The evening of Friday, September 8 I attended a sustained dialogue
seminar. A group of students lead by Sasha and the MSU campus group gathered to
watch a movie called Promises. The movie was about the ongoing conflict
with Palestinians and Israeli people. This has been an fight that has been
raging havoc for quite some time. Will sustained dialogue make this go
away?
It was interesting to listen to the roots of the children. Their roots seem
to go beyond the surface issue and have its foundation in religion. I was
fascinated with certain aspects of the evening but also very saddened. The
fascination came from the many different cultures that were represented
throughout the video. Men, women, and children were so defined by their culture
and their background. Animosity toward one another is intense. There is this
immense conflict over land and who is the rightful owner. One side’s claims go
back as far as Abraham and the other side believes the land was wrongly
occupied around the mid early 1900s. There are so many lives affected by this
conflict. We saw a demonstration of the hurt and pain these kids were going
through because of what I think is one major disagreement. The difference stems
in their religion. A set of man-made rules and rituals that people believe is
the right way to live. However it is a life so focused around trying to always
do the right thing that there seems to be no freedom. It is a weight of bondage
that suppresses them from such a young age. I saw hatred displayed in young
kids. It is like I was witnessing their parents living through them.
The best part of the video was when several of the children agreed to sit
down and get a little bit of an understanding. A group of 5-10 spent the day
hanging out and having fun. Towards the end of the day they all sat down and
expressed their emotions. The children remembered how their family members had
been impacting by the many tragedies. It was a challenge to be in the same room
as someone from the opposing side. However at the end of the day everyone felt
like there was progress made.
At the end of the movie we gathered in groups to discuss what we had just
watched. Everyone seemed to have liked the movie. Each member of our group
brought a different perspective. We discussed some of the challenges and how we
could relate. I felt that growing up in the colony gave me a different
perspective. It was a perspective that offered a glimpse of what it felt like
to be discriminated against. Hutterites are discriminated against because of
their way of life and are easy to spot in a crowd because of the type of
clothing they wear. People would make fun of us and not treat us equal. However
I also grew up in an environment that tried to turn and hardwired me from an
early age. Members of the colony would consider people outside the colony to be
deceitful and would never have your back in a tough situation. Sometimes the
elders would refer to someone from outside the community a “Wolf”.
Afterwards I spoke to someone that has studied history for quite some time
and wanted to gain a little insight in the conflict and the years of fighting.
It seems that their hatred goes very deep. However there seems to be several
organizations participating in dialogue which is bringing both sides together
to open those lines of communication. It will be fascinating to follow this
over the next few years.
It is disheartening to see the lives shattered and affected by a view rooted
in religion or lifestyle. One should constantly be guard on how we react to the
people around us. It is so easy for us to stereotype someone for the way they
dress, talk, walk, or hang out with. I think opening lines of communication
will help reduce the amount of discrimination witnessed in our communities day
to day.
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