The State We’re In, 2 January 2010: A fresh start is nearly impossible wherever there’s a history of violence. But our special new year’s program shows that people around the world can make new beginnings with old enemies. Stories include: a Palestinian and an Israeli teenager who overcame their fears to become best friends; a Muslim and a Hindu filmmaker whose relationship was tested and strengthened while working in conflict-torn Kashmir; a man in Zimbabwe who now preaches against the intertribal violence he once took part in. We also feature an essay from Sri Lanka about overcoming caste divisions, and another from a survivor of Sarajevo with her reflections on the war crimes trial of Radovan Karadzic.
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Unlikely friends
Muna and Yaara have a lot in common. Both are seventeen years old, both are energetic and intelligent, and both were taught to hate the other side. Muna is Palestinian and Yaara is Israeli. They’ve both experienced the anguish that can lead to hatred. But they’ve become friends in defiance of their communities.
A rediscovered friendship
Two American friends, one Hindu and the other Muslim, go to the conflict zone of Kashmir to make a film. Once on location, their friendship gets tested along sectarian lines. They explain how they redefined their friendship which now flourishes.
Caste matters
Kannan Arunasalam was born in Sri Lanka, but brought up in the UK. When he moved back to Sri Lanka, he confronted the caste divisions he was taught not to heed. Kannan taped his encounters with people from higher and lower castes in Colombo, offering a rare peek inside a world that’s usually closed to outsiders.
Old wounds, a new start
Wilson Mugabe in Zimbabwe grew up in a Shona household and heard nothing but bad things about people from a rival tribe, the Ndebele. As a young man, he took part in interethnic violence, torching Ndebele homes. He tells Jonathan about the turnaround moment in his life when he began seeing ‘the other’ as fully human.
A simple question
Radovan Karadzic’s trial at the war crimes tribunal in The Hague began in October and is currently stalled because of legal wrangling. Amela Marin Simic lived through the bloody siege of Sarajevo, one of the crimes Karadzic is charged with. She talks about a dream in which she confronts Karadzic with one simple question: why?
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Your story brought back memories of my father, who came from Poland, the son of a Roman Catholic theologian who fled to Canada after his brother, a Roman Catholic priest, was shot on the steps of his church in Posnan, I believe it was, Poland. Later on, my grandparents were rounded up and eventually died in Bergen Belsen, we have a letter from the Red Cross to that effect in our family.
Among my early personal memories I recall my parents shopping for coffee, chocolate, dried peas and beans, spices and wrapping them up in clean sheets. These were put in a box, that was written on, and placed in another larger box which was packed with even more of the same goods. It was explained to me that the big box carried the little box, and the people who delivered it all would keep the big box and give the little box to my aunts and uncles in Poland. It was a good feeling to ride in the car to the post office, having included my little notes and drawings in the little box.
Thanks for your program and your hard work!
Thanks for your nice note, Norman. It means a lot to us when listeners like you respond in such a heartfelt way. That's the whole point of the program.
All the best,
Greg Kelly
Editor
The State We're In
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