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The Wi'am offices bordered by the Separation Wall

Ancient desert custom

Wi’am is run by the charismatic Zoughbi Zoughbi, a Bethlehem peace activist, who says the intermixing fallout from conflict is creating a “pressure cooker situation. The Palestinian people need some signs of hope.  We are depressed, frustrated, disappointed.”

Zoughbi uses an ancient form of conflict resolution to prevent these feelings of hopelessness from overwhelming his community and manifesting in more conflict and violence.

The word ‘sulha’ is derived from ‘sulh’ meaning peace which is derived from ‘musalaha’ meaning reconciliation. And this is what Sulha is –  peaceful reconciliation. It is an Arabic custom that existed before the advent of Islam, evolving out of desert culture and surviving by being passed down generation to generation. Zoughbi explains how it works:

“Sulha deals with each conflict as individual. We first humanise the people involved and make it clear that its the system which is at fault and the person who is good. This creates the environment for people to talk without feeling judged, so they will be ready to move forward and find closure.

“As a conflict emerges, mediators go to the scene and listen to all parties. We observe everything, we validate emotions and  consider the conflict from all dimensions: psychological, social, economic, spiritual. The success or failure of the mediation falls on our shoulders. We need communication skills, wit, cultural knowledge and to pay attention to the minutest detail. Our mission is to do that while protecting all parties from loosing face, to redress the wrong, and to restore the relationship. Ultimately most of our work is based on compassionate listening, listening to others with our hearts. People here are surrounded by trauma, they are like sponges and they absorb it, they lose land, they go to prison. We are not machines, we can not keep it all inside, people need someone to talk to.

“Really it is shuttle diplomacy, we go back and forth between each party as many times as we need until the ground is ready for the parties to come together. Then we meet and work to agree a resolution which is legally binding. Then once the Sulha has been agreed the conflict must cease with all grudges and hard feelings left in the past.

“Drinking coffee is then the crowning of the ceremony. When both parties shake hands, sit and drink coffee together we know the relationship is mended. We measure our time in coffee cups. The more we drink, the more conflicts we solve!”

Turning violence into peace

Zoughbi and his team deal with conflict issues from across Palestinian society. Since first opening their doors in 1995, they’ve built up a stellar reputation in the community and local people know who to turn for when they need guidance and support.

“People in the local community are not reluctant to call us! Breakfast, lunch, 2am in the morning! And for all sorts of problems – debts, car accidents, domestic violence, marriage problems, local feuds, brawls, land disputes, honour, neighbours, workplace, even the police have referred conflicts to us.”

Zoughbi tells the story of one family he helped support.

“A lady came to us after her husband became violent and depressed. They’d been married for 15 years, had 6 kids, and up until then had a wonderful and happy family life. Then one day her husband started to beat her. He used to work in Jerusalem but lost his job once the Wall was built, so he had to sneak there illegally. One day he was caught travelling without a visa and was beaten and humiliated by a 17 year old Israeli soldier. Fortunately his name was not black listed and so he was released. When he got home his wife asked him for some money to cover a few bills and he hit her.

“He became depressed because of what he’d done and for what had happened to him and never left the house. She came to us then. She asked us not to tell her husband because it is not right to speak to a stranger about domestic issues so we came to his house pretending to ask for directions. He invited us in for coffee as is the Palestinian way. We sat, drank and talked. He asked us about our work and then he called his wife into the room and said ‘we must tell this man what happened, so he can help us.’ He told us the story and we visited several times. We found him a job, as part of our work is job creation. Six months later he, his wife and 6 children came to visit us with a box of chocolates to say thank you and to ask to become volunteers. His sons are now involved in our non violence programmes and he is now part of our committee.”

Keeping community alive

Whilst a peaceful resolution to the Israel Palestine conflict remains fundamental but elusive, Zoughbi chooses to focus his attention on creating and maintaining peace within his internal community.

“It is more important for me to recognise our lives in this big prison and solve the problems here than to cast my eyes outside the prison window and try and solve the problems beyond. Someone else is doing that and of course I wish they find the answer soon. But this is my people here, my family, my community and the community matters to the Palestinians, our society is built on it. We can not allow for a community where chaos and violence – symptoms of the conflict with Israel – take over our lives. It is not easy it takes all your energy, resources, sanity!! But we have to do it. And people appreciate it. That’s why the building we work in has been given to us free of charge for 10 years, because the owners see the importance of our work. This is our resistance to occupation. There is a saying, that two men are looking out of a prison window, one sees the bars the other sees the stars. That’s what we tell our community – to look for the stars. We want our building to be a place for living and for hope. Sooner or later this Wall will fall down, when you have nothing you have nothing to lose. And we have nothing but our handcuffs to lose.”

