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Global PeaceWorks | |
peace among religions is the key to world peace |
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PeaceWorkers of 2003Marianna Khoury
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Marianna, a 17 year old woman living the Middle East, shared this with the United Religions Initiative's (URI) Youth Forum. We liked it so much that we asked her permission to reprint it as it exemplifies the spirit of defending all faiths and understanding each other which Global PeaceWorks promotes.
Who Am I?
Sometimes, I sit and think about life around me, and I wish I
was Italian, or French, or having any other clear identity. Having
so
many elements in one identity can be very hard; I’m an Arab,
Palestinian, Christian and Israeli all at the same time. why can’t
I be a Moslem from Rammallah, or a Catholic from Italy ? Wouldn’t
my life be much easier? I can’t even decide which element
is more important to me.
When someone talks about Jesus, I suddenly become an attorney of the Vatican, and when a Palestinian gets killed in Jenin I get angry, I get scared when I hear about a bomb in Tel-Aviv, and sad when any human loses his life. One thing is for sure, I’m a human, a human who wants to live, love, smile, sing, fly and enjoy my life. No matter what I am; it’s who I am that matters.
Maybe God has given me such a complicated identity on purpose, to make me a stronger person, to make me understand the importance of humanity, to value my fellow man, and to understand people more. I think it’s a gift, being able to understand the Arabs, Palestinians, Christians and Israelis, to understand all sides, and maybe even to be able to make the world a better place someday.
- Marianna Khoury
January 2004
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