Debate for Peace

Hey everyone! My name is Rawan Wajeeh, I’m 15 years old- a Palestinian girl who lives in Iksal (small Arabic village in Israel). 

It all started when my teacher brought Steven to my school to explain about the Model United Nations (MUN) program. During the first meeting we debated about the democratic regime and the dictatorial regime. After this meeting Steven chose me to attend a conference at Oxford university.

I was confused, scared and happy at the same time when I knew that I was chosen, because I always thought that the students there will be very good and I`m not like them. But Steven was always behind me if I needed any help.

On 11.13.19 we arrived London, UK and then we went to a hostel. On our way to the hostel I got to know a nice Jewish girl (she was with me in the same group), her name was Amit. We talked about issues and girls stuff and she was very nice to me.  

The next day we woke up early and we had a busy day full of meetings. At first we went to meet Prof. Kimberley Trapp (a professor of public international law) and we had a conversation full of questions about her job. It was amazing, I enjoyed it a lot. Then we continued our day with other meetings and museums like the Chatham house, Europe house and Behavioural Insights Team.               

Later we took a train to Oxford. Our first day in Oxford was amazing because in the same day we went in the morning to a mosque to the Juma’a prayer and discussion (we discussed Islamic issues with Jews) and from there we went to the conference, and in the end of the day we had a great Shabbat dinner in the Jewish Center of Oxford. I really enjoyed the dinner because I met new Jewish friends and we had conversations together (and the food was delicious), and also I got to read prayers from their bible (Torah).  

The conference was challenging, but it was amazing and enjoyable. I met people from different countries and made new friends. I was very glad to represent Nepal in the CSTD committee.

After finishing the conference, we continued our journey with meetings. We went to the embassy of Kosovo and the embassy of Ecuador, and I had a lot of fun with my DFP group.

In addition, we had a very important meeting to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This meeting was great, we all shared our opinions and we respected each other despite all the differences.

I loved UK and my DFP group, it was an amazing experience. Thank you Steven for being a nice person and for creating programs like this and for giving us these chances. You are an inspiration. We all love you.

The delegation to Oxford was literally amazing!