Finding peace with Israel

Zoughbi believes a solution to the Israel Palestine conflict will come when top level political will combine with grassroots movements for peace.

“There are three processes that will help end this conflict. We the Palestinians must continue to build on the non-violent movement that’s growing out of the villages by the Wall. At the moment these actions are happening in isolation so we need to join them up and give them momentum. Secondly the voices for peace in Israel must grow and get louder to put pressure on their government. Finally the international community must use its power and media to help unite these local movements and join them with international voices for peace.

“I believe in power coming from the bottom up, but we desperately need top level intervention. I see no solution without it because here Israel is absolutely powerful. How can we build peace between the two of us when one side is forbidden from travelling to meet the other? We do not start from equal footing. But I believe ordinary Israelis and Palestinian are exhausted from the violence. The Palestinians will not disappear and the Israelis are here to stay. We have no option but to find peace with each other. Neither of us is going away.”

To find out more about Wi’am visit http://www.alaslah.org/

Article by Susanna Bennett, January 2010

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Our approach has been a little different in each case. For Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, we have made an agreement with the well-known Peace NGO Forum to feature the groups that are part of that their network. There are such a range of impressive groups operating there that we felt this was the most efficient way to quickly allow us to show a representative view of Israeli and Palestinian peacebuilding, and you can now find information on more than 80 different groups here.

In the case of Pakistan, we have found two new Local Correspondents, Zahid Shahab Ahmed and Gulalai Ismail. Because of the size of the country – at over 170 million people, it will be easily the largest country we feature – we feel that two Local Correspondents will better allow us to give a national range of peacebuilders. Zahid has started us off with over 20 peacebuilding organisations, which you can read more about here.

We’ll be expanding these sections in the coming months, alongside other new conflict regions, so please do check back. As ever, any comments or suggestions are most welcome.

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I enter the waiting room; fathers and brothers with drawn tired faces sit silently on plastic seats watching a small TV. They nod as I sit and a heavy silence descends. A social worker passes and asks me why I am here? I say I am meeting Gamilah, that I have an interview with her. She breaks into an enormous smile; you are welcome she tells me and walks off. The atmosphere in the room instantly relaxes, all the men turn to me beaming “Gamilah you are waiting for Gamilah! She is a great, great lady!”

Coffee is shared, seats pulled in and the TV turned down as the men begin to share their stories. They have been coming here for years and know each other well. Their children all have permanently damaged kidneys and only a successful transplant will end their need for chronic dialysis. Their names are on the donor waiting list but even if an organ becomes available the operation will cost $60,000. Money none of them have. They can’t work full time due to the intensive hospital treatments required to keep their children alive. With no feasible end in sight, they are resigned to lives revolving around thrice weekly hospital visits.

Humans without borders

Yafit Gamilah Biso arrives in a flurry of conversations, warm greetings, handshakes and hugs. She is clearly adored by everyone here, Palestinian families and Israeli hospital staff alike. She takes me through to the dialysis ward to meet some of the children. Seven kids aged between 2 and 4 lie in cots with wires coming in and out of their stomachs clearing the toxins and impurities from their tiny bodies, a task their failed kidneys can no longer perform. Some are crying, others playing with toys. It’s thanks to Gamilah that these children can afford to come to the hospital as often as they need. She is the director of Humans without Borders, a grassroots NGO made up of Jewish Israeli volunteers who transport 600 children from Gaza and the West Bank to hospitals in Israel, saving their families thousands in travel fares.

A family in need

Gamilah started Humans without Borders seven years ago after a spontaneous reaching out to a Gaza family in need.

“After the second intifada the authorities stopped Palestinians coming into Israel. Then two families from Gaza were given permission to come to a hospital for urgent treatment. I went to visit them to see if there was anything I could do. The hospital only provided food for patients and the family couldn’t afford to eat in the canteen so I started to bring meals everyday. Then one of the mothers told me her child was ready to be released but that she couldn’t afford the 200 NIS taxi fare home. I told her ‘No matter, get your things, I will drop you home.’ And that’s how it all began. Initially I drove once or twice a week until one by one more of my friends got involved and we started to be a group. Now we have 250 volunteers and can cover 95% of the requests for help we get.”

