Tikumu’s letter

Press, 24 April 1979, Page 18

Tikumu’s letter

Dear Readers, The news that a peace treaty has been signed between Egypt and Israel is welcome to all the world, because the two countries have lived side by side in a state of war for a number of years. There have been many outbursts of fighting causing loss of life, grief, and suffering to both sides. A war so close to home affects the daily lives of children in ways that matter to them far more than the reasons for a war which they do not understand. This story about Ronen, a little boy in Israel, tells how the war affected him. In his short life his country had never been at peace with Egypt. The River Jordan was out of bounds because of the danger of shooting front the other side. One day, when he was standing on a hill overlooking the river, he saw Arab children playing on the opposite bank. He waved and shouted friendly greetings to the children, who waved back, calling “Shalom” (hullo). They could not talk further because the river was too wide and they could not hear each other. Ronen learned from his teacher that before the war children of Israel and Egypt had had swimming races in the River Jordan. Sometimes one side had won, and sometimes the other, but always it had been fun and there had been a crowd of excited, friendly spectators watching the races from each side.

From then on Ronen wanted to swim in the river and he wanted to have a race with the Arab children, but first he had io make contact with them. He began to spend all his spare time in the grove behind his home. He fixed a tall pole in the ground and secured it with ropes. He unearthed a disused telephone wire. He found an old mouthpiece. One night he was missing from his home after dark. His father went looking for him in the grove where he had been spending so much time for so many months. He heard the boy’s voice from a distance, calling to the children of Egypt inviting them to have a swimming contest with the children of Israel. His father found him sitting on the ground beside the pole with the mouthpiece in his hand. There were tears of disappointment on Ronen’s face as he said: “They do not answer.” His father explained that the line was disconnected at the other end so they could not hear. Perhaps now the telephone link will be restored. and the shadow of war will no longer hang between the children of Israe 1 and the children of Egypt Tikumu Footnote: The title of the above story is “Call Across the Border,” translated from the Hebrew by David S. Segal. It is published by Field Enterprises Educational Corporation.