Is the Shalit deal imminent?

Today, once again, the talk on the street is about the imminent release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held by Hamas, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. A deal between Israel and Hamas, now that would be a first. Is this the start of something new?

10 days to go...

Trapped

Did you know the Israeli government has imposed a blockade on Gaza since Hamas was elected to power in June 2007? The blockade essentially means restrictions on the movement of goods and people. Only some humanitarian goods are allowed in and only people with life-threatening medical conditions are allowed out. The Egyptians on their side, have also severely restricted movement of people at their border, for fear of inheriting the problems in Gaza.

In response, the Gazans have dug hundreds of tunnels on the border with Egypt to allow goods to enter. Today there are around 700 tunnels that bring foodstuffs, clothes, electronic goods, gas, petrol and even cars into the Gaza Strip.

Last week however, news emerged of an Egyptian plan to build a 20-30 metre deep steel barrier to shut off the tunnels. No-one knows if the Egyptians will go through with it, but just imagine if they do. There are 1.5 million people living in the Gaza Strip who are completely dependent on the tunnels to meet their basic needs.

The people in Gaza are already isolated from the rest of the world. What would happen if they were totally cut off? How much more desperate can the situation get? What will become of the people?

11 days to go...

The gandhi way

Back to the IPCRI peace conference. This time I attended a workshop run by two amazing women, one Israeli the other Palestinian. They work together in an organisation called Just Vision, which is run almost entirely by women. I was instantly drawn to them. This conflict is so male-dominated, that it was refreshing to see women at the forefront of peace efforts.

Just Vision was born out of a desire to show Palestinians, Israelis and the international community that it ain't all about violence and aggression. Their goal is to inform people about joint Israeli and Palestinian efforts to resolve the conflict in a non-violent way. To allow the voices of peace to grow louder.

In 2006, they produced a film called Encounter Point. It tells the story of Israelis and Palestinians--most of whom either lost a loved one in the conflict, spent years in prison, or were driven from their homes--coming together to work towards understanding and a resolution to the conflict. This is the kind of work I like because it builds hope. Nothing is more urgent for this region.

Just Vision is about to release a new film, Budrus, which tells the story of a group of Palestinians and Israelis who come together to create a non-violent movement to save the village of Budrus from the route of the separation barrier.

The story has its limitations. One of the characters is a local Hamas leader, which seems misplaced, given that Hamas openly advocates violent resistance against Israel, including deliberately targeting civilians. But, what I find interesting is the realisation in some leaders that violence has not served the Palestinians interests. That it is time for a different approach.

A non-violent movement is starting to take form. It might be small but it is growing. And it is strongly supported by the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas. This is not the first time on my journey that I have heard stories and seen examples of non-violent resistance. I think these initiatives deserve to be treated seriously. If they become stronger, it might shift people's mindsets and open the way for a different future.

12 days to go...

The king of laughter

Another crazy day. This one I was not expecting.

I attended yet another conference organised by Israeli and Palestinian peace activists, this time under the umbrella of IPCRI. I looked at the program, saw the people, and thought I had walked into the land of the whackos. You know what I mean, the kind of people who are into eastern philosophy, and who believe that peace will come to the Middle East through magic tricks, yoga, reiki, tai-chi, meditation, and even laughter! Come on guys, give me a break, I thought, get off your clouds and come back down to earth.

But you know what? The big skeptic in me was totally captivated by what I saw. I went to two workshops, one about using magic for peace and the other on the power of laughter.

The first workshop was cool. The facilitators are magicians who believe that magic and politics share many things in common, and that magic can be a tool for peace. They taught us four practical tricks that each person could use in their own peace work. I was there with a bunch of Israelis from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and Palestinians from Gaza, Hebron, Nablus, and Bethlehem. And they loved it. Adored it. Everyone was so excited.

But then came the laughter workshop; and it has changed me. His name is Belachew Girma and he calls himself a laughter therapist. He is from Ethiopia. His story is one of tragedy, suffering, despair and rebirth. He lost his home in a fire, lost his businesses and property to the government, contracted HIV/AIDS, lost his wife to the virus, and then turned to violence and alcoholism. But one day he changed his mind. Decided to stop worrying and start living.

He read dozens of psychology books, found Jesus, and a new path. He believes in the power of laughter to melt fear, hatred, anger, despair, and suffering. So he just started laughing. And he kept laughing and laughing and laughing. His laugh is infectious, his aura is magical.

