Palestine
“I think peace, on the top of it, is dignity to have a dignified life where you are on the top of control of your reality, your future, but you are able to heal the past, because the pain has to end for us to be able to heal the past. For me today, the political peace definitely will be based on a two state solution, and the two state solution is the best guarantee for security in the Middle East, not just between Israel and Palestine. Lebanon, Jordan. And I think without standing back home for that, the world will not be able to help us.
I’m supposed to be the last person on earth who will speak about peace. I paid prices from my dream, my life, my brother’s life, and keep living there. I’m supposed to be the first one to hate Jews. But I know very well that as long as this hatred and lack of responsibility to manage even politics will lead us, we will just keep paying the prices of our own lives and our own rights.”
Ali Abu Awwad
Ali Abu Awwad, prominent Palestinian peace activist and proponent of nonviolence, Palestine has a conversation with Hiba Qasas, Founding Executive Director of Principles for Peace Foundation on choosing life, hope, the meaning of peace and how to break the cycles of violence and unite for a shared future.
Ali Abu Awwad is a prominent Palestinian peace activist who has worked in peace-building in Israel and Palestine for many years. He created the Palestinian non-violence movement Taghyeer, which envisions a democratic, independent Palestinian society based on freedom, dignity, and security for all. Through founding and organizing Taghyeer, Awwad views nonviolence as a lifestyle that successfully defends one’s rights. According to Awwad, “Non-violence is the art of practicing your humanity; it is the art of being a human being. Peace is a place where we can live by accepting our differences and respecting each other’s rights.”