Ship in London to mark Bali bombing
Ship in London to mark Bali bombing
Tim Elfrink, Associated Press, London
Divided by nationality and religion, a crew of 48 amateur sailors united to guide a sailing ship up the Thames River, completing a voyage that honored a British victim of the 2002 Bali bombings.
The 60-meter ship, the Prince William, docked alongside the retired battleship HMS Belfast around noon on Tuesday. An evening memorial ceremony for victims of the bombing was planned aboard the Belfast.
Daniel Braden, from Brighton, England, was among 202 people killed when two bombs exploded amid a bustling tourist area on the Indonesian island. The bombing was blamed on Jamaah Islamiyah, an al-Qaeda-linked group with cells throughout Southeast Asia.
The Daniel Braden Reconciliation Fund sponsored the voyage, which left Southampton on England's southern coast 11 days ago, to encourage cultural understanding across religion and nationality as a means of quelling international violence.
The crew consisted of six Israeli Jews, one Israeli Arab, five Palestinians, nine Indonesian Muslims, nine British Muslims, and five Americans and 13 Britons who were either Christian or nonreligious, all between the age of 16 and 25. They were assisted by a six-member professional crew.
While learning to sail, participants said they made unexpected friendships.
"I had never spoken to a Palestinian before this trip," said Shlomi Korlansky, a 23-year-old Jewish student from Jerusalem. "Now I can say I have a Palestinian friend. It's a strange feeling. I know it will change how I approach things back home."
"It was amazing to be immersed in so many different cultures and views, yet everyone is so friendly and amazing," said Kamran Zulffkar, a Muslim from Bournemouth in southern England. "You take so much away from it. You learn more about a lot of cultures and religions in the process."
On its first day out of Southampton, the crew faced strong gales and choppy water that left many of the amateur sailors ill. But the weather was just part of the bonding experience, participants said.
"I was one of those vomiting off the side," said Myles Matteson, a 20-year-old student at Wheaton College in Illinois.
"But we had a lot of great weather after that. And we really built up a lot of trust in each other during that first rough patch."
The voyage was the fourth sponsored by the trust, which is planning two similar trips next year.
"It's all about tolerance," said Jo Wheeler, spokeswoman for Tall Ships Adventures, which organized the trip.
"We're not trying to change the world, just help people understand each other a bit better."