Brought up in Syria, Gamilah belongs to a very wealthy and important family, who also happen to be Jewish.

“I grew up in a Jewish neighbourhood in Syria. My family was very rich and I was their princess. My first car was a Ferrari! For most of my life I went to a Jewish school but when I was 17 I had to go to a mixed High School. It was here that I first met Palestinians and heard their stories. I started to visit them in the refugee camps on the outskirts of Damascus. My parents always used to laugh at how curious I was, fascinated by old people, always wanting to hear their stories and ask them questions. So in the camps I’d especially love to talk to the old Palestinian women. They’d tell me stories of the Nabkha, how they fled their homes in 1948. They still had the keys of their Palestinian homes up on their mantelpieces. A reminder of what they’ve lost and where they dream to be.”

Gamilah came to Israel in 1985 after fleeing Syria and an abusive marriage.

“My marriage wasn’t good; I needed a better future for my kids. I had a son, a daughter and was 8 months pregnant again. My husband got drunk and told the authorities I wanted to leave and not come back. They took away all my money, my property and forced me to leave my son behind. It took a two year fight to get him back. That struggle helped me understand the pain of Palestinians separated from their families. It is devastating. I used to have to cross the border into the Sinai to call Syria because I couldn’t make contact from Israel.

“When I left Syria I didn’t have many choices. As a Jew I knew I could come to Israel and they would accept me. My Palestinian friends always urged me to come here and try to make a difference from inside. They’d say ‘we can not go back, but you can and help to make our dream of return possible.’ I found a city that wasn’t built on a Palestinian village and I moved here.”

The Disraeli family

Gamilah introduces me to Ahmed Disraeli and his son Atzlhm. Gamilah is here to take them back to their home, and they invite me for tea. We bundle into her car which is clearly of a woman whose life is lived on the go; papers, toys, clothes and water bottles, strewn across the floor. Before we leave Gamilah pulls from her boot a selection of balloons, stickers, stories, pens and glitter for Atzlhm to play with. As we travel from Jerusalem, past the wall and checkpoint into Bethlehem the engine repeatedly cuts out, the toll of unfiltered petrol from the West Bank and the bad roads there. Her two phones, one Israeli, the other Palestinian, ring constantly with families requesting transport and volunteers coordinating times.

The Disraeli’s live in a refugee camp on the outskirts of Bethlehem. Their narrow kitchen leads into a small room with a sink, coffee table, sofa, double bed and a door that leads onto an adjoining bathroom. The family used to live with Ahmed’s mother when they had to pay 1000 NIS a month to travel to and from the hospital. The money they save thanks to Gamilah and her volunteers means they could move out into this small oasis of privacy.

“In the beginning the families don’t believe we are doing this work for free, that we do it simply because we want to help them. My aim is to build relationships between Israelis and Palestinians. Otherwise I could collect money, buy a minibus and pay a driver to do all this. When these kids grow up and are told Israelis are their enemies I want them to have at least one Jewish person who did something good for them. Over time the families and volunteers get closer, as well as going to the hospital they take the children to the mall or the beach after their treatments. Our work is essentially humanitarian but we are building peace as well.”

Mixed reactions

Gamiliah receives a mixed reaction to her work particularly from her own family.

“There are different reactions of course but most Israelis support what I do. They can separate sick kids form the politics and see it as a humanitarian job. Every now and then you get a bad reaction. Two weeks ago I was depositing a donation at the bank and the cheque was from a volunteer in Sederot. The bank teller couldn’t believe it; she said ‘he must be crazy helping those that are firing rockets at him.’ I said, ‘You think he is stupid? He is wiser than you because he is fighting for peace.

“The main problem is misunderstanding and ignorance. When I first tell people in Arabic that I am Jewish they look at me like I am crazy, I throw my hands up and say ‘sorry I left my horns at home’! Religion is not important in my life, for me it means only how you treat others. Nothing more. First of all I am a human being; I am not stuck in my Jewish faith but religion is political now which is why I emphasis my faith to Palestinians. We need to show the Palestinians that Judaism has another face, that it is not just a force to oppress them. We must create associations for them between Jewish people and kindness.”

To find out more, visit Humans without Borders

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