The Frontiers Peace Camp Report 2007
Peace Camp Advertisement
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The Frontiers Peace Camp Report 2007
Index 1. Introduction
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Preamble Power Point Presentation Slide Show PC Trailer
2. Advertisement Information
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The Frontiers Peace Camp General
3. Country Information Aceh Afghanistan Kashmir Timor Leste
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The Frontiers Peace Camp Report 2007
about the different Peace Camp countries to give you a basic understanding even if you didn’t experience each of these countries. You don’t need to explain all points of each country and go too much in detail. The information’s below are mostly just for you to give you a wider view. Much information listed below you probably already saw at the Peace Camp Report 2007. For the presentation we prepared 3 tools.
I. Power Presentation
Introduction
Point
This presentation is very simple and gives you just a structure. Everybody of you will probably concentrate more on some detail information about your personnel experience and it’s probably better because it gives the audience a closer feeling for the country. I hope you can mention short information about each field just to show them all options. If the presentation is too much concentrated about one country we narrow the options too much. Information at this presentation is very few. If you want to add some, please do it. Also please read this Information below to understand more the local situation. You might have a special idea for the presentation, feel free to realize it! For example: If I would do a presentation about Afghanistan I would talk more deeply about women rights. But you know better than me what people in your country are interested in. Please try to make it interesting. You can include personal
Preamble Thank you for you effort to be a part of our advertisement team for 2008! We really appreciate your effort and hope to mobilize in cooperation with you together a big group of volunteers for Peace Camps 2008. Each of you has different experience in different countries and we can’t expect from you to advertise each Peace Camp country fully. Trough this booklet we want to give you general information of each country but it is probably better to concentrate during your presentation at your personnel experience. It’s important to inform people about each country basically but personnel stories and impressions give the audience a better understanding. We gathered information
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The Frontiers Peace Camp Report 2007 pictures as well. We tried to use fewer words as possible so that you can translate it easily. Specific information: Slide 3: We have to mention that there is a long term program with The Frontiers which calls World Service. But we don’t need to explain it in detail. Slide 5: At the point ‘Recruitment Deadline’ please inserts the date which the responsible person for you country consider. It is normally connected with the flight reservation and training.
Advertisement Information
The Frontiers The Frontiers is an independent organization formed in 1993 as a small prayer meeting for the world. Since that time The Frontiers has grown into a fullfledged organization working with people in regions devastated by war and famine. Through our Peace Camp and World Service programs, The Frontiers seeks to initiate community development and reconciliation projects. Our focus is encouraging today’s youth to make a contribution to reconciliation and peace around the world.
II. Slide Show The slide show suppose to help you to get attention at the beginning or even to finish a presentation and give your audience time to consider about your words. The slide show is very simple and is underlay by meaningful music which might not disturb people’s consideration. It is just and optional tool and if you feel like it doesn’t really fit in, you don’t need to use it. If you need a translation of used sentences, please send me the translation and I do it as soon as possible.
Main Activities
III. PC Trailer
a. Peace Camp
The trailer has a similar function as the slide show. You can use it if you feel like it fits but it’s your free decision. The response to visual information material is in our experience usually good.
Overall Camp Aims: • Making an Effort as Team Peacemakers: Training to become peacemakers within the team • Being Community Peacemakers: Training for adaptation to local lifestyles, for positively experiencing local community For particulars please see below
b. World Service The World Service program is for some volunteers the next step after experiencing Peace Camp. This service runs for one year and includes training and 1 Peace Camp. During this year the volunteers stay in one
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The Frontiers Peace Camp Report 2007 of our fields and work in most cases as a teacher.
thoughts. Living together is a very important part of Peace Camp and gives us a chance to experience the life under local circumstances. For most of participants it’s the first time to life under low means. We hope to bring different cultures together throw our living style. The life under local circumstances gives us a better understanding of daily local struggles.
Aim The purpose of this program is to give young people a chance to experience desperate environments, places of war, conflict, natural disaster, hunger and work voluntarily for a year to establish peace in these places.
c.
c. Emergency Relief We experienced emergency relief in cases as the Tsunami 2004 or Kashmir earthquake 2005. Emergency Relief is not one of our main focuses.
Peace Camp
Peace Camp's main objective is to offer an opportunity for people around the world to participate in the process of reconciliation between opposing parties involved in various types of conflict.
a. Training Objectives: • Learning to respect and care for others through community life. • Adaptation to new environments through learning about culture, language and religion. • Help participants to experience peace building and prepare them to be a peace builder. • Teachers and curriculum training.
b.
