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Tag: Peace

  • John Kerry Visits Egypt, Vows Support for Interim Gov’t

    NBC News and Fox News both report that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited Egypt last weekend to see just how much of a foothold democracy has gained. “President Obama and the American people support the people of Egypt,” he told reporters in Cairo. “We believe this is a vital relationship.”

    Kerry’s visit comes coincidentally timed, as the shadow of Mohammed Morsi’s presidency was lifted via military coup this summer, and Morsi was scheduled to go on trial the day after Kerry arrived. The last time Kerry was in Egypt, he urged Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood-backed government to enact economic reforms and become a more inclusive administration. As public order declined, Egypt’s military deposed Morsi.

    Kerry indicated that Egypt’s leaders have signaled a turn towards a democratic constitution and free elections, coinciding with a “road map” to stability that the White House drafted for the struggling nation.

    “The road map is being carried out to the best of our perception, there are questions we have here or there about one thing or another, but foreign minister [Nabil] Fahmy has re-emphasized to me again and again that they have every intent, and they are determined, to fulfill that particular decision and that track,” Kerry said regarding Egypt’s progress to democracy.

    Fox News notes that a tense rift between Cairo and Washington, D.C. is the likely cause for increased secrecy and security. The State Department didn’t even confirm Kerry was visiting Egypt until he was already on the ground in Cairo. Additionally, last summer’s regime change put the Obama administration in a difficult position: unsure of whether the $1.3 billion in military aid given to Egypt was still viable.

    During his visit, Kerry was expected to meet with several key figures, including interim president Adly Mansour and military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led the coup against Morsi. Egypt is merely the first stop on the Secretary of State’s latest Middle East tour, during which he plans to visit Saudi Arabia, Poland, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria and Morocco.

    [Image via Wikimedia Commons]

  • Israelis and Iranians Reach Out To Each Other On Facebook

    Some Israeli and Iranian citizens are reaching out to each other via Facebook, in light of recent sentiments that a war between their countries is not far off. While Israeli officials watch the Iranian nuclear program like a hawk, and President Obama vows to “have Israel’s back,” the people of the two Middle-Eastern nations are making posters that express their mutual desire for peace, harmony and understanding. They’re publishing the posters on the recently-created Facebook page of the Love and Peace Campaign.

    “Love and Peace” is the brainchild of Israeli couple Ronny Edry and Michal Tamir, both graphic artists, who started the campaign over the weekend. Initially the project featured only messages from Israelis. Under a picture of the submitter — sometimes portrayed along with friends and family — read the message:

    Iranians
    we will never bomb your country
    We <3 You

    A caption attached to each message added:

      To the Iranian people
      To all the fathers, mothers, children, brothers and sisters

      For there to be a war between us, first we must be afraid of each other, we must hate.
      I’m not afraid of you, I don’t hate you.
      I don t even know you

    The photos include pictures of people, of human beings, doing very human things. Things anybody can identify with. Subjects pose with children, put arms around spouses, hug sisters, hold puppies, go to the beach, play guitar.

    The message is a simple one: We are people. You are people. We can understand each other. We mean you no harm.

    Participants in the campaign make it clear that they speak for themselves. “I’m not an official representative of my country. I m [sic] a father and a teacher,” continues the caption, written by Edry. But they add that their sentiments reflect the attitude of the people they know, that as unofficial representatives they are giving voice to the people of Israel: “I know the streets of my town, I talk with my neighbors, my family, my students, my friends and in the name of all these people …we love you. We mean you no harm. On the contrary, we want to meet, have some coffee and talk about sports.”

    These posters starting going up on Saturday. By Sunday, the site began receiving responses from Iranians, who had a similar message of peace for their Israeli counterparts. The most common message reads:

    Another poster expresses the maker’s desire for open discourse between the two nations.

    In their photos, Iranian participants depict themselves as likewise wholly, unabashedly human. One woman holds her cat on her shoulders, another shops at a market, a man plays the accordion, another climbs a mountain, and friends and lovers hold hands and smile. A few in the posters show their faces boldly, but the majority are at least partially obscured, for fear of retribution from their government. “[W]e can’t show that we are friend with anyone from Israel because it’s dangerous. I think all around the world and war is between governments. I wish a world free from war and hope we be good friends [sic]” is the message of another poster.

    Just three days old, the Love and Peace Campaign already has more than 1,500 likes (at the time of this writing) on Facebook, along with hundreds of photos and comments. It’s a touching message of mutual respect, friendship, and understanding that transcends international borders, political ideologies, and racial, cultural, and linguistic barriers. I hope their messages prove true, and that the governments of Israel and Iran can find peaceful resolutions to their disagreements. Whatever the outcome, the Love and Peace Campaign is a testament to the fact that the actions of governments do not always reflect the ideals of their citizens, and that in the hearts of most humans lies a strong desire, as one participant wrote, “To Live In Peace,&Health,&Happiness!”