his father was killed by Palestinians. “Here they get to see each other as people, not as demons who only deserve death. That got across early,” she says.
“Our hope is that having friendships made in a neutral territory will prevent them from thinking these are enemies that need to be wiped out,” she adds.
Gottschalk notices distinct groups organizing, even though they bunk together in cabins. Israelis form a cohesive group, while the Palestinians are more reticent.
“It was pretty dangerous for the Palestinians to come, not so much for the Israelis,” she says.
Egyptian boys tend to become mediators, following their parents’ examples, says Gottschalk. She points to Karim, a blond Egyptian boy who strides by in a baseball cap, who often acts as a go-between.
“I would bring peace and make it a superpower,” he says, if he were leader.
During a softball game, Amil, a quiet boy from Cairo, sits out on the bleachers because his fingers were injured. “I think we are running it the right way,” he says.
“Children don’t have as many problems as parents. They can make peace better—in one month here. Parents can’t make peace in one month,” says Amil.
Camp Powhatan has received national attention since the Seeds of Peace program began. On Tuesday Karim spoke to the Washington Post, while Wallach was busy answering a phone call from the New York Post.
The boys seem to enjoy the limelight. As Bloom gives a group of boys a ride in his golf cart, one boy stands straight, smiles, and says, “My name is Abdul and I am from the Palestinian delegation.”