Peace School
Peace School is one of our main activities during the Peace Camp. We arrange a school program for the kids and youths during their summer vacation. The lessons are prepared and held by Peace Camp volunteer teams. Each team is responsible for one class. Every day we teach different topics which are all connected with the main topic ‘peace’. We talk with these kids about forgiveness, reconciliation, difference, etc. The foundation of these topics and our daily lessons is the PC Curriculum. In this curriculum we gathered suggestions of activities for the topics. We teach mainly through activities and games. The curriculum is just an opportunity to help but volunteer ideas are very welcomed.
b. Rehabilitation activity This activity is focus on re-building or repairing broken public facilities in each village, work together with local people, because we think that peace-building programs are not merely Peace School but with these informal events, participants and local people could work together in different circumstances and feel togetherness among them. That’s also the spirit of peace-building.
Living together
All participants stay together in one facility within their group. To have a valuable life for this month we share food, duties, living space and our evenings. A good opportunity for that is our morning QT (Quit time) and evening DT (Discussion time). Because of multi nationalities it is a challenge for most of us to communicate in a foreign language and share our inner
c. Peace Festival In the end of each Peace Camp we organize a Peace Festival which is a good finishing and brings us once again all together. The festival is different in each country.
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The Frontiers Peace Camp Report 2007
d. Visiting We want to use this time also for visiting to famous and/or memorial places. The visiting is happening mostly after finishing the regular Peace Camp schedule. Through this visiting we want to understand better the local culture. Peace Camp Schedule Every country has an individual schedule but the basic structure is mostly similar. In some cases we need a full day for moving an in others we need only few hours. Full 20 days of Peace Camp is almost impossible due to the tight schedule.
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3-4 days training moving and adjusting to the service village 10 days Peace School and activities Mid-Camp-Evaluation 10 days Peace School and activities Final-Evaluation and Visiting
Country Information The sources for most of information below are ‘Wikipedia.com’ and ‘CIA-The World Factbook’.
Aceh (Indonesia) Site Survey Indonesia is a very huge country with many different languages and cultures in it. We
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The Frontiers Peace Camp Report 2007 need to narrow our view at Aceh to understand at least the area we working in.
At the age of seven, children start to learn the prayers and tenets of Islam and to recite from the Koran (Al Qur'an). Boys and girls start to have religious duties and obligations at the onset of puberty. The Acehnese people fully experience Islamic teachings in their daily life. The attitude is actualized by acculturating their customs into the religious teachings.
Aceh is a special territory of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. It is thought to have been in Aceh where Islam was first established in Southeast Asia. Aceh has a history of political independence and fierce resistance to control by outsiders, including the former Dutch colonists and the Indonesian government. Aceh has substantial natural resources, including oil and gas - some estimates put Aceh gas reserves as being the largest in the world. Relative to most of Indonesia, it is a religiously conservative area.
Aceh is also the center of Shi'a Islam in the country Free Aceh Movement The sociocultural divide between Aceh and the rest of Indonesia exists for several reasons. The Acehnese practices fully the teaching of Islam, while the rest of the archipelago tends to blend Islam with animism and local tradition, due to its historical trade links with the Middle East. The oil and gas industry has been at the center of rising discontent against Indonesian rule and supportive of the government crackdown against it. Mobil Oil Indonesia discovered massive natural gas reserves in Aceh in 1971. By the late 1980s, the province was supplying 30% of Indonesia’s oil and gas exports. However, most profits flowed to Jakarta and abroad, most jobs went to non-Acehnese, and economic policy focused on an industrial enclave while the rural majority’s losses from pollution were ignored.
Aceh was the closest point of land to the epicenter of the massive 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which triggered a tsunami that devastated much of the western coast of the region, including part of the capital of Banda Aceh. On 26 December 2004, tsunami made 230,000 people death, 1,500,000 people get the afflicted people. Aceh province was the most victim area 126,000 people death, 37,000 people missing. 60,000 Aceh people died just in Banda. On 11 December 2006, there was election of the governor of a state and 19 basic district leader. Result, Irwandi Yusuf from GAM was elected as the governor of a state.