Just see for yourself.

The people in the room were ex-prisoners, ex-soldiers, people who have suffered from years of conflict, war, hatred, violence and anger. And they were all in fits of laughter. Together.

Belachew Girma changed something in the people in that room. Who knows how long the effects will last or what it will achieve in terms of concrete peace for the future, but the weight was lifted. His message was clear: you must stop feeding negative emotions and strengthen positive ones. You must forgive and forget. He showed us that laughter can transform emotions. Until today I did not know to what extent.

13 days to go...

An Arab peace initiative

Today I met a guy who told me about an Arab peace initiative, an offer made by Arab states in 2002 to end the Arab-Israeli conflict, establish peaceful relations with Israel, in exchange for a complete withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, and a just settlement to the Palestinian refugee crisis. Sounds pretty good, no?

Think again. The initiative never really got off the ground. The day before the initiative was tabled, a massive terrorist attack, the Passover Massacre, was carried out by the Hamas military wing. Thirty Israeli civilians were killed and 140 injured. The attack sent shockwaves through the Israeli society. It completely overshadowed the initiative.

Since then, the Arab peace initiative has laid dormant, although it was re-endorsed by the Arab states in 2007.

I feel conflicted. On the one hand, to accompany a proposal for peace with a massive terrorist attack does not instill any confidence in the sincerity of the initiative. In fact, it stinks. But on the other hand, this was the first time that all Arab states came together to offer such a comprehensive peace deal with Israel. Can we really let a Hamas terrorist attack destroy this opportunity?

I wonder, does there have to be zero violence before a peace initiative can be considered? Does there have to be complete trust and confidence before a deal is possible? Or is it time to breath new life into the Arab peace initiative?

14 days to go...

The other voice

Today I went to Sderot to meet a guy who refuses to give in to the hatred. And believe me, this guy has a lot of cause for hatred. When the second intifada broke out in 2000, qassam rockets started coming over from Gaza into Sderot. At first, people in Sderot thought the rocket attacks would only last for a short time. No-one ever imagined that they would become an ongoing, long-lasting, and almost daily reality. Between 2005 and 2008, rocket attacks were particularly intensive. On good days, Sderot received two or three rockets, on bad days, up to sixty rockets.

The guy I met lives in Sderot with his wife and three children. His twins were three years old and his eldest daughter was six when the rocket attacks started. They are now 12 and 15 respectively. They do not know any other kind of reality. There are bunkers and shelters every few hundred metres. Many people receive ongoing trauma counselling.

When Justice Goldstone conducted a fact-finding mission earlier this year, he found Hamas militants guilty of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, for their indiscriminate and incessant rocket attacks at civilians in southern Israel. And rightly so. He called on them to investigate and prosecute those responsible.

Three years ago, the guy from Sderot, met two people from Gaza at a peace dialogue in Jerusalem. It was the first time he had met someone from Gaza since the rocket attacks had started, and it was an eye-opening experience. The three men promised to stay in contact.

And for the past three years they have kept the channel of communication open. They spoke, emailed and blogged together daily during the war in Gaza, from December to January.

They set up an organisation called the Other Voice, which is dedicated to bringing together people from Sderot and Gaza, if not in person, then by phone, skype, email or even through loudspeakers across the wall that divides Gaza from Israel!

They are trying to fight the demonisation of the other. They are concerned with the consequences of the dehumanisation, of treating everyone from the other side as an enemy. They believe that ongoing and sustained contact with people is key to remembering that human beings live on the other side.

What affects me so strongly about the story of Sderot and Gaza is how the situation has led to the blurring between military and civilian targets, between combatants and civilians. On the Hamas side, the enemy is the State of Israel, and they deliberately target civilians. On the Israeli side, the enemy is the Gaza Strip, which was declared "hostile territory" in 2007, and whose people have been severely punished ever since Hamas was elected.

The result: terrorized and traumatized civilian populations on both sides. 3 civilian deaths in Sderot and 773 civilian deaths in Gaza, including 320 children, during the last period of hostilities.

What I love about the work of the Other Voice, is that its members resist the blur. It is simple, yet incredibly powerful. They are a minority, but just imagine what could happen if these voices could got louder.

15 days to go…

Sorry guys...

I am exhausted. See you tomorrow.

16 days to go...