Fall Semester 2016 Archives

Wooden Blocks by Shany, Israel

Author: by Shany, Israel
Published: October 12, 2017
Categories: in English, Fall Semester 2016, Human Rights, Tolerance
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: #thinkactyala, childhoodmemory, children, discovertheregion, enemytofriend, Friendship, goodandbad, Humanity, Ihaveadream, israel, reconciliation, rightandwrong, tolerance

“Our children are the rock on which our future will be built, our greatest asset as a nation. They will be the leaders of our country, the creators of our national wealth, those who care for and protect our people.” ~Nelson Mandela~ Let me take you back to one of my earliest memories as a […]

Volunteering Value by Kholod Zughbor, Gaza, Palestine

Published: November 24, 2016
Categories: in Civil Activism, English, Fall Semester 2016, Human Rights
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: gaza, generosity, volunteering, youth

“Not everything that counts can be counted. And not everything that can be counted, counts.” – Albert Einstein Volunteering is about giving, contributing and helping other individuals and society at-large. It is about working with others to make a meaningful contribution to a better community. You can volunteer to gain hands-on experience, acquire new skills, […]

My First Egalitarian Prayer by Binny Zupnick, Israel

Published: November 24, 2016
Categories: in English, Fall Semester 2016, Friendship, Human Rights, Identity, Tolerance
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: egalitarian, israel, judaism, religion

“Want to come with us to the synagogue we’re praying at?” “Okay.” What seems at first glance like an innocuous and rote question and answer, this exchange has stuck with me over the years. It was Shavuot[1] night, 2014, Jerusalem, Katamon, at my family friend’s with whom I was staying for the holiday. Two other […]

The Power is the Pump of the Peace by Mohamed, Egypt

Published: November 24, 2016
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, Egypt, English, Fall Semester 2016, Human Rights
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: childhood, egypt, peace, Respect

Peace is like a fruitful tree, for it to live, there must be a power protecting it. I remember when I was 9 years old, on the first day of school, crying and hugging my younger brother “Amr” while other students were hitting and insulting us. My brother “Amr” was crying, as he was so […]

BIRTH OF A SOLO TRAVELER by Millicent Kaimenyi, Kenya

Published: November 24, 2016
Categories: in English, Fall Semester 2016, Friendship
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: kenya, lifechanging, solotraveler, Travel, youth

Mombasa is a city in the coast of Kenya. A city known for its beaches and warm weather that attract both international and domestic tourists. For most Kenyans, they know that Mombasa is the ultimate vacation destination. The town is quite peaceful and orderly unlike the main city of Nairobi. One feature that stands out […]

Light Blue Eyes by Orit Eldar, Israel

Published: November 24, 2016
Categories: in English, Fall Semester 2016, Human Rights, Identity
Comments: 1 Comment
Tags: AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU, family, familyhistory, grandmother, Shoah

It was at the end of winter 2005. I found myself sitting in the living room of a 2.5 bedroom apartment I knew too well. The curtains, sofas and paintings on the walls reminded me that I was in a safe place, they have been a part of this house my entire life. But I […]

A Night in Kobani by Abdulslam Mohammad Khanjar, Syria

Published: November 24, 2016
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, Current Events, English, Fall Semester 2016, Human Rights
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: children, ISIS, Kurdistan, syria, SyrianCivilWar

On September 14, 2014, the Siege of Kobani by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was underway. Already, the people from the villages near Kobani were leaving and moving toward the Turkish Border. Eight-year-old Jwan had gone with his cousin, 10-year-old Jan, to play in the nearby play yard. Back at home, the […]

The day I became a man by Denis Woniala, Uganda

Published: November 24, 2016
Categories: in English, Fall Semester 2016, Identity
Comments: 2 Comments
Tags: circumcision, kenya, traditions, youth

As the saying goes “east or west, home is the best.” In 2010, I had to travel back home from a vacation from Kenya. I was 18 years old at the time and had just finished my senior year. During this time, back in my village it was a circumcision season in my tribe, Bagisu, […]

The last two Tanks by Mohammed Khalaf, Palestine

Published: November 24, 2016
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, English, Fall Semester 2016, Human Rights
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: childhood, conflict, intifada, israel, Jenin, palestine

2002 was a year unlike any other, at least in Palestine and Israel. All news and pictures coming in were tinged in blood red. In Tel-Aviv, Ramallah, Jenin and Jerusalem the streets were not as usual. Cinema Square in Jenin, the heart of city, was completely deserted of the guys who used to come there […]

Life with Moe by Ofek Ravid, Israel

Published: November 24, 2016
Categories: in English, Fall Semester 2016, Human Rights
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: RoadTrip, Summer, Travel, USA, youth

It was one of my days off on a sunny Sunday morning when I first met him. To be honest, I was not expecting to meet Moe that day. I was off to the big town of Sonora, a town of thousands of individuals living in the mountains of central California. I was going to […]

“Where are the men, speak or I’kill you!” by Alexandrine, Burkina Faso

Published: November 24, 2016
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, English, Fall Semester 2016, Human Rights, Togo
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: BurkinaFaso, civilwar, Ghana, Refugee, Togo

There are some moments in life that remain etched in the memory and we re-live the same emotions when we bring back those memories. In regards to the story I’m going to tell you, I still tremble whenever I mention it. We are in 2015 in Lomé, the Togolese capital. The atmosphere is tense. Gnassingbe’s […]

A new Chapter Amr Bazgifan, Yemen

Published: November 24, 2016
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, English, Fall Semester 2016
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: leavinghome, studies, university, yemen, YemenRevolution, YemenWar, youthdreams

2011, a turning point in my life. I, Amr Bazgifan, understood the meaning of death and reincarnation. The same day a door was opened for me, a book of sweet anecdotes and tales was closed forever. It was the same day and only a few minutes separating the phone call I received (informing me about […]

Few Seconds, Lifelong Lesson by Abu Bakr Bashir, Gaza, Palestine

Published: November 24, 2016
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, English, Fall Semester 2016, Human Rights
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: gaza, gazawar, israel, palestine, survival

It was July 2014, a few days after the war in Gaza started. I was at home with my wife, Reem, and our two kids, Lily, 5, and Joe, 4. Like every other family in Gaza, we were dressed to leave at a moment’s notice – Lily was wearing the pink track suit I bought […]

Darashish, and My First Lesson from a Stranger Abed-allah A. Baba from Iraq

Published: November 24, 2016
Categories: in English, Fall Semester 2016, Human Rights, Iraq
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: change, children, iraq, lifelesson, youth

I was born in Sulaimanyah, Iraq in 1994. Not only is it a great city, but it has officially been recognized as the capital of enlightenment by the Kurdistan Regional Government. But at the age of 5 my father’s job forced us to move to Iran, and so we went to Sanandaj in 1999. I […]

Fall Semester 2016