Aceh is considered one of Indonesia's three most "troubled areas" along with East Timor and Irian Jaya. Over 2,000 deaths that are believed to have been caused by local security forces have occurred in the area since 1989, and more than 10thousand people have died in sporadic fighting between the two sides since 1976. The Aceh Merdeka (Free Aceh) movement has been fighting for a independent and Islamic state in Aceh since the 1970s and its activities surged in the late 1980s. Reports by the media and NGOs and complaints by families of victims point to the occurrence of a human rights tragedy
Acehnese culture is basically colored by Islamic religion. There are three major ethnic groups in Aceh; Acehnese, Gayo and Alas. The Acehnese are most numerous and inhabit the coastal areas of the region. The Acehnese are mostly a mixture of different nations like Arabs, Persians, Chinese, Indians and Portuguese. Even the word "Aceh" is allegedly claimed to be originated from the words Arab, China, Europe and Hindia.
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The Frontiers Peace Camp Report 2007 in Aceh in the period 1986-1993. More than 1,600 people have been declared missing. They were accused of membership in a rebel organization, without a trial. Most of them were found dead. Reportedly, not only men but women were among the victims.
TF in Indonesia TF-Indonesia began after the enormous Southeast Asian tsunami in December of 2004. We participated in emergency rescue operations and various childcare programs in Banda Aceh, one of the areas most devastated by the tsunami. Following this we went on to build, side by side with refugee families, a new community home named Rumoh Meupakat. At Rumoh Meupakat we live in community with tsunami orphans and also run an English class, a computer class, and maintain a small peace library.
After the devastating tsunami in December 2004, both sides declared a cease-fire and reiterated the need to resolve the conflict. However, sporadic armed clashes continue to occur throughout the province. Because of the separatist movement in the area, the Indonesian government has had access restrictions in place on the press and aid workers. The Indonesian government has, however, opened the region up to international relief efforts.
Pulau Breuh This island belongs to Pulau Aceh. We held PS in Ulee Paya in a temporary school. There are only 4 classrooms but students come from 5 villages. Actually in that area supposed to be 2 primary schools (Nampuyang, Ulee Paya), 1 junior high school and 1 senior high school. But these schools weren’t rebuilt yet. For this reason all students go to the Ulee Paya temporary school. Almost 150 students are attending the school.
Indonesia: Population:
234,693,997
(July
2007
est.) Capital: Jakarta Life expectancy at birth: 70.16 years Median age: 26.9 years
Aceh PC Proposal
Aceh (PC area) Capital: Banda Aceh
Programs: School
Population: 3,930,000 (2000)
Theme: Peace begins with me
Ethnic groups: Acehnese (70%), Gayo Lut (7%), Gayo Luwes (5%), Alas (4%), Singkil (3%), Javanese (3%), Simeulu (2%)
Duration: July 25th – August 23rd 2008
Religion: Islam (0%7), Hinduism (0,55%)
Objective: • observe a peace agreement process • interacting with 2007 Peace School students
Languages: Acehnese
together
and
Peace
Training: Aceh
(98.6%), Chtistianity (0,08%), Buddhism
Indonesian
Living
(official),
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The Frontiers Peace Camp Report 2007 •
We will stay in Paloh. From our house to school we have to walk every day for around 1 hour.
give information to the participants about peace building education for the children and the community.
Village activities: (Adjustable with the village condition) Morning; peace school activities (for senior & junior high school) Afternoon; Peace school activities (for elementary students) Evening; evaluation and sharing among the team
Location: Aceh (Pulau Breuh) and Rumah Mupakat in Banda Aceh Specific Village Aims/ choose these Locations:
Reasons
to
Rumoh Meupakat After the tsunami The Frontiers built a community for tsunami victims. Now we are taking care of tsunami orphans and an old man. Also The Frontiers have opened a small children library in Rumoh Meupakat. The Peace Camp programs happen towards the regular school program. Pulau Breuh This island belongs to Pulau Aceh where 8 villages are: Gugop, Seurapomg, Ulee paya, Blangsitungkoh, Paloh, Nampuyang, Rinon, Maringe. We held PS in Blangsitungkoh where a senior & junior high school is placed. Our peace school program is included during regular school time. And for elementary students, we will hold peace school after school hours. Most village people are fisherman, but many families lost their father during the tsunami. According to the data; in SMP (junior high school) out of 80 students, 36 students lost their father; 12 students lost their mother and 1student lost both sides. After tsunami the orphans went to live in a state run orphanage for Moslem education. All villagers lost their houses but fortunately new houses have already been built by NGOs. This village has 60 families (almost 250 people).
