MEND UK - Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy
Transcription
MEND UK - Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy
MEND UK PO Box 51762, London, NW1 4QJ Tel: 020 7491 3223 www.mend-uk.org www.mendonline.org [email protected] Volume 3, Issue 1 January 2008 Mend Central Office - P.O. Box 66558, Beit Hanina, East Jerusalem - Telephone: + 972 (0)2 656 7310/2988 - Fax: + 972 (0) 2 656 7311 Regional Mend Centres: Nablus - Refidia, next to Al-Rawdah Mosque, Dardouk Building, 1st floor - Tel /Fax: + 972 (0) 9 233 9333 Hebron - Beer El-Sabe St., near The License Office, Alnours Building, 3rd floor - Tel/Fax: + 972 (0) 2 229 1706 Ezzarieh - Main St., Kubsa Junction, Al-Khateeb Building, 3rd floor - Tel/Fax: + 972 (0) 2 279 1956 Jericho - Amman Road, Al-Walajeh Building, 1st floor, Tel/Fax: +972 (0) 2 2326124 Qalqilya - Abed el-Rahim St., Falastine Building - Tel/Fax: +972 (0) 9 294 6896 Ramallah - Al-Quds main road, next to the Gas Station - Tel/Fax: +972 (0) 2 240 6710 Tulkarem - Shweiki Road, next to the Cultural Center, Above the Palestinian Coordinating Office - Tel: +972 (0) 9 268 6020, Fax: +972 (0) 9 268 4228 What we’re up to … Curriculum Project: On Jan 9th Fakhira Halloon, Coordinator of "Towards a Culture of Tolerance and Coexistence: Education for Human Rights, Non-Violence and Acceptance of the Other", presented the Palestinian experience in the project, at the Hebrew University. She spoke to Israeli teachers & supervisors about our accomplishment, challenges and difficulties in teaching concepts of human rights in the West Bank. UK debate: Volunteers at Queen Mary University, London, are organizing an academic debate on the issue of conflict resolution in Israel and Palestine for MEND UK. The event promises to be a lively one, with prominent speakers including: Professor Mary Kaldor (LSE), Louis Ellman (MP), Stephanie Khoury, and Brian Odofee (specialist in conflict resolution). The chair, Dr Judith Bara, is head of Politics at Queen Mary’s. The date is TBC but is being planned for February 2008. Jericho Conference: On 16th-17th Jan, MEND held a hugely successful conference "Let's Think Together". Over 50 people took part in lively discussions on the concepts of Human Rights, Democracy, Human Security and Nonviolence, while analysing what is going on in Palestinian society and puting forward a strategy for MEND and for Palestinian civil society in general. The conference was opened by Dr. Saeb Ereqat, head of the Palestinian negotiating team, Dr. Nabil Qassis, President of Bir Zeit University, and by Dr. Mohammad Shtayyeh, head of PECDAR. Videoconferencing Project: From Jan 27th to 30th 2008, members of the Active Nonviolence Network (ANN) in East Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza Strip hope to meet together for 4 days in Egypt. They will discuss how to implement the program and develop ANN all over Palestine, but also, it will be a precious opportunity for Gazans and West Bankers/East Jerusalemites to meet each other. (The Toyota Foundation) “RHYTHMS of PALESTINE” On Thursday, April 24th 2008, 7.30pm, MEND UK presents ”Rhythms of Palestine”, featuring acclaimed Palestinian singer and oud player, Marwan Abado with Peter Rosmanith; and the ‘ambassador for Arab music in the West’, Adel Salameh with Naziha Azzouz. The evening will be a celebration of Palestinian music and culture, bringing this truly beautiful heritage to supporters and lovers of world music and the Middle East. Marwan Abado and Peter Rosmanith dedicate themselves to the merger of melodic oriental rhythm and Arabian poetry with European influences. They bring to life sound dimensions at the edge of Eastern and Western music at the border between tradition and modernism. Marwan Abado’s lyrical voice and his narrative, Arabic oud meets Peter Rosmanith’s open, empathetic percussion. “I hear the beginning of a melody, follow it, leave my own perspective behind and arrive at a new and unexpected place … Relax and enjoy.” Albert Hosp; Austrian Radio Broadcasting, Vienna Palestinian oud player and composer, Adel Salameh was born in Nablus, quickly establishing a reputation as one of the finest performers of the oud. Adel believes that music is an excellent tool to build bridges between cultures, performing as a soloist or with musicians from a variety of musical backgrounds. As for Naziha – “This is no ordinary voice. This voice is coming from Paradise.” Le Monde. All proceeds will go to support MEND. The concert will be held at The Bloomsbury Theatre, London. For further details and sponsorship opportunities, contact Anna Pearson at [email protected] Tickets are available from: The Bloomsbury Theatre Box Office; 15 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AH Tel: +44 (0)20 7388 8822 Online: http://www.thebloomsbury.com/ See also: www.adelsalameh.com http://marwan-abado.net/ Roving Reporter On January 9th 2008, Ahmed Al Bakri interviewed Esam Al Zughayyer and Muhammed Sharif about their ideas of Nonviolence. All of them are Menders from Hebron, aged 20-21. The interview was conducted in Hebron Youth Centre. Q1: why are you involved, or participating, in MEND? Esam: because we are living in a violent place. All of Palestine is a violent area. We need to find the safety point, to know how to deal with different people. Muhammed: Young people and youth in Palestine, must know something about Nonviolence because they live under a ‘forced situation’. They are always affected by the violence