Wed, 06 Dec 2006

Palestinian peace activist calls for understanding and new thinking to achieve a Middle East peace settlement

By Wolfgang G. Vögele

DORNACH (NNA) – The absence of progress in moves towards a peace settlement in the Middle East has produced a political vacuum which is being exploited by mafia-like organisations on both sides to promote an unfettered arms trade, the well-known Palestinian peace activist Sumaya Farhat-Naser said during a lecture at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, last week.

The professor, a biologist by training specialising in ecology, who has been honoured with a number of peace and human rights awards, began her talk by explaining the geopolitical history of the Gaza Strip and West Bank from 1947 to the present day. The Palestinian people had been living under military occupation for 39 years: “Our problems are not religious. Religion is only an excuse (by the occupying power). It is not morality but might which rules,” she said.

The conservative Islamic Hamas government elected by a majority in the Gaza Strip was rejected by the US, Isræl and most European governments as a negotiating partner because it did not recognise Isræl and was a terrorist organisation. As a result, western states and most European countries had adopted a policy of sanctions towards the Palestinians. But Hamas was the only force which had contributed anything to developing the social infrastructure of Palestine, Farhat-Naser said.

The Geneva convention, which placed a humanitarian responsibility on the occupying power for the territory it was occupying was being completely ignored, as were the UN resolutions calling for a withdrawal from the occupied territories. “That’s democracy,” the peace activist commented with biting irony.

The new Isræli settlements in the West Bank were not private initiatives of the settlers, as was often claimed in the media, but were based on government plans for the gradual annexation of Palestinian land which had been in existence since 1978 and which had been implemented by the government of Ariel Sharon. Isræl had annexed twenty percent of the land in this way in the last six years, Farhat-Naser said. The new Isræli settlements were, in effect, splintering the West Bank, restricting the ability of Palestinians to travel freely because they often had to take lengthy detours and were subject to harassment through the ever growing number of checkpoints: 500 at the last count.

Illustrating her point, she showed photos of the 8-12 metre high wall being built between Isræl and the West Bank with observation posts and firing systems (for comparison, the Berlin Wall was 3 metres high), dividing people, stoking fear and reinforcing the negative images of each other. By this means the Isræli side was hoping to encourage “human transfer” in the sense of: “If it gets too bad, people will leave anyway.” Many desperate Palestinians were, indeed, choosing the final option of emigration, she said.

Isræli human rights groups were fighting the occupation but were largely ignored by politicians.

Another vital factor, water, was also unjustly distributed. Palestinians had to economise on water because their daily ration was one tenth of what Isrælis and Isræli settlers received for the wasteful watering of their gardens. The same applied to water charges: Palestinians had to pay ten times the cost per litre.

Since the main Palestinian income was based on the cultivation of olives, more than a hundred thousand olive trees had been deliberately uprooted and destroyed by the state of Isræl. The speaker reminded her audience that many trees had been and still were being planted in Isræl by Europeans!

Speaking about the every-day lives of Palestinians under Isræli occupation, Farhat-Naser concluded: “It is hard and it will become harder if the current policy is maintained.” The only solution was a just peace settlement. Dialog had to be based on understanding. If current methods were failing, the rules of the game simply had to change.

Earlier, Paul Mackay, executive council member of the General Anthroposophical Society, had welcomed the Palestinian peace activist at the Goetheanum event on 29 November. The many people attending had come to the meeting not just because of the subject but also because of the speaker. Mackay took the opportunity to draw attention to a number of events connected with human rights which were planned at the Goetheanum next year. Exhibitions, campaigns and, as a highlight, a public conference in July were planned under the motto “Begetting the Future”.

With this very well attended event - the hall was hardly able to hold all the participants - the General Anthroposophical Society was also seeking to fulfil its task of promoting general human values and making a contribution to the burning issues of the day.

Farhat-Naser is on a lecture tour of Switzerland, also giving seminars for Swiss citizens of Arab origin. Despite a death in the family, she nevertheless decided to continue with the event at the Goetheanum, particularly as the meeting fell on Palestinian Solidarity Day.

A book table provided the audience, including many young people, with background information about the work of the speaker and many got the autograph they were hoping for at the end.

Farhat-Naser’s work in Palestine is focused on education for peace. By learning to preserve one’s humanity in conflicts, one also learned to survive.

Since January 2005, she has been holding seminars for seven women’s and youth groups on education for peace. Held in an ecumenical centre (mainly Muslim and Christian) they were seeking to come to an understanding of the idea that there was “a core of goodness in each human being. It is up to me whether I can make it unfold.”

The differences between people and religions could also be experienced as an enrichment. When Farhat-Naser, herself a Christian, keeps pointing out to her students that the three great monotheistic religions have ninety percent in common, it is well received. When the relevant authority had approved her courses with surprising speed, it turned out that the person handling the matter was a former student of her’s.

Specific training methods were intended to teach how anger could be avoided and self-control achieved. But since such “Empowerment” courses had not been recognised by the authorities, they were called something different, such as “Courses preparing for early marriage.”

The basis for peace among peoples was to find peace in oneself. The strategy of de-escalation also included admitting one’s own errors such as cultivating racist thoughts or giving reign to feelings of hate.

Several women’s groups led by Farhat-Naser (mostly mothers) were studying “non-violent education”. Men had greater difficulty in coming to terms with the idea of peace since they were traditionally responsible in the Middle East for taking a “hard line attitude” and were thus under great social pressure. But men’s attitudes were also beginning to change when, for example, they attended seminars for couples intending to marry.

Much psycho-hygienic work was necessary to introduce a change in the way of thinking, such as for example a culture of laughter which included the telling of jokes.

Farhat/Naser said she had no contact with the Isræli peace movement; it was currently only possible to hold joint events in the US. As a woman, she was privileged to enjoy better travel opportunities.

The speaker indicated that she thought there might be a slight improvement in the situation with a change of administration in the US.

Her thoughtful, lively, open and honest presentation was well-received by her audience. In response to the question „What can we do to help?“ she said that assistance from outside was just as important as her own work. Various supporting organisations, churches, peace and women’s initiatives were donating money, for example for the „Women Advocating for Peace“ project.

It was also of help when foreign journalists were made aware of the situation. They were only allowed to stay for two hours a day in the occupied territories. Since most of them could not speak Arabic, they received most of their information from Isræli sources.

At the end, Paul Mackay thanked Sumaya Farhat-Naser for a presentation which revealed a great humanitarian attitude.

END/nna/cva

Item: 061206-01EN Date: 6 December 2006

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