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The Frontiers Peace Camp Report 2007 and rebuilding the Afghan economy. Political violence also remains a problem and there have been numerous Taliban bombings in Kabul and American Coalition Forces Bombings in the South and East where the war still continues in the countryside. The population of Afghanistan is divided into a wide variety of ethnic groups. An approximate distribution of groups estimated by the CIA Factbook is as following
ethnic World
Pashtun: 42% Tajik: 27% Hazara: 9% Uzbek: 9% Other: 13% Religiously, Afghans are over 99% Muslims: approximately 74-80% Sunni and 19-25% Shi'a. Up until the mid-1980s, there were about 30,000 to 150,000 Hindus and Sikhs living in different cities, mostly in Jalalabad, Kabul, and Kandahar. Literacy of the entire population is estimated (as of 1999) at 36%, the male literacy rate is 51% and female literacy is 21%. Up to now there are 9,500 schools in the country.
Afghanistan It’s not clear so far if we will have a Peace Camp in Afghanistan or not.
The main languages spoken in Afghanistan are Persian (Dari dialects) 50% and Pashto 35%; both are Indo-European languages from the Iranian languages subfamily.
Site Survey Afghanistan is a crossroads between the East and the West. The region has seen many invaders or conquerors, including the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great, Muslim Arabs, Turkic and Mongol nomads, the British Empire, the Soviet Union and the United States of America. Current problems are removing the debris (and in particular, unmapped buried landmines) from decades of war from the countryside,
As much as one-third of Afghanistan's GDP comes from growing poppy and illicit drugs including opium and its two derivatives, morphine and heroin, as well as hashish production. Opium production in Afghanistan has soared to a new record in 2007, with an increase on last year of more than a third, the United Nations has said. Some 3.3 million Afghans are now involved
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The Frontiers Peace Camp Report 2007 in producing opium. Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium. Population: 31,889,923
Capital: Kabul Life expectancy at birth: 43.8 years Median age: 17.6 years Afghanistan is a landlocked and mountainous country in South-Central Asia, with plains in the north and southwest. Large parts of the country are dry, and fresh water supplies are limited. The endorheic Sistan Basin is one of the driest regions in the world. Afghanistan has a continental climate with hot summers and cold winters.
The early 2002 defeat of the Taliban liberated Afghan women and girls from the regime's draconian decrees. The world witnessed reports of women in Mazar-eSharif, Kabul, and other cities going into the streets without male relatives and discarding their burqas--actions that would have garnered brutal punishments under the Taliban.
Women rights during Taliban
Gender Apartheid -- The Reality of Women and Girls
According to a report by the British charity Womankind Worldwide, 60 to 80 per cent of all marriages in Afghanistan are forced. More than half of Afghan women are married before they turn 16, some as young as six. In some rural areas of the country, women are regarded as chattels, exchanged as compensation for a crime or to settle a debt.
Upon seizing power, the Taliban instituted a system of gender apartheid effectively thrusting the women of Afghanistan into a state of virtual house arrest. Under Taliban rule women have been stripped of their visibility, voice, and mobility. When they took control in 1996, the Taliban initially imposed strict edicts that:
and forced women to wear the burqa - which completely shrouds the body, leaving only a small mesh-covered opening through which to see Prohibited women and girls from being examined by male physicians while at the same time, prohibited most female doctors and nurses from working. (Currently there are a few, selected female doctors allowed to operate in segregated wards.)
Banished women from the work force Closed schools to girls in cities and expelled women from universities Prohibited women from leaving their homes unless accompanied by a close male relative Ordered the publicly visible windows of women's houses painted black
A woman who defied Taliban orders by running a home school for girls was killed in front of her family and friends. A woman caught trying to flee Afghanistan with a man not related to her was stoned to death for adultery. An elderly woman was brutally beaten with a metal cable until her leg was broken because her ankle was accidentally showing from underneath her burqa. Women have died of curable ailments because male doctors were not allowed to treat them. Two women accused of prostitution were publicly hung.
Taliban Law Is In Opposition To Islam Prior to the Civil War and Taliban control, especially in Kabul, the capital, women in Afghanistan were educated and employed: 50% of the students and 60% of the
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The Frontiers Peace Camp Report 2007 teachers at Kabul University were women, and 70% of school teachers, 50% of civilian government workers, and 40% of doctors in Kabul were women.
with their capture of Kabul in September 1996.
The Taliban claim to follow a pure, fundamentalist Islamic ideology, yet the oppression they perpetrate against women has no basis in Islam. Within Islam, women are allowed to earn and control their own money, and to participate in public life. The 55-member Organization of Islamic Conference has refused to recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan's official government. The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, regarded by many as an ultraconservative organization, has denounced the Taliban's decrees.
