環(huán)球英語—1034:Musalaha: Peace in the Desert

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Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Colin Lowther.
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And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand - no matter where in the world they live.
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It is a cool night in the Negev Desert in Israel. A large group of young people sit in a circle on the sand. They are gathered around a fire. As the fire burns they sing a song together. These are the words of the song in English:
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“I want to walk with you, even when times are hard. Praise your name, there is no life without you.”
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These young people are only twelve to fifteen years old. But they already know about when times are difficult. Some of the young people are from Palestine. Others are from Israel. Israel and Palestine have a long history of violent conflict. So why are these young people sitting together? Why are they singing about walking together?
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These young people are taking part in a program called Desert Encounter. Desert Encounter is part of the work of the Middle Eastern organization Musalaha. Today’s Spotlight is on this organization and how they teach peaceful methods of settling conflict.
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The organization Musalaha is based in Jeruselem, Israel. Musalaha is an Arabic word. In English it means reconciliation. Reconciliation means to bring two things together two things that are separate. Musalaha is bringing together two groups of people - the people from Palestine and the people from Israel.
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The relationship between these two groups is very complex. The majority of people from Israel follow the religion of Judaism. But the majority of people from Palestine follow the religion of Islam.
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Musalaha is not an organization of either Islam OR Judiasm. Dr. Salim J. Munayer started Musalaha in 1992. Dr. Munayer is a Christian. Musalaha is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. The Musalaha website explains:
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“We believe that forgiveness and healing can only come through following Christ’s example and obeying His word. We hope to copy and teach Christ’s model of forgiveness, mercy, and love. We hope to break down the walls of hate.”
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But this is very difficult to do. The conflict between Palestinians and Israelis affects many parts of their culture. They speak different languages. They may have learned false information about each other. Both groups have harmed each other. This harm is not easy for either side to forget.
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Musalaha aims to bring Israelis and Palestinians together even with this complex history. You have already heard about one way they help to bring people together. That is the program for young people: Desert Encounter. This is a program to build good relationships across religious and national lines.
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The large group of young people begin on the edge of the Negev desert. They stand in two groups under the hot sun. The young people from Israel stand together. The young people from Palestine stand separate from them. But they are about to take a shared journey into the desert together. The Musalaha website reports that one of the youth leaders speaks to the group. He says:
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“I want to encourage you on this trip. I encourage you to reach out to try and connect with other people. Do not just connect with the people you came with, but especially the people who are different from you - the people who are from the other side. God is love. You cannot say you love God if you do not love your brother.”
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The young people then travel together into the desert. They travel by camel. Two people sit on the back of each camel. One is an Israeli and the other is a Palestinian. In the desert they must work together. Tamara Kuttab is one of the leaders of Desert Encounter. She shared her experience in the Musalaha newsletter:
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“There were many places in which the group needed to help each other out. At times we needed to pass our bags to each other as we went through very narrow places. Throughout this trip, the young people and their leaders gave up their own interests. They looked after the needs of each other. It was a beautiful picture of the Body of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Individual members, some who did not know each other, were able to laugh, joke, and create new memories together.”
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The group of young people do everything together. They eat meals together. They play football together. And they talk and sing together. They learn stories and songs about how they are all children of God. They learn that they are brothers and sisters. This helps them learn how to solve conflict in a peaceful way. And when they come out of the desert they no longer stand in two groups. Palestine and Israel may be in conflict but the young people are united.
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This unity is the goal of Musalaha. Musalaha aims to bring a peaceful solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The Desert Encounter program for young people is only part of their work. Musalaha also has programs for women and camps for young children.
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In each of these groups people sit together and talk about their experience. Musalaha encourages them to listen closely to each others’ stories. Then, Israelis and Palestinians can learn about another person’s experience during the conflict.
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Many people in conflict only want someone to listen to and accept their experience. Musalaha helps people to do this. Musalaha then trains people to go back to their own communities. There they will encourage other people to find peaceful ways to solve conflict.
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This is slow work. But as people learn from each other, their lives change. They begin to see that God created ALL people. They see that people CAN live together in peace.
The work of Musalaha helps people to sit together and sing the song:
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“I want to walk with you, even when times are hard. Praise your name, there is no life without you.”
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The writer and producer of this program was Rena Dam. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at www. radioenglish.net. This program is called, ‘Musalaha: Peace in the Desert’.
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