project life stories

I went to a performance last night put on by a local group called Project Life Stories. The life stories were those of teenage girls from Israel and Palestine, who are all part of Creativity for Peace Camp. In their own words and in their own voices, they described life in a part of the world very few of us understand. They, too, seemed overwhelmed by the details of the conflict and wished only for a focus on the future and not the past. While each may have joined Creativity for Peace Camp with notions about the "other," each has matured in her thinking. One girl said there were so many times in her life that she wanted to find an Israeli girl her age and just scream at her to stop killing her family and friends, but now she knows better that both Palestinian and Israeli girls are exactly the same -- they want to go shopping, talk about boys and dreams, and they all still depend on their families for support.

I was so moved by the girls' candor, composure, and bravery. They know their lives are different from their peers in other countries and they can even fathom exactly how. They know that what they have to live through is not right and they are asking to be heard so that things can change.

I think this type of project proves that our oral tradition is still very alive and powerful.