The Taliban, under the direction of Mullah Muhammad Omar, brought about this order through the institution of a very strict interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law. Public executions and punishments (such as floggings) became regular events at Afghan soccer stadiums. Frivolous activities, like kite-flying, were outlawed. In order to root out "non-Islamic" influence, television, music, and the Internet were banned. Men were required to wear beards, and subjected to beatings if they didn't.
Afghanistan under the Taliban
In contrast to their strict beliefs, the Taliban profited from smuggling operations (primarily electronics) and opium cultivation. Eventually they bowed to international pressure and cracked down on cultivation and by July 2000 were able to claim that they had cut world opium production by two-thirds. Unfortunately, the crackdown on opium also abruptly deprived thousands of Afghans of their only source of income.
The Taliban The Taliban are one of the Mujahideen ("holy warriors" or "freedom fighters") groups that formed during the war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan (197989). After the withdrawal of Soviet forces, the Soviet-backed government lost ground to the Mujahideen. In 1992, Kabul was captured and an alliance of Mujahideen set up a new government with Burhanuddin Rabbani as interim president. However, the various factions were unable to cooperate and fell to fighting each other. Afghanistan was reduced to a collection of territories held by competing warlords.
TF in Afghanistan TF works in Bamyan a region to the west of Kabul. The majority in Bamyan of the population are people of the Hazara ethnicity, the largest minority ethnic group in Afghanistan. Hazara people are Muslim but are Shia Muslim, a minority in Afghan society. Because of this the Hazara people have long been persecuted, oppressed, and massacred from early times up through the Taliban. Both villages, Fotmasti and Tupchi in which we working in, suffer also from conflicts about race, political tension and religion for many years. Until now conflicts remain even a new generation is growing up. Since summer 2007 TF got serious difficulties to maintain their work. Since the government sends all Korean out Afghanistan, TF is facing several problems.
Groups of Taliban ("religious students") were loosely organized on a regional basis during the occupation and civil war. Although they represented a potentially huge force, they didn't emerge as a united entity until the Taliban of Kandahar made their move in 1994. In late 1994, a group of well-trained Taliban were chosen by Pakistan to protect a convoy trying to open a trade route from Pakistan to Central Asia. They proved an able force, fighting off rival Mujahideen and warlords. The Taliban then went on to take the city of Kandahar, beginning a surprising advance that ended
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The Frontiers Peace Camp Report 2007 TF restarted their work in Kabul in February 2008 after a time of consideration about the future work plan. Afghanistan is becoming more and more unstable so that the work of foreigner is becoming every time a harder challenge. Sudden happenings of violence and sudden government decisions make it complicate to work in this country. For that reason we also have to be flexible during our Peace Camp to react to certain incidents. TF-Afghanistan started its work in 2003. Since that time we have provided peace education, landmine clearance and school reconstruction. Our work focused in the last period on conflict transformation and peace education between different ethnic groups and political parties in the Bamyan province of Afghanistan. Trough new political policy and out of it resulting lack of manpower we had to reconsider about our activities in Afghanistan. Currently we are on the process to find our way for the next period and plan to start a peace library.
Afghan PC Proposal
Pakistan
As soon as we get information about the Afghan Peace Camp, we will inform you about details.
Site Survey
Programs: ?
Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world and has one of the largest Muslim populations in the world. Its territory was a part of the pre-partitioned British India and has a long history of settlement and civilization including the Indus Valley Civilization. The region has been invaded by the Greeks, Persians, Arabs, Afghans, Turks, and Mongols. The territory was incorporated into British India in the nineteenth century. Since its independence, the country has been characterized by periods of military and economic growth interspersed with political instability.
Duration: ? Training: The Frontiers Kabul Office Location: ?
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The Frontiers Peace Camp Report 2007 Ridge. India controls 101,387 km² of the disputed territory, Pakistan 85,846 km² and China, the remaining 37,555 km².
The major ethnic groups are - Punjabis (44.68% of the population), Pashtuns (15.42%), Sindhis (14.1%), Seraikis (10.53%), Muhajirs (7.57%), Balochis (3.57%) and others (4.66%). As of November 2007, about 2 million registered Afghan refugees remain in Pakistan as a result of the ongoing war and instability in Afghanistan
Though these regions are in practice administered by their respective claimants, neither India nor Pakistan has formally recognized the accession of the areas claimed by each other. India claims those areas, including the area "ceded" to China by Pakistan in the Trans-Karakoram Tract in 1963, are a part of its territory, while Pakistan claims the entire region, excluding Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract.
