Examples Through Interview from Helmand, Delhi, Srinagar and Bethlehem

— by HfHR Cofounder Sunita (With translation help from Masuda Sultan and Vijayendra Kadalabal)

NOTE: THE HINDUS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS BLOG IS A SPACE FOR A HEALTHY EXPLORATION OF IDEAS PERTINENT TO OUR MISSION. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS BLOG ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICY OR POSITION OF HINDUS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS.

I spoke to Iqbal Jan three days after he lost his mother to Covid19. This was also the day of a Taliban attack on a marketplace in Helmand which killed 24 people. When I expressed condolences, he said, “this is part of life and nature.” Iqbal Jan is a Pashtun Afghan from Helmand. He grew up in war, and has become accustomed to losing loved ones. 

Please tell me about People’s Peace Movement, and how it started.

People’s Peace Movement (PPM) began 2 years and three months ago. There had been an explosion at a wrestling match in Helmand, and a number of children were killed. This was a devastating event for us, a tipping point.  People were just accepting these tragedies as if they were normal, natural. Nobody was doing anything.

All the people who helped me start PPM were young and involved in their studies or business. It was difficult to make a change in their lives. But we all decided we had to do something.

I was 25 ½. I was studying medicine and running a clinic -- but I had to abandon my career to devote myself to this cause. This couldn’t be done part-time. 

PPM started with me and my best friend -- my brother from another mother, with whom I had grown up -- Qais Hashimi. First we were two, then ten, and almost immediately there were hundreds.

The catalyst for starting PPM was the Helmand explosion. A disturbing video circulated on social media showing a very young child screaming and crying. His father had died, and the child was so hungry that he was asking to eat his father’s body. Qais and I decided that we had to do something. We took a long walk on a quiet and remote street, and started calling trusted friends and family. The advice we got was consistently, “This isn’t something you can solve. Don’t bother wasting your time. You will get yourself killed.”

However, Qais and I weren’t convinced by the naysayers. We felt that people were speaking from fear. “If you decide something, you must go forward,” we told ourselves.

We decided to push forward. Of course, anything we did would risk our lives. But we would live as though we too had died in the explosion. If we assumed that we had died, we would have nothing left to lose and everything to gain.

We put up a tent at the place of the explosion, and waited to see if anyone would come. Were the people with us? To our surprise, people came in droves, from morning to night. People agreed that they wanted change, they wanted peace. 

Word spread quickly across the country. At that time, Facebook was the main method of communication. Within a week, people pitched tents in 21 of the 34 provinces that make up Afghanistan. The message of peace resonated with ordinary Afghans everywhere.

There was such a positive and overwhelming popular response that both the Taliban and the Afghan government were threatened at first. The Taliban accused us of being spies for the United States, and the government just wanted our movement to disappear.

But when it was clear that this movement had struck a note with the people, the government calmed down and accepted us.

What does People’s Peace Movement stand for?

The message of PPM is quite simple, and hasn’t changed over the last two years.

War has been going on for 20 years. If this is a jihad for justice for the Afghan people, it isn’t working. If this is a war on terrorism, that isn’t working either. There are still daily explosions which kill ordinary people like us. The only thing that will make life tolerable for ordinary Afghans is peace. 

We want all people -- men, women and children -- to yell and scream and insist on peace. 

We not only insist on an end to fighting, but we also insist that the movement itself is nonviolent. We believe that nonviolence is the only way to achieve peace. There is no other way than nonviolence. Against who would you pick up arms? And how will you pay for weapons? 

What are the sources of your inspiration and the inspiration for PPM?

The main inspiration for the PPM is Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, known as “Frontier Gandhi,” a great freedom fighter devoted to the principles of unity and nonviolence. He was close to Gandhi and worked for the liberation of India alongside Gandhi. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan started the Khudai Kidmatgar (servants of God) movement in India, but he lived and worked in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. In fact he died in Peshawar and was buried at his home in Jalalabad. We are also inspired by Gandhi himself and another freedom fighter who was close to Gandhi, Abdul Khan Samad Achakzai. We learn about these three men in our studies in school.

