Zaur: After the Peace Camp at Ursdon, I became a much better personRecently, 16-year old Zaur Dzhabiev attended the Peace Camp ‘Plus’ in the North Osetian mountain town of Ursdon, as a volunteer. “There were children from five different republics there – from Chechnya, Ingushetia, North Osetia, Kabardino-Balkaria and Dagestan. The camp instructors were very good. They gave us lessons in peace and tolerance and we also did exercises in leadership skills”, says Zaur. In July 2007, two summer peace camps were successfully held in North Osetia and Ingushetia. Next up is the Chechnya peace camp, which takes place in Kabardino-Balkaria. After that, the republic of Karbardino-Balkaria opens its doors to children from the five republics as it hosts its own camp. Finally, it is Dagestan’s turn to organize a peace camp. In total, the five camps will host over 500 children and adolescents from the North Caucasus. Carel De Rooy, Representative for UNICEF in the Russian Federation and Belarus, visited the camp in Ursdon as well as the one in Muzhichi, a town in Ingushetia. “The children are really happy and appreciate the opportunity to spend 10 fruitful days together, learning about peace and tolerance”, said Mr. De Rooy. Zaur says that: “This camp had a real influence on me – I’ve become kinder, more friendly and more sociable. Why should I dislike someone just because he is from Ingushetia, Chechnya, Kabardino-Balkaria or Dagestan? If I have a problem with someone, I can simply go and talk to that person. After all, we are all the same, we are all people. I am convinced that aggression breeds aggression, but goodness breeds goodness. I know that all the children who attended the camps will spread the idea of peace in their republics and so people will become more and more tolerant.” What Zaur enjoyed most of all at camp was when children from each republic were given the task of introducing the others to their culture, traditions and art. “I really enjoyed the local songs and dances from each republic. It was great to see that there exists such cultural variety in the North Caucasus. I felt proud to live in such a wonderfully rich region.” The peace camps constitute one of the components of UNICEF’s programme “Peace and Tolerance promotion among children and adolescents of the North Caucasus”. UNICEF works for peace and tolerance promotion through its partners since 2005 in a close partnership with government ministries and non-governmental organizations. Two summer camps, “Caspian Odyssey” and “Plus” were earlier organized in Dagestan in 2005-2006 with the participation of more than 200 children and adolescents from four republics of the North Caucasus. However, it was the first time Zaur, and most of the others, took part in such a camp. “I would really like to come back to one of these peace camps and I know that the others also would. There were some many different activities, through which we were able to make friends and to bond. I met a lot of new friends, like Marat from Ingushetia, Aslan from Chechnya and many others. We are going to write letters, go visit one another and help each other out in times of need”, says Zaur.
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