Poland trip

During the half term holiday, six students from our school- Nadia Tannous, Stacie Buckalew, David Strelnikov and Chakrit Thongek from grade 12 and Nayreen Fanous and Rana Abu Manneh from grade 11; along with the Art teacher Mrs. Linda Rosenthal participated in a human rights programme called Practice Peace that was held in Krzyzowa, Poland. They were joined by students from Beit Jala, Berlin and Wroclaw.

The programme was eight days long and took place during the 11^th to the 18^th of November. It focused on issues of human rights such as discrimination within societies and how each individual's identity is often misperceived by others due to stereotypes that exist.

At the core of the programme, was a simulation which was set in Northern Ireland and it dealt with the conflict between the Catholic s and Protestants who live there. Each student took on the role of either a local government member, an NGO or a member of the press. Cooperation was needed within every political party or group which was comprised of students from each of the four schools.

Three main topics had to be negotiated which were: reconciliation and inter-community relations, economy and education and lastly security.

All participants had to commit to their roles and fulfill their own agenda. However to do so, they soon realized that compromise was needed and they had to reprioritize their set of goals. In addition, the press team covered the negotiation process through six news shows in which they aimed at neutrality.

The entire group stayed at an estate in Krzyzowa which was formally the site of the German resistance movement against the Nazis. The Practice Peace group was taken on a tour in Wroclaw and they had a chance to eat at a local Polish restaurant. In addition, the Tabeetha students had a two hour guided tour of the historical sites in Berlin on the day of their arrival.

To sum it all up, it can be said that this was a once in a life time experience from which a lot was learned; self's perception of the other, how misjudging and discrimination happen on a daily basis without our awareness and how stereotypes often cause us to label people and relate them to certain groups without knowing enough about them to make that kind of judgment. As well as cooperating and communicating with people you've just met and knowing how to handle pressure in situations you are put in- are all just a few of the things that were learnt during this trip.

We are very grateful to have had such an experience- one that will stay with us forever I believe. We would like to thank Mr. Antony Short, our Principal and Mrs. Pam Gilboa our Assistant Principal for granting us all this wonderful opportunity.

By: Rana Abu Manneh, grade 11