Hundreds of children & their families gather in the Palestinian villiage of Salfeet under the banner of OneVoice to discuss "What is Your Role Toward Ending the Conflict?"

OneVoice Palestine gathered more than 700 people in the district of Salfeet, where 200 children sang, danced, and gave speeches about hope and peace. This event came as part of the "What Are You Willing to Do" campaign.

Children in marginalized villages can be targeted by extremists in light of the hard reality in which they live – they have few opportunities to express themselves and no venues that encourage them to see hope and to imagine a bright future. But given the chance, children can be pioneers for change and peace. It is essential for organizations like OneVoice to be there and to give them a platform.

The festival started with two little girls welcoming the audience and thanking OneVoice for organizing and leading such an event. During the festival there were songs, dances and a play that was done by the children, which talked about the current situation in the region, starting with the barriers & checkpoints that they face on their way to school, the wall that separates families, and invasions that scare them to death.

Although the current situation has made the word “hope” disappear in Palestine, the children in the village sang for peace, for ending the occupation, and for their right to live as any other children in the world in peace with their neighbors; they sang for a non-violent life in which wars do not exist and in which respect, unity, stability and safety are enjoyed by every one. All the arrangements for the festival were prepared by the 6 year-old kindergarten children.

Dr. Fathi Darwish, OneVoice Palestine Director General, gave a speech pointing to the children as the generation of change – the hope and the dream that will lead to a non-violent and peaceful future – and insisted on the need to work now to end the occupation in order to build a better future for both Palestinian and Israeli children. The audience was fascinated by his words, and many came up to him after the festival to disucss OneVoice's future plans.

To view pictures of the event, please click here.