Oportunidades para experimentar al "otro"

Un proceso de construcción de paz implica, entre varios factores, la necesidad de "traspasar continuamente el espejo". Es decir, derribar prejuicios y estereotipos respecto al otro, sobre el que hemos aprendido que es "nuestro enemigo". Estas ideas se adquieren como parte, digamos, "natural" de la socialización. Pocas veces tenemos la oportunidad, coraje o atrevimiento, de confrontar nuestras nociones preconcebidas. En otras palabras, la información que recibimos en los distintos entornos sociales en los cuales nos desarrollamos (familia, escuela, sinagoga/iglesia/mezquita, comunidad, amistades, etc.) nos crean imagenes negativas sobre el otro. No es normal cuestionar estas ideas. Simplemente "sabemos" que no debemos juntarnos con quien no es como nosotros ya que es una amenaza latente a nuestra propia existencia. Nuestro entorno no lo facilita y continuamente recibimos información (por lo general poco matizada) que refuerza estas ideas. Insisto, pocas veces se analiza y cuestiona, por lo que fortalecemos nuestros modelos mentales bajo parámetros maniqueos: blanco-negro, bueno-malo. Simplemente "sabemos" que se trata de sobrevivir. "Judío", "árabe", "sionista", "palestino", "israelí", son nociones que se convierten en etiquetas que denotan maldad, peligro, desconfianza.

En el conflicto árabe - israelí todavía es poca la interacción que se puede dar, tanto en Medio Oriente como en las comunidades diaspóricas, entre los diversos grupos y sectores sociales que, de una u otra forma, participan en esta dinámica. Afortunadamente, como refleja Frente al Espejo, existen muchos esfuerzos que buscan revertir la ignorancia aprendida sobre "ese otro". Destacan, por supuesto, la diversidad de instituciones, esfuerzos personales y movimientos sociales y políticos que en el contexto árabe - israelí (y en el particular del palestino - israelí) han asumido la necesidad de conocer al llamado "enemigo".

Las realidades "diaspóricas", fuera del espacio territorial del conflicto, muchas veces facilitan la interacción entre árabes y judíos. En países como Canadá y Estados Unidos, si bien no deja de haber recelos, esta posibilidad se multiplica dada la naturaleza plural de sus sociedades. Incluso en los momentos más álgidos del conflicto palestino - israelí o de los temores que se dispararon tras los ataques terroristas del 11 de septiembre, no dejan de surgir iniciativas para derribar los muros de la ignorancia, de cruzar el espejo.

Tres de estos esfuerzos los documenta Esther Shabot en su columna semanal en Excelsior, donde en "El discreto heroísmo de los conciliadores" (12 de agosto) rescata casos recientes, a nivel institucional, en este sentido. Así, proyectos como "Peacemakers" o reuniones ecuménicas y académicas se encargan de abrir espacios de interacción que precisamente tienen como objetivo, dice Shabot, "desmitificar al enemigo, comprender cada cual las razones del otro y desactivar las fuentes emocionales de la violencia ciega y de los prejuicios tan comunes entre quienes por décadas se han confrontado en una lucha sin cuartel".

Otro caso más, ya en el plano del activismo social, es el de George A. Gorayeb, un estadounidense de origen sirio-libanés, quien hace cinco años se dio a la tarea, junto con Zachary Berk, un judío estadounidense, de promover la paz en Medio Oriente a través de "retiros" que reunieran a árabes y judíos. Lo que en principio unió a estos dos hombres de negocio fue su afinidad ideológica, que les permitió reconocerse, primero, como seres humanos. Esta experiencia, que llevó a judíos y árabes en Estados Unidos a reflejarse en el espejo, la relata Gorayeb en "An opportunity to experience" (Common Grounds News, 16 de agosto). "Los estereotipos negativos son más difíciles de aceptar cuando tienes buenos amigos que contradicen estas nociones". Con permiso del autor a continuación republico su testimonio.

