Second Team of Ecumenical Accompaniers Going to Middle East

Episcopal News Service. February 13, 2003 [2003-031-4]

The national coordinating committees for the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) are finalizing their recruiting and selection of participants for a second group that will begin work in March. The program is coordinated by the World Council of Churches.

The first group of 17 volunteers--from Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Norway and the United States--began work last August. They have been working in Jerusalem, the West Bank cities of Ramallah, Bethlehem and Nablus, and in the Gaza Strip. The names have not been disclosed for security reasons.

'The accompaniment program so far has done some excellent work on documenting, reporting and raising awareness, particularly on the devastating aspects of the wall being built on the Green Line around greater Jerusalem,' said Rebecca Johnson, a Canadian who has been appointed program coordinator in Jerusalem. 'But some of its most important work is simply to be present as a symbol of international solidarity and hope that a just peace can be found.'

The first phase of EAPPI is now being assessed. 'Our local partners, the churches, keep saying, 'Stay with us. Don't leave like other delegations,'' said Salpy Eskidjian, WCC program executive for International Affairs. 'The accompaniment program has produced many expectations internationally and locally. We have raised a lot of hope, and that gives the international ecumenical family a lot of responsibility.'

Eskidjian has no illusions about the difficulties that lie ahead. 'I think we're going to have a lot of bloodshed for a long time to come. There is rigidity and fear on both sides. Each side dehumanizes the other. This makes efforts like ours--to continue to build bridges and highlight non-violent actions that address the occupation as the root cause of the violence--so vital.'

(Photos and reports can be found on the WCC web site at www.wcc-coe.org/wcc.)