of soldiers. Esam: And there are no Human Rights, either. Q2: What do you think about Nonviolence as a principle? Esam: The word describes safety and peace. And it’s the best language to speak with different people. And with this you loose less. Muhammed: The nonviolent principle is a positive principle. I wish all the people in the world practice (Nonviolence), it means safety and it disagrees with people who like to kill. Q3: Will you let all the people in Palestine to know about Nonviolence? Esam: sure, I will do because it’s the best solution. I will practice Nonviolence and promote the concept through my life. Muhammed: I will do it adamantly because most people live in peace and security. This is the solution to the conflict between Palestinian and Israeli people. What nonviolence means to me… By Hanadi Al-Ajrab, MEND volunteer, Beit Hanina My goal is to help people live in dignity and achieve their dreams. I believe that violence in all its forms is condemnable, while nonviolence is sacred and enjoys respect and reverence. To me, the main principle of nonviolence is "respect". We must respect ourselves, respect others and respect our relationship with the world. We are not independent of our responsibilities towards others. To achieve harmony and cohesiveness we have to accept that we depend on each other, that we are interdependent, and that we are working together to build a human society. I do not think it is enough that we simply respect human beings. We must also respect different cultures, different ways of life. I believe that our way is the only and the best way. To believe that our way is the best way is to say we "possess" the truth. When we accept that others may be right, then we join others in a sincere search for truth. The easy things are not enjoyable. For me, the best aspect of our work is that it is full of difficulties. Both sides are engaged in the struggle of armed violence, each claiming that their aim is to achieve victory. Victory means that there are winners and another party, losers. The winners will profit at the expense and suffering of the other party. Through nonviolence, which builds bridges of confidence between people, people help each other by putting their future into their own hands and finding appropriate solutions. But nonviolence has its problems, not least the fact that some people perceive it with suspicion. This is painful but positive because at the same time it motivates us to do our best to prove to the critics that this works, and what we do is for them. Many Palestinians are studying in universities in the United States. To me, they are the ‘Voice of Palestine’, as their principles are the result of studying the Palestinian issue. After joining in our activities they become more interested in the Palestinian cause. They initiate meetings with Israelis, so that they might know more about the Palestinian issue, and might convince their colleagues that their views do not come from a vacuum. More importantly, they want to speak and express themselves and listen to others as well. I believe we have created a conscious generation. This positive aspect, the humanitarianism of the Palestinian people, has helped to change the existing idea that Palestinians are terrorists. Many of those who meet these young people in the United States or in other parts of the world have realized that Palestinians are like the rest of the people of the world. My Summer with MEND By Annika Mueller, German intern for MEND, July –September 2007 As part of my MA in Peace and Conflict Studies I spent this summer interning with MEND in Palestine. Right from the moment I first stepped into the office in Beit Hanina I was given the opportunity to get involved in many different projects. First up was the summer camp. During the camp I ran two workshops on “Nonviolence” and “Democracy”. Not only was it good fun to engage with young people from all across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, but we also got some pretty candid and thought-provoking discussions going. We even put theory into practice by running a mock election! Once the summer camp was over, we started preparing for a conference featuring Martin Luther King III. The preparations for this event took up A LOT of my time with MEND – meeting with others involved in the planning, deciding on the programme, writing the invitations…but in the end it was definitely worth it! The speeches and discussions during the day on the topic of “The need for Cooperation among Nonviolence Organisations” showed just how much potential there is for achieving change through cooperation. Towards the end of my time with MEND I worked on some smaller projects such as The Phoenix (MEND’s nonviolence bulletin) and running a couple of film nights on the situation in Palestine. Now that I am back in Germany, I try to tell as many people as possible about my experiences. Most of the time, people are Newsletter incredulous when they see the pictures I took of the wall, the checkpoints2and the soldiers. Hopefully, it won’t be too long until one can have an honest and open discussion in Germany about the situation in Palestine!
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MEND UK - Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy
E: [email protected] W: www.mend-uk.org
Mend Central Office - P.O. Box 66558, Beit Hanina, East Jerusalem - Telephone: + 972 (0)2 656 7310/2988 - Fax: + 972 (0) 2 656 7311
Regional Mend Centres: Nab...