José Hamra Sassón

*********************************

An opportunity to experience

George A. Gorayeb

ARNOLD, Maryland - In November, 2002, sixteen people, half of them Jewish- ad half Arab-American, met an hour north of New York City for a weekend dialogue workshop. Most of them had not dared anything like this before. When they gathered Friday evening for introductions, anxiety was visible on all the participants' faces. The mistrust was palpable.

One participant had served in the Israeli Army decades ago. It seemed to some of us that his only previous conversations with Arabs had been while he was holding a rifle and they were answering his questions. The introductions caused some nervous laughter and an amazing process began. Seldom in our lives had we been compelled to more directly face our own prejudices.

A few months prior, I agreed to have dinner with a man named Zachary Berk. He is Jewish and I am of Syrian/Lebanese ancestry. We met to discuss creating an organization to promote Mideast peace. We were not sure whether we could overcome our suspicions and be able to collaborate, but nonetheless quickly became friends. We are both businessmen and were anti-Viet Nam war activists in college. We discussed our mutual admiration for Martin Luther King and non-violent movements like Mahatma Gandhi's efforts to free India.

We ultimately decided that we would take the risk and organize our first peace retreat. He would recruit Jewish participants and I would recruit Arab participants. It proved more challenging than we anticipated. Most people were either too uncomfortable or rejected the idea as a waste of time that would lead to nothing. Committing to spend a weekend with a group of strangers, half of whom you might really dislike, is not most people's idea of fun.

But we ultimately coaxed enough participants to attend and we found ourselves uncomfortably sitting in a circle to hear each other's life stories on a Friday evening at a Girl Scout Retreat Center. Most participants found the interaction very stressful. I was not sure if this social experiment would explode into a screaming match lacking all constructive communication. If that happened, the opinions people held would just be reinforced.

The attitudes that evening reflected years of frustration with the other side. The Jewish participants expressed anguish at suicide bombers, religious extremists consumed by blind hatred and years of Arab rejections to Israeli overtures of peace. The Arab participants complained of the suffering, oppression, and humiliation endured by the Palestinians and Israeli rejections of Arab overtures to make peace. Much of the interaction was exactly what we would all expect of such a group. It seemed unlikely to change any minds or hearts.

We broke for dinner and ensured that there were an equal number of Jewish and Arab guests at each table. As we broke bread together, the dialogue was more civil. People described their families, and even childhood memories. There was laughter, and with it, a miraculous process began to unfold.

On Saturday, we broke into small groups and did role reversal exercises. We created scenarios in which Arab participants would play the role of an Israeli soldier, or settler. The Jewish participants would assume the role of a Palestinian teenager in a refugee camp, or a Palestinian parent struggling to find work and raise a family.

We did other exercises that exposed private inner feelings and by that afternoon, many had gotten emotional. Some described hardship and suffering endured by their parents and tears were shed. People became increasingly honest about their feelings as they opened up to the group. Our common humanity was becoming evident to everyone involved.

By Sunday afternoon, as we said our goodbyes, the transformation was shocking. Miraculously, somehow we had all become sincere friends. Many joked, hugged and made plans to gather for dinner reunions. Most agreed that this weekend had changed them profoundly.

After that success, we held several more weekend retreats with similar groups. The results were consistently encouraging. The lesson was clear: given an opportunity to experience another person's life and views in a non-threatening, safe environment, most people's prejudices are mitigated. Negative stereotyping becomes much harder to accept when you have good friends who contradict that stereotype. It seems obvious to us that if real Mideast peace is ever realized, it will come when we can acknowledge and address our common hopes and fears.

###

* George A. Gorayeb lives near Annapolis, Maryland and still promotes Jewish-Arab dialogue. He can be reached at georgegorayeb@yahoo.com. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at http://www.commongroundnews.org/.

Source: Common Ground News Service, 16 August 2007, http://www.commongroundnews.org/

Copyright permission has been granted for republication.