Aldo, Albania

“The aim is to connect the Mediterranean.

Usually, I don't have high expectations for new things, but for this one, I had a feeling it would be something unique—and unique it was.Even though the initial theme was “Religions in dialogue,” which I was really all in for, it later changed to “People in dialogue.” It wasn't that different, but what changed made it even better: people sitting together, facing new shores together, speaking the same language. The Mediterranean language became our universal language.

The first days in Nicosia were just a glimpse of what we were going to experience—intense, communal, and diverse.
Intense because of the history and what people there live through every day.
Communal because, from the moment we arrived, we had to split into different houses, and being in one with George and David already created a bond and a sense of being part of a group.
Diverse because, even though we came from different countries, we ended up having the same thoughts, living the same moments, and sharing our different stories.

The day I saw Bel Espoir, I got excited—it felt like a dream come true. The moment I stepped on board, it seemed like change was coming to the Mediterranean.

Bel Espoir was the most “dangerous weapon” in the hands of peacebuilders in the Mediterranean—from the beginning of the first stage and continuing until Marseille.

I say this because we all lived on it, we ate on it, we danced on it, we saw missiles from it, we cried on it, we prayed on it—and most importantly, we saw that this is possible.

A ship carrying 25 young, energetic people from five shores of the Mediterranean is the best example we can offer to all the people around the Mediterranean and the world.
We bring nothing new, but what others don't see—or see as dangerous—is people dialoguing and making the impossible, possible.

What I got out of this experience, of course, is new friends, new cultures, and new horizons.
Now, when I see Egypt on the map, I will immediately think of George—or when breaking news comes from Egypt or any other corner of the Mediterranean, I will instantly reach out to ask if everything is okay.
I think this is the most important thing we can all take from it.

Also very important is that what I lived during those two weeks in Cyprus—dreaming of a united Mediterranean—must continue in my daily life. »

Aldo