SUMMER DELEGATION TO SYRIA WITH NON-PROFIT MIDDLE EAST FELLOWSHIP
6-week summer service program in Damascus, Syria, June 24 - Aug 4. Participants will live with a host family for 3 nights, study Arabic at the Berlitz language institute in Damascus, serve the local community through volunteer projects (such as volunteering at a refugee camp) and explore the culture and history of Syria through meetings, discussions and excursions to sites of historical, political or religious significance.
Maximum 12 participants will stay in single and double rooms with private bathrooms near the Old City of Damascus. Cost for the 6-week program is $2,000 and includes rooms, homestays, breakfasts, most lunches and dinners, language and cultural courses, RT airport transportaton, and weekend excursions, including in-country transportation. Transportation to Damascus is not included.
Visit www.MiddleEastFellowship.org. Deadline to apply is May 24.
You know, normally a "fellowship" implies that the participant is being given money. Here, instead, they're charging about ten times what their expenses actually cost, and making a hefty profit for themselves.
Total bullshit. What a scam.
Sorry, let me clarify: The $2,000 covers accomodations, including homestays, meals, 15 hours of language lessons EACH WEEK from Berlitz, all in-country transportation, weekend excursions with translators, special meetings scheduled with community and political leaders, scheduled opportunities to provide service (e.g., volunteering in a refugee camp). For under $350/week. The Middle East Fellowship is a non-profit organization promoting peace and understanding. I hope you have had a chance to check out their web site. (This trip to Syria will be their first, and they are actually taking a financial hit, with the hope that next year's trip will attract a bigger delegation and cover costs.)
In these days of increased hostility, I personally am looking forward to participating in this delegation. As far as I know, no other American group is organizing person-to-person cultural trips to Syria (and if any readers know of groups, please let me know!)...I just returned from Israel and Palestine, with a delegation organized by the Christian Peacemaker Team, and it was an extraordinary opportunity to be exposed to political and cultural views I would have never gotten as a tourist on my own. You might be interested to read about that trip on my blog at www.PeacePATHFoundation.org. I also posted some articles I wrote about my 2 trips to Iraq (pre- and post-US invasion).
I agree that participating in delegations may cost more than backpacking through a country. I recognize that I am paying for the opportunity to meet with social justice leaders and that I am paying for a chance to provide service in a community. (Someone has to set all this up!) It's not for all travelers, and I'd hoped that by posting here some people might be interested. I did not mean to offend.
Kelly Hayes-Raitt
peace blog
"Fellowship" - alert! alert! evangelical Christians on the loose! run away! run away!<blockquote>Quote
<hr>a non-profit organization promoting peace and understanding<hr></blockquote>Just as long as you renounce all that Islam nonsense and say "Jesus died for me".
Ruffgyder, I'd be the last person to defend Christianity or Evangelicals or paying to do volunteer work, but it doesn't really sound like converting heathens and preaching about old JC is actually the point of the program. Personally, I would much rather have Americans travelling to Syria then sitting home watching Fox News.
#3 (HayesRaitt)
>I just returned from Israel and Palestine, with a delegation organized by the Christian Peacemaker Team,...
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I presume you have gotten a new passport since then, since any evidence of having been to Israel/Palestinian Authority will deny you entry to Syria.
My goodness, such hostility! Isn't there enough of that in the world? If the trip's not for you, don't take it. But why dis it?
I'm going, and I'm planning on writing and speaking about my experiences to American audiences. I'm not going to backpack, or to be a tourist -- and more power to those who do. This is a different kind of trip. If it appeals to anyone reading this, great. I look forward to having you join me!
But, can't we just be a little more civil on these sites?
Kelly Hayes-Raitt
www.PeacePATHFoundation.org<a href="http://www.PeacePATHFoundation.org">www.PeacePATHFoundation.org</a>
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