Primary mother tongue language usage largely corresponds to ethnic groups. Despite being a native language of a relatively small minority, Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan, while English is the official language, used in the Constitution and widely used by corporate businesses, the educated urban elite, and most universities. Punjabi is spoken by over 60 million people, but has no official recognition in the country.
The two countries have fought several declared wars over the territory. The IndoPakistani War of 1947 established the rough boundaries of today, with Pakistan holding roughly one-third of Kashmir, and India one-half, with a dividing line of control established by the United Nations. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 resulted in a stalemate and an UN-negotiated ceasefire.
The demographics of religion in Pakistan were significantly influenced in 1947 by the movement of Muslims to Pakistan, and Hindus and Sikhs to India. Census data indicates that 96% of the population are Muslims, (nearly 77% are Sunni Muslims and 20% are Shi'a Muslims according to CIA estimates). Minority religions include Hinduism (1.85%), Christianity (1.6%). Pakistan is the second most populous Muslim-majority country and also has the second largest Shi'a population in the world.
The 2005 Kashmir Earthquake (also known as the South Asian earthquake or the Great Pakistan earthquake), was a major earthquake, of which the epicenter was the Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The earthquake occurred at 08:50:38 Pakistan Standard Time on 8 October 2005. It registered a debatable 7.6 or 7.7 on the Richter scale making it a major earthquake similar in intensity to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, 1935 Quetta earthquake, and the 2001 Gujarat earthquake. As of 8 November, the Pakistani government's official death toll was 73,276, while officials say nearly 1,400 people died in the Indian administered state of Jammu and Kashmir. Most of the affected people lived in mountainous regions with access impeded by landslides that blocked the roads, leaving an estimated 3.3 million homeless in Pakistan. The UN reported that 4 million people were directly affected, prior to the commencement of winter snowfall in the Himalayan region.
The region is divided among three countries in a territorial dispute: Pakistan controls the northwest portion (Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir), India controls the central and southern portion (Jammu and Kashmir) and Ladakh, and China controls the northeastern portion (Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract). India controls the majority of the Siachen Glacier area including the Saltoro Ridge passes), whereas Pakistan controls the lower territory just southwest of the Saltoro
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The Frontiers Peace Camp Report 2007 earthquake happened. Everything in Muzaffarabad and suburb areas destroyed and died. The earthquake happen in the morning and all children were at school at that time so that 19 little students were under the debris in this village. Many families have relative in one ex-refugee camp (Qamsar camp) and one of these camps been destroyed for 100%. They lost their family members again. They have cruel sadness from conflicts and disasters. Nowadays there is still a serious conflict between different families.
Pakistan Population: 164,741,924 (July 2007 est.) Capital: Islamabad Life expectancy at birth: 63.8 years Median age: 20.9 years
TF-Pakistan began after the Kashmir earthquake in the winter of 2005. We participated in search and rescue, emergency medical, and temporary housing operations in Muzaffarabad and surrounding remote mountain villages. We also provided patrols for these cut off villages throughout the winter, to continually check the situation of the people. We constructed an education center in the Muzaffarabad region where we held peace school, English, and computer education courses. At this center we have our living place. Our main concerning is it to bring peace into village people lives. We can see different serious conflicts between village members and especially between few families. We want to be a place to meet and reconcile. These families have been gone throw many conflicts and difficulties. And they are facing currently problems of high unemployment and low governmental support. One of our big wish was it to help them with the reconstruction of several schools which have been collapsed during the earthquake 2005. With several foreign supporters and volunteers we could realize this plan. But the conflict between different parties remained and we can see clearly the necessary of peace education and reconciliation. Our daily effort, our regular education courses and the first Peace Camp in 2007 have been a good start to build relationships and
Kashmir (PC area) Population: approx. 3,500,000 Capital: Muzzafarabad Religion: 99% Muslim
TF in Pakistan Pakistan and India have fought for 3 times to gain ground. One of the areas is Kashmir. Finally Kashmir got separated into two areas which are Jammu Kashmir (Indian) and Azad Kashmir (Pakistan).During those countries fought, many of local Kashmiris also fought with Indian army for independence of Kashmir as “Freedom fighter”. The refugees in Manak Payian came from Jammu Kashmir (Indian side) in 1990th. Most of them were freedom fighter to independent from India. But the Indian army oppresses those families so that they escaped to Azad Kashmir (Pakistan side). During the battles, they lost their family members or few of their family members are still separated between Jammu and Azad Kashmir. Even they settled their residence at Qamsar camp in Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, but some of them had to move again to opposite side of city. That is “Manak Payian”. They moved and started building their houses with all of their property. On October 8, 2005, a strong
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The Frontiers Peace Camp Report 2007 trust to the village. But we still need more time and helping hands.
