The April 2006 Journey of Understanding

“Imagine a utopia where children from all over the world can come and coexist peacefully… add hardships which test your physical, mental and emotional endurance, and you have Encompass”

These are the words of one of the participants on the April 2006 Journey of Understanding. On 29th March a group of 20 young people representing four countries and three faiths gathered in London for the beginning of what was without doubt Encompass’ most ambitious programme to date. Using the expertise that Encompass now has in the Middle East we brought together four Palestinians from outside Jenin with four Israelis- some from metropolitan Jerusalem, some from traditional kibutzes, with four Americans from Inner City Baltimore and eight young Brits from Grimsby. They all met for the first time at a barbeque buffet held in the grounds of the Haringey Scout Centre where the group were staying. The program that they were taking part in would take them from London to the beautiful Lake District. There was a sombre start to the program as 4 participants were missing; Encompass had been expecting a group from Iraq but, given the difficulties that country is facing, it proved impossible to get them out of the country, a fitting situation for the group to have to confront at the start of the process.

For the first stop on the London tour, the group attended an international school conference held at Mulberry school where they were addressed by Clare Short MP and Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty, on themes of global interest. During one of the plenary sessions, Encompass chaired an open discussion on the role we play in the Middle East in bringing young people from both societies together. To round the day off our Facilitator, Snezana Baclija, joined the main panel discussion with Claire Short. Past participant, Shanaz Begum (from the September 2005 Journey of Understanding) also gave a key note speech on Encompass and her experience with the organisation. Encompass participants also gave speeches to the conference about the communities that they came from and the realities that they faced on a daily basis whether in Israel, the West Bank or Baltimore. In short, the conference was another success for Encompass!

In the evening, after such a hectic schedule, the group had a chance to unwind at a local bowling alley- “Bowling for Peace” as we like to call it! This had been arranged for us by the guys at Mulberry School- thanks again to Brandon and Shanaz!

The following day was a chance for the participants to visit some of the sights of London. A morning visit to the London Eye was followed by a specially arranged tour of the Houses of Parliament made possible by our partner in the event, The Citizenship Foundation and the generosity of Lord Joel Joffe.

That evening was set aside for an Intercultural Evening which was kicked off by the British delegation holding an Easter Egg Hunt for the other participants. This was followed by a presentation on America, Palestinian dancing, a traditional Jewish Shabbat ceremony and of course good old-fashioned bingo! The group was joined in the evening by students from Mulberry School who had hosted the conference. Given the strong Bengali make up of the school it was only fitting that some delicious Bengali sweets were brought along!

The following morning while the Israelis were being welcomed by the local Jewish community (the Southgate and Palmer’s Green Synagogue), the rest of the group travelled up to the Lake District. The journey went well, though it was delayed slightly towards the end thanks to a motion-sickness enforced stop!

By Sunday morning everyone had arrived- just in time to take part in an Outward Bound® tradition, the famous Run and Dip! At 7am, the group were herded out the house and forced to, well, run and dip- a brisk run down to the tarn and then a dip into the icy waters! The perfect way to start the day or so they say! It was then straight into the carefully prepared course of activities that had been put together by Outward Bound® under the direction of Encompass. Nonetheless, there was still a chance for some of the Palestinians to go to church in the village. It was hard to tell who found it more of a shock- the Catholic Palestinians for whom the sight of a female priest was a first, or the community of St. Bega’s who so generously welcomed us to their service.

The week in the Lake District presented challenges for everyone. For some it was the programme of Outward Bound® activites which included hiking, canoeing, rock climbing, raft building, camping and bridge building; for others it was the discussions that were held in the evening on themes of communication, identitiy and conflict. And for Josh and Louise the challenge was keeping up with such an energetic group! The end of the programme was extremely moving. On a night of difficult discussions it was revealed to the participants that that very evening was Dan’s birthday. There was no better way to remember Dan and his life than through the difficult discussions that his death, and the choices made by his family in how to remember him, had lead to.

As part of the strategy for raising awareness of the work that Encompass is engaged in, out funding partner on this project, The Citizenship Foundation, put the money up for the program to be filmed. Editting is now underway and it is hoped that we will produce a short film which will tell the story of how something as negative as the Bali bombing can have produced such positives. With the support of The Citizenship Foundation it is hoped that this film will be broadcast on Teachers TV and used in the teaching of citizenship classes in schools across the UK.

Encompass was delighted by the success of the programme. Participants came away realising that we are not only defined by the positive around us but conflict and social problems make us who we are as well. Similarly, although a national conflict may be more dramatic, local problems are just as important and need solving too.

Click on photo below to see the Album;