Peace Makers Association in Lattakia launches “Peacefully Connected” Campaign

“There is no way to peace, peace is the way. Peace is far more than a world free from wars and conflicts; we should first achieve inner peace which will be reflected on the society because it is a basic necessity for all communities.” Miss Hazar Kbeily, coordinator of the “Peacefully Connected” training camp; recently held in “Al-Mawla Hasan” forest in Al-Qadmous in Tartous province, declared in an interview with Syriatimes.

The “Peacefully Connected” campaign, held by the “peace Makers” civil association in Lattakia province marking the International Day of Peace, included a number of activities and interactive dialogues and workshops on peace carried out by the association’s voluntary teams.

Highlighting the main objectives of the three-day camp, Miss Kbeily underscored  that the developmental training camp, which was carried out with the participation of 110 volunteers from different Syrian provinces, aimed to raise awareness on disseminating the culture of establishing peace and social cohesion, reactivating and empowering the youths’ capacities as well as combining the youths’ efforts within a platform that reflects the Syrians’ keenness on building peace locally and regionally.

The camp included a number of significant intellectual, entertaining, sport, cultural and artistic activities as well as an interactive open-dialogue on peace, according to Keibly.

“The camp is our message to the world that the Syrians, from all society spectra are peacefully connected and are still able to join efforts to build peace despite all the hostile schemes that have been targeting Syria’s peace and stability” Keibly stressed.

Syriatimes also met some participants in the camp and from “Peacefully Connected” campaign to talk about their participation. “Peace is a common demand that every individual and society is seeking. However, it is not a goal it is the path. We share human ethics and peace building with others at the local and the international level,” said Dr. Saeed Kallas, a participant from Hama province and a volunteer at Serum medical team, which is one of the “Peace Makers” civil society association voluntary teams working in Lattakia.

He pointed out that the camp provided the participants with a chance to enjoy the experience of camping, carrying out different interactive and developmental activities and exchanging experiences on voluntary work especially in the field of peace building.“Feelings of peace, love, safety, tranquility and happiness accompanied us during the three-day camp because Syria has returned to its normal life again” Dr. Kallas exclaimed.

Nour Darwish, another participant in the camp told Syriatimes that “Peacefully Connected” camp was positive at all levels. It restored the close relationship between man and nature, which contributed to raising the youths’ awareness about environmental issues in order to save energy, and natural resources. “Peace is safety and nature gives us the feeling of peace and safety” concluded Darwish.

Within the framework of “Peacefully Connected” campaign a workshop titled “Steps towards Peace” was carried out.“Peace is not a slogan. We are in need to consolidate the concept of peace through our daily social relationships” Dr. Shrouk Shaheen, coordinator of the workshop, who is also a volunteer at “Peace Makers” society.

She underscored that the three-day workshop focused on how to deal with conflicts peacefully in order not to turn them into wars and on providing the participants with a safe platform to exchange ideas and hold activities on building peace.

It is noteworthy that “Peacefully Connected” campaign will last till October the10th. A photography exhibition will be held and a tour in the archeological sites in Lattakia and other provinces is due to be organized in order to link art to peace.

Interviewed by: Rawaa Ghanam

Photos by: Rawaa Ghanam