By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
STEPHANIE Saunders may be idealistic, but she is not unrealistic.
As the new president of the Casey Multifaith Network, taking over from Jim Reiher, her approach to helping educate people and easing tensions is simple.
“You don’t try for a whole country – (you try) one person at a time,” Stephanie, who is Jewish, said.
And it’s a philosophy that has already been successful for her.
“There’s a woman and she does come to multifaith when she can, she’s very, very busy,” Stephanie said.
“She’s a very devout Muslim, from Lebanon, which Israel bombed and she would not have willingly met a Jew. She was very angry.
“And today, if she walks through the door – we hug. So it can be done.
“It’s absolutely marvellous.”
Stephanie spoke to Star News two days before the terror attacks in Paris which have so far claimed 129 lives and counting, as of Monday.
Stephanie noted the work of a multifaith network was as important now as it ever was, but she said violence and tensions could be traced back throughout the centuries.
Born in England and growing up in London during WWII, the Berwick great-grandmother remembers being moved around to avoid bombardments, before coming to Australia in 1967.
Her time with the network began about five years ago when she attended a U3A class with fellow Casey multifaith member Pam Mamouney, where Pam always spoke of the benefits of the network.
“She was always talking about multifaith and one day I said to her can I come? And she was delighted,” Stephanie said.
“They’re always looking for more people, not necessarily for me.
“And I became more than interested because I look for a means to have peace, other than war, and it strikes me that if I know you and you know me, we find out that we all want the same things.
“We all want a roof over our head, food on the table and education for our children.
“All of us, no matter where, and this seemed to be the way to do it.”
