![\"IMG-20160702-WA0004\"](\"http:\/\/womenwagepeace.org.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG-20160702-WA0004-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/p>\nTranslated from Hebrew by Orna Raz<\/p>\n
When I was a little girl I loved to celebrate half birthdays as well. Thus I had a birthday twice a year. It went on for years until counting the years was no longer fun.<\/p>\n
Women Wage Peace has been standing in the Karmiel intersection for a year and a half now. We still belong to that young age group, and we feel that we have a good reason to celebrate.<\/p>\n
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But do we really?<\/p>\n
In one of the meetings of WWP from Karmiel and Misgav one of the participants told me: “my husband saw you at the intersection, you were so few, and he said it looked pathetic. Perhaps if there are not enough women it is better not to be there at all?”\u00a0I answered: “I am happy with his response, it shows that he cares about the way we are perceived by the public. I prefer to be pathetic than not to be at all. For me, as long as our presence brings about some kind of reaction, even objection, anger or mockery, it means that we managed to get through. Personally I am more worried about indifference.”<\/p>\n
What is indifference? The lexical meaning is Lack of feelings, lack of involvement and lack of care. But is it all?\u00a0Indifference is also part of one’s personality. It means that the individual doesn’t believe in his\/her ability, or feels detached from what’s going on.<\/p>\n
After standing in the intersection for a year and a half, an hour and a half each week: total of 90 hours, It is high time for reckoning. It is hard to estimate how many cars are passing by in an hour and a half. We don’t know the percentage of those who actually notice us, speak their minds, receive a pamphlet or tie a blue ribbon on their car.\u00a0But even without this data I can testify that in our Galilee intersection most of the responses are very positive. There are few who curse us, but we always see those who are indifferent, they ignore us or refuse to roll down the car window and open their hearts and minds.<\/p>\n
I wonder why those who don’t care bother me so much? Why should I trouble them with my convictions? Isn’t it enough to approach those who, like me, have not lost faith?\u00a0No, because to bring about change, those exact people should get up and say “it’s enough. This is our country and we demand that the government finds a way to end all wars.”<\/p>\n
From the experience of other countries with unresolved conflicts, citizens have the power to make a change. It is not true that there is no solution to our conflict. Faith and hope are essential to finding a peaceful solution. Without it we are like a dead man walking.\u00a0How do we make them relinquish pessimism and reclaim enthusiasm? \u00a0It helps to be part of a group of people who work for peace, even if their activism seems naive and somewhat pathetic. It’s like learning to breathe again, like going back to being an eager child who is counting half birthdays.<\/p>\n
Yes, we are the women who stand in Karmiel intersection every\u00a0Friday, please join us to bring about peace.<\/p>\n