International Day of Peace: September 21

Einstein once said “Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.”  I have never thought that understanding other human beings can also be reached through sharing our differences with each other. Differences in our culture, our backgrounds, our language, our food, and the way we see the world around us were the first things we had to share in Holcombe Hall, and by breaking these borders, we found ourselves getting closer and closer to each other.

Each one’s experience has been changing to become part of our overall experience day by day. We started to find the common things we share, which helped us to go through our differences and give us also a chance to learn how to be tolerant with each other’s mistakes.

One of the events that enriched my experience here the most is the “International Day of Peace” event that was held in Holcombe Hall three weeks ago. This day was an opportunity for everyone to express and share their experiences about peace.

Elijah Garcia

An unforgettable reflection on 9/11 was presented by one of Holcombe Hall residents Elijah Garcia. He talked about his experience as a child and how his thoughts and ideas about this day changed since then. He said that living in an international environment gave him a different way of thinking about Arabs and Islam. He believes that he used to have a negative stereotype about them, but after meeting people from Arab countries and living with them in the same place, his image about them became a positive one.

Emna Ghariani

Furthermore, we had the opportunity to listen to other students from all over the world reflect about their experiences during 9/11. Emna Ghariani from Tunisia shared her story as an Arab. She said that she sympathizes with those families who lost their children, siblings, fathers, mothers, or husbands. She also added that her opinion about World Peace as a child has changed after she visited The States two years ago. For her, treating other people should be based on seeing them as human beings, regardless of their background, culture, or religion. These ideas might help us in raising the sense of humanity and spread World Peace.

For me, World Peace can be spread only by seeing and treating other people as you see and treat yourself. To feel with them, live their lives, be tolerant, and to learn how to forgive their mistakes is what we should think about to live in peace within ourselves and to spread it all over the world.

By Ramz Shalbak

Ramz at the Int'l Day of Peace: Third from the right