Peace Trauma and Religion (PTR) Alumni
On the 23rd September 2021 the group of Peace Trauma and Religion (PTR) former students gathered to find each other and launched an alumni network in the Mennonite church of Meerpadkerk, in Amsterdam Noord. Luza Bedet and Daniel Serrano-Bernal organized this meeting, which included different activities and sharing a meal together. It was a challenge to meet for the first time all diferent PTR generations. However, 36 former students met that evening and even those who live abroad showed their interest to meet in the future.
The ACRPJ strongly believes that a PTR alumni project could help students for their professional lives through networking. Therefore, we decided to meet in a safe space built by multiple hands, using the church as a meeting and living place. The local Mennonite community was glad that one of their spaces serve as a meeting point for this first.
We had Syrian food as an option for everybody to warm up, gain trust and feel comfortable with each other. Sharing pitas and hummus was the opening to remember. We moved into different generations to visit those hard and happy moments.
Each generation showed some difficulties, especially 2020-21 with Covid-19 restrictions and online classes, but we mentioned the importance of having hope together and fighting adversities as a community. As an opening PTR Alumni event, it was a total success. We built together a safe space, bringing a warm feeling back home. We hope that the network will take some steps further in sharing working information, internships opportunities, news updates, and in building an international community working for peace and justice.
Written by: Daniel Serrano, student researcher at ACRPJ
