TEENAGERS who lost loved ones in acts of terror and civil strife worldwide are camping together this week in Northern Ireland as they learn to move beyond their grief - and become peacemakers themselves.

The project, sponsored chiefly by the post-9/11 charity Tuesday's Children, involves 65 teens who have lost parents or other relatives in a wide range of terror attacks and ethnic conflicts.

Half of the campers had family members killed in the September 11, 2001, al-Qaida attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. Some come from opposite sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Others are Spaniards targeted by the Basque separatist group ETA.

Alongside arts, crafts, sports and tourism, they are receiving trauma counseling and coaching from Harvard Law School specialists in the arts of negotiation and mediation.

The kids don't all speak English, and their daily lives might be worlds apart. But veterans of the annual camp - called Project Common Bond, and being held outside the United States for the first time - say such differences are minor compared to what they share.

"A lot of the most important communication in these camps is nonverbal. I experienced it straight on and it's extraordinary," said New York native Caitlin Leavey, 19, who participated in the two US camps as well as the Belfast gathering. "The language barrier does not take away from creating friendships."

Her father, Lieutenant Joseph Leavey, died on 9/11 when he led firefighters from Ladder 15 into the south tower of the World Trade Center before its collapse.

Leavey said she's trying to honor her father's memory by training to become a conflict-resolution expert - both formally as a sophomore at New York University and informally by making friends in faraway conflict zones.

"Dad was always big about community and talking to everyone. He loved saving people," she said.

From their weeklong base at Queen's University in Belfast, the campers expect to learn from their Northern Ireland hosts, who are emerging from nearly four decades of conflict that left 3,700 dead and maimed tens of thousands more.

• terror [´terə] n.恐怖；惊骇 (初中英语单词)
• project [prə´dʒekt, ´prɔdʒekt] v.设计；投掷 n.计划 (初中英语单词)
• chiefly [´tʃi:fli] ad.主要地；尤其 (初中英语单词)
• conflict [´kɔnflikt, kən´flikt] n.&vi.战斗；抵触 (初中英语单词)
• annual [´ænjuəl] a.每年的 n.年刊 (初中英语单词)
• communication [kə,mju:ni´keiʃən] n.通信；通讯联系 (初中英语单词)
• lieutenant [lef´tenənt] n.陆军中尉；代理；副手 (初中英语单词)
• expert [´ekspə:t] n.&a.专家；内行 (初中英语单词)
• everyone [´evriwʌn] pron.=everybody 每人 (初中英语单词)
• strife [straif] n.竞争；吵架；冲突 (高中英语单词)
• ireland [´aiələnd] n.爱尔兰 (高中英语单词)
• charity [´tʃæriti] n.施舍；慈悲；博爱 (高中英语单词)
• alongside [əlɔŋ´said] ad.在旁 prep.横靠 (高中英语单词)
• harvard [´hɑ:vəd] n.哈佛大学 (高中英语单词)
• negotiation [ni,gəuʃi´eiʃən] n.谈判，协商，交涉 (高中英语单词)
• barrier [´bæriə] n.栅栏；屏障；障碍 (高中英语单词)
• ladder [´lædə] n.梯子；阶梯 (高中英语单词)
• collapse [kə´læps] vi.&n.崩溃；病倒；衰败 (高中英语单词)
• community [kə´mju:niti] n.团体；社区；公众 (高中英语单词)
• experienced [ik´spiəriənst] a.有经验的；熟练的 (英语四级单词)
• gathering [´gæðəriŋ] n.集会，聚集 (英语四级单词)
• trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
• formally [´fɔ:məli] ad.形式地，正式地 (英语四级单词)