Sister Cities effort has borne fruit

(Dirk Spruyt)

Ten years ago this past Wednesday a joyful group of officials and townsfolk gathered in the Chapel Hill Town Hall with the mayors of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Saratov, Russia, to sign a sister cities agreement.

It was for a small group the culmination of some eight years of searching and reaching out to find a Russian city with a high-ranking university willing to consider a long-term relationship with us here in the United States.

From that beginning dozens have traveled east and west to find dear friends, colleagues, challenging projects, culture, history, problems and a sense of common humanity. While the Chapel Hill Sister Cities organization has gone into semi-retirement, what it helped to birth has continued and evolved. Some joint projects continue. Some of our Saratov friends have immigrated to Chapel Hill. Some have come to the United States for advanced studies. Some are pursuing business relationships in other parts of the U.S.

The idea of having a sister city in Russia originated in the dark days of the nuclear arms race. It was an effort to bypass the political rhetoric, break through the fiction of " enemy" by getting to know, respect and even cherish friendships with individuals of the other country.

Abraham Lincoln said that to conquer one's enemy, make him your friend. We didn't feel like conquerors and we gained many friends. Is it now time for Chapel Hill and Carrboro to seek a sister city in Iraq?