Summer Camp of Young Peace Builders at Tubigen, Germany
- Part 2 -

Louriyam Bebica *

Summer Camp of Young Peace Builders at Tubigen, Germany

Religion and Peace

Marie-Krystel told us a story of her father. One of her brothers married a Muslim woman so her father outcast his son and daughter in law. But her father always attend Id's feast at his friend's place. When Marie-Krystel requested her father

''Daddy, accept your son and daughter in law. After all he is your son".

''No, I can't accept them, he disgrace our family by marrying a Muslim"

''Daddy, religion is just a tag, the only truth is we are human"

''It doesn't matters how much you say, I will never accept a Muslim woman in our family''

''If you hate Muslim that much why did you join Eid feast whenever your friends invites you? So you don't like Muslim but you like to eat Muslim's food''

In school, we are taught that we are all brothers and sisters, there is no difference between us, and we should live in harmony. But this teaching stays only in books. Though we sing we are one, we can't accept our daughter/son getting married out of our religion. Their so called family value which has no ground is more important that their children's happiness.

I am taking krystel's story, but the story is same everywhere. That's why Kabir rebel as

''If god only lives in mosques,

Whose land resides in images and pilgrims' stops?

The east is the abode of Hari;

But Ram and Rahim both lie within my heart''

I was born in a SC family, I studied in a boarding school where majority of them were ST, my best friend was a Muslim, I married a General and I live in a community of white and black. It took decades for me to experience such wonderful emotions in life, phase by phase. However, in those ten days in Tubigen, I felt that bunch of emotions in a single stream.

He was a Muslim who share the potatoes on my plate, she was an African who gave a heavy looks when I did not eat, she was a Germany who ran at night to get my medicine, and how could you say we are different because the principle of life which you imposed on us is different. We don't see at each other as Muslim, Christina or Hindu. We see as human who breathe to live. The true meaning of religion is we are human. If every religion happens to teach the correct meaning of religion there won't any violence because every religions talks of love not hatred.

Landau Peace Museum and Media

We learned and taught lots of war, its history and bravery. People travelled across the world to see war memorial or war cemetery. People hardly talk of any monuments related to peace work. But trust me, the flow of emotion and peace you get when you feel the air inside Landau Peace Museum can compare with nothing. The beautiful lake at its back remains me of an incident. We were enjoying the breakfast inside the museum; Nelson came running to us and asked to follow him if we want to see an amazing sight on his mobile. We all ran following him.

He was holding up his mobile by his right hand, he keep waving it side by side. When he wave it to the right, it gets Germany's network if he moves it to left it gets Switzerland's network. He told us, ''see network also doesn't differentiate on the ground of colors or religion. He favors me as much as he favors those white men. He did not ask my passport either, he doesn't care that I am standing on the land of Germany not Switzerland. We will be in peace if everyone can be like this network''. It was a joke but it was true too. We should not presuppose of others only because they have different views. In life, conflict is necessary as it allows birthing many better suggestions and ideas but it should not lead to violence.

I attended a workshop which was organized to give awareness of the role of media. They said that the primary role of media is to bring out the truth. Since the day I learn to read newspaper, I have seen and read only the violence. The normal headlines start with how many people are dead or how many people are injured. I heard some of my neighbors complaining when such news are not on the paper. They said its bore if such pictures and news are not there. Does it mean it is the only truth in our society now? I can't agree with that. There are people among us who still love to work for peace.

They might be few in number but it's our responsibility to bring out the truth from their view point too. We can't write only to satisfy those people I mention above who enjoy the violence view of the world only because they are the majority. I know the word peace sounds very boring to many of us. But it's our duty to make it interesting and educate our people. If we have three pages for violence, three pages for advertisement, we should not have problem to have a page for PEACE and peace makers.

The core idea is what we chose to write. I experienced both positive and negative scenes throughout the journey. I met some people who asked me if I was from Nepal, even though I was standing in the same queue with them for migration where it was written clearly on the board 'ONLY FOR INDIAN PASSPORT HOLDERS'. I shut their mouth by asking back if they were Bangladeshi. However, I also met people who appreciated North East India and its contribution to our country. So, if I write only of those people who asked me if I was Nepali will be unfair to those who have such a high value and respect for North East India. When we write so much of violence ought we not to write of peace too? In fact, we often wrote on almost everything, even unnecessary things. So why don't we try writing of those local people who are a peace makers too?

More People to train

Sometime experience overcomes book knowledge. That's why we said ''ahan gee mathina chaphu malli". It was a blessing to know that we have practical methodology which we can use in our context too. If their Peace makers can make even football which is consider as one of the most violence game into a nonviolence game why won't be able to make a peaceful state. It was done through experience and with the knowledge of methodology.

Human being is a social animal. We have the tendency to ignore isolation. So, we seem to feel the reduction of our pain when we came to know that there are other people who are going through the same pain we are. I am grateful to Berghof for giving me the platform where I met so many experience people who share the same emotion and pain as we do. More people need to train and get train to attend the adequate experience and knowledge so that we can establish and share methods that will suits to our own context.

If we human have to survive on the earth, we need more of Berghof and peace makers. Let me end with this 'if we need chemistry to fight disease we need peace education to safe humanity'.

Concluded