Nina Gopaul * - Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 31 August 2006
Port Louis, Mauritius - We do not choose the country or the place of our birth. We can be born in India, in South Africa, in Israel, in Lebanon or in Palestine.
Neither do we choose the family who will welcome us in its midst …We can be born into a Hindu family, into a Buddhist family, into a Jewish family, into a Christian or into a Muslim family …We can be born into a wealthy family or into a household with limited financial resources …
Furthermore, we do not choose the body in which we shall live. We can be born with a hearing defect or with impaired eyesight. We can be white, black or any other colour.
However, we CAN choose the way we live, interact and solve our problems, our conflicts.
Conflicts. They are an essential part of life, whether on an interpersonal level or on a much larger scale between peoples, regions and states. But conflicts need not be resolved by using violence. Violence leads to a lose-win or a lose-lose situation, but never to a win-win situation for the parties involved. For years now, the Holy Land has known a situation of conflict with some full-scale wars, but last year, finally, the seeds of hope, appeared to be germinating. The Gaza withdrawal last summer was one of those moments of hope when people started to think that things might finally be happening. Alas, this summer, what had been achieved appeared to be unravelling … Since the end of June, there has been a dramatic increase in the conflict level. It seems that all sides involved are shouting louder and louder without listening to each other. The violence is making more and more victims as the days go by.
Is it a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure? Is the situation then totally hopeless? In view of the current situation, most people will say "yes" but the possibility of finding a peaceful solution to the conflict is real. Israelis and Palestinians, the children of Abraham, claim their affiliation to the same Patriarch. Both sides know the feelings of love, pain and suffering. The pain in the heart of a mother whose child goes to bed without food is the same on both sides. Equally terrible is the sorrow felt by a parent who buries a child falling victim to an act of violence. Following are some outstanding examples that must be proclaimed over and over to the world so that Israelis and Palestinians are not pre-judged as unable to live together in peace.
Last November, when the 12-year old Ahmed Al Khatib was accidentally killed by the Israeli Army, his parents were overwhelmed by grief but donated their child`s organs to Israelis. Mr Al Khatib, the father, clearly said that his gesture was a gift to peace. He wanted to see his child continue living by allowing others, these six Israeli citizens, who would have otherwise been condemned to death through organ failure, to begin a new life.
Hadassah Hospital made the headlines when Ariel Sharon was treated there. Less known, however, is its nomination for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize and the fact that both Israeli and Palestinian patients get equal treatment there. Professor Shlomo Mor-Yosef, the Director General, who himself lost a brother in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, declared, "there are two ways to react: one is to fight back -- continue to hate and kill, and the other is to try to find small bridges to peace". He added that he chose the latter path.
A bridge to peace … Building bridges, however small they may be, and consolidating them where they already exist, is one of the greatest challenges for Israelis and Palestinians now and for the coming years. The recent rise in levels of conflict has, for sure, increased the polarization of the societies. And in such situations individuals, as well as communities, tend to close themselves to the "other". Severance of inter-personal communications leads to the development of a `de-humanized other`. Prejudice and hatred thrive in such an environment. Bridge-building, on the other hand, can be an antidote to such a poison.
Simple actions at the grassroots level can help. Acknowledging each other`s humanity can happen in the form of meetings organised by NGOs involved in peace building or conflict resolution or by citizens from both sides who want to break the ice. It is highly probable that organising such events in the current context will not be as simple as writing these lines, but technology can become a useful ally. Video conferencing and net meetings can provide a substitute. Another important aspect is communicating about such initiatives. People must know that such meetings have taken place. Those who are willing to follow in these steps will feel encouraged as much as those who receive encouragement and congratulations for steps already taken.
Israelis and Palestinians can choose to succeed together.
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* Nina Gopaul is a Muslim citizen of Mauritius. She works in the private sector and is active in the field of interfaith dialogue. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews)
