students visit GIVAT HAVIVA
From left to right: Ulrich Dahlmanns, Carole Reckinger, Anselm Schelcher and Cheryl Feldmann at the Haviva Reik Memorial, Givat Haviva
Planning a two and half week field trip to Israel and the Palestinian areas, student Anselm Schelcher took the advise of an Israeli friend in Germany and emailed Givat Haviva to ask if it would be possible for him and 3 fellow students (one of who from Luxembourg) to visit the campus during their stay in the region.
The students – all 28 years-old university graduates who are studying at The Academy for Conflict Transformation in the Forum Civil Peace Service situated in Bonn, are participating in a four-month course in conflict resolution. Other students on the course spent their field-trip period in other regions of conflict such as the Balkans and all are due to give in reports once back in Germany.
Following a period of time in Ramallah, Jerusalem and the north of Israel, Anselm (who speaks Hebrew and Arabic) and fellow students Ulrich Dahlmanns, Carole Reckinger and Cheryl Feldmann (from Luxembourg) called in at Givat Haviva where they were shown around, received information with regard campus activities and visited the Peace Library where library director Ms. Samira Mahameed (far right in photograph below) showed the eager students some examples of the vast collection of Arabic newspapers now being digitized with the help of a grant from UNESCO.
The Academy's four-month qualification course will give the students certification as "Peace Expert/Conflict Consultant." The course is the most comprehensive course of its type on offer in Germany and is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Ministry for Intergenerational Affairs, Family, Women and Integration of North Rhine-Westphalia (MGFFI).
The Academy for Conflict Transformation runs a variety of training courses to impart the practical skills and knowledge needed for civil conflict management in crisis areas, offering a venue to study, and to discuss, topical issues of peace development, civil conflict resolution and the Civil Peace Service (CPS).
Although he studied Hebrew and Arabic at university, Anselm spent his one-year Civil Service in Israel in 2001 when he undertook volunteer work at the Bet Uri residential home for over 80 mentally and physically challenged Israelis in Afula.
When the students arrived – eventually – back in Germany, Anselm emailed:
"We very much appreciated the Wadi Ara-Barta'a tour and time spent in Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek enriching our picture of the region.
We are completely exhausted from the intense time in Israel/Palestine and the difficult journey home because of the volcanic ash.
I could only fly to Rome, the others to Paris, and then the rest of the way back to Germany by land.
We will be sending a more detailed account of our visit to Givat Haviva when we have settled down here in Bonn.
Speaking with Palestinian businessman from Jenin Allam Abu-Abead in his small shop situated in Barta'a village