There are several Indian Kashmir refugee camps in AJK. Those 3 camps we plan to go are in Muzaffarabad and in a quite close distance. It’s mean there are many relatives living in those 3 camps. There are faith to God and family community in Kashmir. They know that argument, fighting, rumor, considering of money and benefit, hate and fun of others are sins for Muslims. But they easily do it. It will cause fighting, further conflicts and war in the future. Especially those people, who are going to be independent of their own country and want to rebuild the country, need to be ready as peace maker through peace (moral) education.
Village information •
Name: Manak Payian Refugee Camp No.1
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Population: 157 families
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Religion: Islam (majority: Sunni)
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Schools: 4 (1 government, 3 private)
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Support by government: As refugee and earthquake victims
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TF activity: Since July 2006
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Activity contents: English and Computer classes, reconstruction of schools.
Objective: Camp participants will take the role of mediators in inter-village encounters in Kashmir and encourage them to strive for peace in all levels of their society.
Pakistan PC Proposal Title: Aman Kashmir (“Peace Kashmir” in Kashmiri) Theme: Heart to Heart Programs: Community life, Training, Peace Festival, Peace School, help to rebuild houses. Aim: Peace School and rebuilding house together Duration: July 24 ~ August 23. 2008 Training Location: Evergreen Education Center in Manak Paiyain. Locations: Manak Paiyain, Nisar, Anbor refugee camps in Muzaffarabad? Specific Village Aims/ choose these Locations:
Reason
to
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The Frontiers Peace Camp Report 2007 followed over the next two decades, during which an estimated 100,000 to 250,000 individuals lost their lives. On 30 August 1999, in an UN-supervised popular referendum, an overwhelming majority of the people of Timor-Leste voted for independence from Indonesia. Between the referendum and the arrival of a multinational peacekeeping force in late September 1999, anti-independence Timorese militias - organized and supported by the Indonesian military - commenced a large-scale, scorched-earth campaign of retribution. The militias killed approximately 1,400 Timorese and forcibly pushed 300,000 people into western Timor as refugees. The majority of the country's infrastructure, including homes, irrigation systems, water supply systems, and schools, and nearly 100% of the country's electrical grid were destroyed. On 20 September 1999 the Australian-led peacekeeping troops of the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) deployed to the country and brought the violence to an end. On 20 May 2002, Timor-Leste was internationally recognized as an independent state. A military strike led to violence and a near breakdown of law and order in late April 2006. Over 2,000 Australian, New Zealand, and Portuguese police and peacekeepers deployed to Timor-Leste in late May. Although many of the peacekeepers were replaced by UN police officers, 780 Australian soldiers remained as of November 2007.
Timor Leste Site Survey The Portuguese began to trade with the island of Timor in the early 16th century and colonized it in mid-century. Skirmishing with the Dutch in the region eventually resulted in an 1859 treaty in which Portugal ceded the western portion of the island. Imperial Japan occupied Timor-Leste from 1942 to 1945, but Portugal resumed colonial authority after the Japanese defeat in World War II. Timor-Leste declared itself independent from Portugal on 28 November 1975 and was invaded and occupied by Indonesian forces nine days later. It was incorporated into Indonesia in July 1976 as the province of Timor-Leste. An unsuccessful campaign of pacification
The population of East Timor is about one million. It has grown considerably recently, because of a high birth rate, but also because of the return of refugees. The population is especially concentrated in the area around Dili. Despite the fact that the severe conflict situation in East Timor has ended, there is still often gunfire at regional borders. Superficially the origin of the conflicts seems to come mainly from plundering and smuggling which derive from economic difficulties but it has been judged that there still exist unsolved
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The Frontiers Peace Camp Report 2007 animosity and retaliation and other complex reasons. As a result the whole Timor Island is struggling with tensions and urgently needs mediators to interfere and bring a peaceful atmosphere to the people.
which is gradually being averted isolated by the international society.
and
TF-Timor has been active in Timor Leste (formerly East Timor) since 2000. We provide peace education and vocational training, hold reconciliation forums, and try to reunite people separated by the conflict between Timor and Indonesia.
The local climate is tropical and generally hot and humid, characterized by distinct rainy and dry seasons. East Timor's two official languages are Portuguese and Tetum, a local Austronesian language.
