| |
|
|
|
|
|
||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
|
|||||
| Germany's contribution to the fight against global terrorism | |||||
|
|||||
|
The Week in Germany: Politics April 8, 2005 NJ students thank German peacekeepers with letters Students at West Morris Central High School in Chester, New Jersey, have written German peacekeepers serving in Afghanistan with words of encouragement and praise for their efforts to bring peace to communities still reeling from decades of oppression.
The first package of 115 letters, many written by members of the school's German Club, was shipped out at the end of March with help from the German Embassy in Washington. The students are now eagerly awaiting responses from the soldiers, who will write back in either German or English. Germany has been a leading backer of efforts to secure stability in Afghanistan since a U.S.-led coalition toppled the brutal Taliban regime in 2001. With approximately 2,000 troops, Germany is the leading contributor to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force providing security in the Afghan capital Kabul. The German Club started its letter exchange as a way to recognize the efforts of those German troops in Afghanistan and to promote people-to-people cultural exchange and German-American friendship within their community. Chris Muenzen, who helped found the German Club, got the idea ahead of U.S. President Bush's visit to Mainz, Germany, this February. "I thought a letter exchange would be a great way to bring Americans closer to Germans and to help support our leaders' efforts for a new beginning," Muenzen recalled. The students hope that they can offer "a voice from average Americans to people who may just know the United States through the media," he added. Like similar "pen pal" exchanges, the German Club's program is based on the students' interest in forging ties with people from Germany, but it is also about giving students a chance to learn about German culture from the "horse's mouth." "We had already established a program at our school of writing letters to American soldiers, so we wanted to introduce students to a new culture through a method that students already knew," said Anna Kurt, a member of the German Club. "Cultural exchange can have great repercussions for someone's world view," said Michelle Smith, German Club president. "If you introduce someone to one new culture, perhaps that person will become interested in other cultures around the world," she said. The plan is not just to learn more about Germany, says German teacher and German Club advisor Robert Raymond. The program will also open up a new world to students by letting them learn about the soldiers' experiences in Afghanistan, he said. Links:
|
|
More from Germany.info  Newsletters
 Printer-Friendly
Page
Email This Article |
||
|
|||||
|
|||||
