Weaving a tapestry in the Mediterranean.

Nagia Abdelmogney Said, an architect and mother of three from Egypt, placed a prayer rug woven by Muslim women in Cairo in the middle of the large meeting room at a Jesuit centre in Malta. Made of recycled cloth, the rug's many colours symbolized the richness of cultures, history and religions of which the Mediterranean identity is made.

Around the rug sat 40 people from 14 countries, mostly Mediterranean, to initiate a dialogue on such themes as the Western-Muslim divide, and how to overcome prejudices born out of ignorance or shaped by history and selective memories.

The dialogue, which took place in November, was part of MRA's Agenda for Reconciliation programme. The hope was to avoid prepared speeches and predictable statements; there were a few introductory talks, but otherwise participants were invited to speak from the heart. The organizers were slightly apprehensive about whether it would work.

To their relief, openness and frankness were quickly established. Silence gave welcome space to reflect on the experiences, sufferings and truth conveyed through the lively discussions. Peace-builders can at times feel lonely in going against the currents of prejudice, hatred and violence at home. This was a time of listening to one another and building a network of friendships.

Participants spoke of losing their hatred. One Lebanese, who had fought in the civil war, told how fear of the other group had made people take up arms. Hatred only grew later with the casualties of war. Kamal Halawa, a Jordanian engineer of Palestinian origin, said, `I lost my rights of living in Palestine because my father lost his rights in his land. I had refused to think of meeting Israelis, but I found a new approach when I met an Israeli peacemaker who sincerely wanted peace and justice. Now our friendship is a strong basis for our obligation towards our people and future generations.'

It became clear that people in both the Western and Arab Muslim worlds feel threatened by the way the other side seems to impose its values within and beyond its own society. Many on each side of the divide show courage by working for change in their own camp and engaging in dialogue with those who advocate extremism.

Senator Giovanni Bersani from Italy gave the background of existing political and economic cooperation in the Mediterranean region, and spoke of the permanent commitment and vision that were needed to solve the problems. He and the other foreign participants had interviews with Maltese of all backgrounds, including several political leaders.

The Professor of Linguistics at the University of Malta, Albert Borg, described how the Maltese tend to hide their Arab heritage and therefore their closeness to their Arab neighbours. Fr Edgar Busuttil spoke of going to work and live in a town with a reputation for political violence and the `conversion' which resulted from meeting good people `on the other side': `The enemy is hatred, prejudice and fear, not people themselves.'

Mgr Victor Grech, director of Caritas in Malta, encouraged participants to accept their `helplessness' in the reconciliation process. `Our trials, suffering and pain can facilitate union and communion,' he said. `Reconciliation does not deny or obliterate an experience of injustice or violation of human rights. It represents a transfiguration of that experience from a weight that ties us to the past into a means of moving on into a different future.'