Andrea Juliette Global PeaceWorks Volunteer serving in South Asia

Gayatri and Ammu, you gave one of the most important lessons to me: to never waste any moment of one's life with sadness and worries, but to always share happiness with people we love.

For our common time in Delhi, we all shared our happiness, shared also sadness and worries so that they turned into happiness. It is friendship. No need to talk about peace when you simply love.

Andrea Juliette Mair
Moosburg, Germany

Andrea Juliette has been volunteering with Tibetan refugees in Dharamsala, India and with street children in Kathmandu, Nepal. She is a deeply spiritual person from Bavaria, Germany. These are the words she shared upon her return home from Global PeaceWorks.

I reached home safely and smoothly and I now find myself back in Germany... I walked home from the airport, a six hours-walk along the river, just as many people in Nepal have to do when returning to their villages, necessary for me to realize the change of returning for the first time after nine months. Oh Fazida, my mother cried when she saw and hugged me!

Khorrum, after you talked on the last eve about the sound of silence, I thought back to this underwater sound of the top of the Himalaya mountains, with crowds of light birds shooting through the still air just like angels, without any noise... When I reached Munich in the morning and stepped into the newly built terminal - so surprising: there was no sound... no noise at all... few people walking and their steps touched the shining floor making only silent noises like heartbeats; their talking, quiet, like whispering only... Then, even outside, such a stillness in the cool air, and later, in the late afternoon, when I reached the first houses of my town - still no people, no lights in the houses, no noise...

There was time for a wild ride on a cycle-rickshaw as we left a Mosque in Old Delhi

I wondered - where have all the people gone? these millions of people of Asia, and the sound of these millions of people? Here, the sky lies grey and deep and silent, swallowing the only noises, noises of car engines, of the railway, of airplanes from the sky. Where are all the children that we used to see at every corner? Here, the streets are empty. Silent, but without colour. Yet, the people that I met on the way smiled and were helpful. It's silent smiles that they gave, so very much different from the rayonning grins of Asia's people. But it's smiles.

Chad, I heard you saying that you cannot forget the faces of these children... Now I'm sitting in my house, so far from India, so far from Nepal, and I see their faces over and over again, these boys leaning out of the fast driving buses and tempos, shouting the drivers' destinations with full voice, walking in the streets with their sacs of collected plastic garbage over their bent shoulders, all dirty, all dusty, wild, free children of the streets - but children! so vulnerable although they pretend being so tough. And I'm thinking of those that I know and I cannot stop wondering what is happening to them, are they again being beaten up, beaten with sticks and stones, made slaves in their innocence?

There was a great power out of our coming together. Thanks to every single one of us. I had never thought of people all being so different and unique from each other and everyone in his diversity being so amazing!

And the families there, those that celebrate Christmas, they will maybe pray much much more than many of us in the west where most of Christmas is about buying presents, is about taking tension because of finding presents, not one, not two, all too many presents over which we forget to pray - pray for those who are not able to buy even one single present or to even think of buying presents, who are not even able to have a special meal on Christmas. It is them who celebrate Christmas in its true way: by praying.

Sharing sweets with local children in Janta Colony. Andea was like a magnet for children - whereever she was, the children were always near.

I'm thinking of all of you, too. Subba, I hope you reached sweet home by now. Zainab, I hope I can think of someting to help you with the article. Gayatri and Ammu, you gave one of the most important lessons to me: to never waste any moment of one's life with sadness and worries, but to always share happiness with people we love. For our common time in Delhi, we all shared our happiness, shared also sadness and worries so that they turned into happiness. It is friendship. No need to talk about peace when you simply love.

Why do religious institutions too often fail in giving this message, the only message? But how can you give this message to people when they are torn by existential problems, when they are by their own struggle for survival blinded for others' very same struggle? When you are at war with destiny it becomes hard to live peace.

We had a great time, learning a lot and developing within our team such a great dynamic. I think that we could build upon this, develop something further, create all together something for the future in order to really use our common potential and change something. There was a great power out of our coming together. Thanks to every single one of us. I had never thought of people all being so different and unique from each other and everyone in his diversity being so amazing!

Thanks also to all those who helped me on the last day to leave Delhi safely - and finally happily!

Best wishes and prayers for Christmas to all of you.

Love,

Juliette

PeaceWorkers of 2003

Andrea Juliette Mair Moosburg, Germany

Andrea Juliette Mair
Moosburg, Germany