The Middle East After 10 Years of Peace, by Sara

The Middle East is always an area of troubles, and I do not know why. It’s its nature. If I am going to think about the future of Middle East after 10 years of peace, first of all, I hope it come true, and second, I want to talk about the future from my personal point of view. I was introduced to the peace community for the first time two years ago. I was exposed to a person who asked me, “Peace with whom, Sara?” He talked to me in a way that threatened me. If I am going to go out, what harm will come to me? He was one of two people in my life who knew that I wish for peace with Israelis, so I did not know what to do. The first time I went out of my home, my heart was breaking, the second time I was a little calmer, and by the third time, I was ok. After 10 years of peace, I think there will be friendship between both people. If I myself was exposed to this situation, I would not be afraid. Again, two years ago, one of the peace activists in my country was unfortunately arrested. He had talked to me two days before he got arrested, so when I heard the news, I was shocked. I was taking exams, but I could not study or focus, and I went into the exam afraid are they were also going to arrest me. I could not think straight, but I was lucky that it was the hardest exam ever and all of students weren’t sure except from 10 questions out of 100 it ended by a protest, I protested with them and we gain 50 marks. After 10 years of peace, peace activists will not be arrested. I was investigated once, and I was asked if I told my family that I talk to Israelis. I answered no, and the investigators followed up the question with, “If you are not doing anything wrong, why you don’t tell your family?” I answered that not all people accept the idea of Israel. After 10 years of peace, we will not be afraid to mention our friendship. I think after 10 years of peace, talking to Israelis will be like talking to Americans. People are always fascinated by people who have friends from USA, so maybe it will be the same. After the harassment and being threatened two years ago, I decided to change my approach to an aggressive one; to save myself. After 10 years of peace, we will deal with our normal behavior. After 10 years of peace, talking to Israelis will not be a shame, but something we will be proud of. Many years ago, I talked to a friend who is from my country, but was educated in America. She told me that Israelis are very smart people, and that they are advanced in the study of genetics. After hearing that, I was curious to know them. I always say that I talk about Israelis because it is the side to make peace with. I talk about peace for all of the Middle East because it will bring prosperity to the entire region. Countries will save money that is currently being spent on wars for the development of infrastructure, and a lot more money will be spent on scientific research. We will have pioneer scientists, and there will be common projects in all fields. Finally, I wish that the idea of peace would spread, that we can live together without hatred, and that we can understand each other better.