Beside the peace school program concentrate on two another programs.
we
a. Peace Dialogues
Upon independence, East Timor became one of only two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia (along with the Philippines). The population predominantly identifies as Roman Catholic (90%), though local animist traditions have a persistent and strong influence on the culture. Religious minorities include Muslims (5%) and Protestants (3%).
We conduct Dialogues for Tumin and Passabe in peace without any forces and violences. To build trust in each others and make a long term plan bewteen them for settling down peaceful mood. There is problem Between Passabe and Bobometo since 1999. This problem happened between “Independence sides” and “following Indonesia sides”. 78 youths were killed by Militia in Bobometo. And we focused varient groups of community involved to this dialouges as many as possible. (ex. Women group, youth, adults...)
Population: 1,084,971 (July 2007 est.) Capital: Dili Life expectancy at birth: 66.6 years
b. Messenger program
Median age: 21.1 years
This program runs in several villages in Indonesia and Timor Leste to help families and friends to be connected. Those families are disconnected for years because of the boarder. They couldn’t get any information from the other side about the life of their family members and friends. The Frontiers shoot short films/messages which we deliver to the other side of the boarder. Through these short films, families can feel belonging together after years without any information. It works in close cooperation with local people. Through this program we understand the family’s more and how they miss each other. They really want to meet at their home town face to face and not just bye a message shoot with a hand
TF in Timor Leste Peace Camps opened in 2000 with rebuilding destroyed houses in East Timor and has continued Peace School and activities for reconciliation and meeting between dispersed families from East and West Timor up to last year. Adults’ animosity toward Indonesia is conveying without any filtering to up growing generations in education processes. In midst of such state of things the upcoming Peace Camp 2007 will arrange a Peace Festival for reunions of refugees and their families and a Peace School to raise Peace builders in Timor. We keenly appeal for youths who are willing to listen and participate in problems and pains of Timor
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The Frontiers Peace Camp Report 2007 camcorder. These messages mean very much for them.
East Timor Tumin: There was a historical background: Passabe Massacre that involved people from Tumin and Passabe. Even though it was in the past, and their relationship is already recovered (it proved by so many marriages between Tumin and Passabe’s youth) but we still see the psychological impacts.
Timor Leste PC Proposal Programs: The Non Peace School Programs that can be followed by youth who don’t have capacity in teaching peace school is rehabilitation. Rehabilitation means re-building or repairing broken public facilities in each village, works together with local people, because we think that peace-building programs are not merely Peace School, Messenger Program or Family Meeting, but with these informal events, participants and local people could work together in different circumstances and feel togetherness among them. That’s also the spirit of peace-building. We plan to make 2 teams in necessary villages, one peace school team, and the other rehabilitation.
Passabe: See Tumin. Dili: Lately we still can see that Dili people still influenced by political issues that caused conflicts among them. And also we still can see separation between youth in the form of youth gangs. Lospalos or Somoxo: Lospalos: Because last year we held Peace School in here, so we want to continue the program. Learning about peace is a process; we must keep the continuity of curriculum to get the effective result of our actions.
Duration: July 28 – August 24 Theme: Peace belongs to all of us
Somoxo: There were critics from Lospalos government that most of NGO choose Lospalos as a big city to run their programs, why don’t those NGOs go to more remote areas. And we choose Somoxo because few years ago we ever held Peace Camp in there.
Training Location: Kupang (Indonesia) Objective: Camp participants will take the role of mediators in inter-village encounters in Timor Leste and encourage them to strive for peace at all levels of society. Aim: The aims of this year Timor Leste Peace Camp are to make youth from all over the world: • Open their mind about different condition outside their country and be aware about the social problems that occur in the world, especially in conflict areas. • Learn how to work together and cooperate with other people who come from different cultural backgrounds. • Experience direct peace building activities and encourage them to join serving for others.
Suai: Because we see so many Suai’s youth have awareness about peace building and they want to take active part on it, some of them even join our programs. We have to keep our relationship with them. • There was an Ave Maria’s Massacre in that place that might have impacts until now. • We have other programs (Family Meeting and Messenger Program) which are connected with people in Suai. So we have to keep our good relationship with them.
Locations:
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The Frontiers Peace Camp Report 2007 West Timor: Metamauk and Haliwen: These places are the locations where Family Meeting and Messenger Program running. We want to improve our relationship with them. • When we ran Messenger Program coordination, we found out that in these places there are so many people who interested in peace building.
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