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 info@mend-uk.org
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 info@mend-uk.org
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!