How did the big PPM march across the country come about?

We spent the first 40 days interacting with ordinary people in the tents that had been erected in Helmand. The conversation was deepening in other provinces. After 40 days, we decided to travel across Afghanistan to meet people in other provinces. We didn’t want people to think of PPM as a Southern Pashtun movement. We wanted to connect with Hazaras and Uzbeks and Tajiks in the Northern provinces.

It took us 38 days to walk to Kabul. There, we sat down in front of all the major Embassies and the United Nations. And then we walked further North. We made sure that our marchers did not number more than 100. This was because most villages could not manage to feed more than 100 people. Villagers gladly fed us, and filled our two cars with petrol. We spent the nights in mosques. The march didn’t cost us any money because of the generosity of villagers. Everywhere we went, people responded with enthusiasm. 

PPM became famous all over the world, and we were written about in international media, for walking, marching, from province to province, talking to ordinary people, and calling for peace. Our efforts led to the first ceasefire since 2001, a three-day ceasefire on the part of both the Taliban and the Afghan government during Eid 2018. In 2019, we walked into Taliban territory just to sit and talk. People thought we had been kidnapped, but we were not harmed.

Can you talk about the Peace Process, and whether you have been able to influence it?

Afghan people have to decide their own future. Outsiders have been calling the shots for way too long, and throughout our history. PPM is calling for a jirga of the people; not the Taliban or the government, no fighting factions, just the citizens. 

Because the United States, Qatar, Russia all are playing a part in our peace process, I feel that we need a United Nations structure, with a committee of ordinary Afghan people who can have a say in the process and outcomes. A deal between the United States and the Taliban that would leave out all of Afghanistan -- our people and our government -- will simply not work.

This is proven by the fact that instead of reducing violence, both the Taliban and the government have stepped up their attacks. 

Covid19 has prevented villagers from coming out. However, I am sure that villagers will continue to raise their voices because they are aware that the process requires their participation. 

Since the ideology of the Taliban, the beliefs of regular Muslims, and the views of those that desire democracy are all in conflict with each other, all the groups must to sit together and talk. This is the only way a solution will be found, and making this happen is PPM’s goal.

I met Altaf Khan, his wife Fauzia and their 10-year-old son Kafeel in January 2020 at the Asia Plateau, a center for introspection and dialogue in Panchgani, India.  Altaf and family are Kashmiris, and I met them five months after the abrogation of Article 370. Altaf Bhai is a lawyer, and Fauzia is a social worker. Both have dedicated their lives to Kashmir. They are now devoted to working among the youth in Kashmir, encouraging them to resist oppression in creative, constructive and nonviolent ways. They saw a level of despair, and wanted to focus on instilling hope in the youth of Kashmir. 

I caught up with Altaf Bhai a few days ago. He and his family were in Srinagar. 

How are things in Srinagar?

A lot has changed for the worse. On top of the increased military presence, the outright banning of journalists in Kashmir, the imprisonment of both politicians and activists, and the intense lockdown which has been in place since August 5th, the corona virus pandemic and the dispute with China have brought even more distress.  

There is an ever-increasing army presence, and jets hovering in the sky every day.  China has extended into Ladakh, and we feel that a war is imminent. There are no modes of justice or grievance redressal in Jammu and Kashmir, especially  in Kashmir valley.

The new Domicile Law, which allows Indians from all parts of India to purchase property and compete for jobs in Jammu and Kashmir, has created an acute anxiety and anger in the people of Kashmir. However, people are not allowed to protest peacefully and vent their anger.

Are young people able to go to school?

There has really been no school since August. Schools have been trying to operate online since the pandemic, but the sporadic internet connection, which is 2G at best, makes this near-impossible. Kafeel may have an hour of school a day, and then no school for days after that. We play with him and educate him ourselves as almost all the parents in Kashmir do. 

How have you been spending your time?

Fauzia and I have been focused on relief in recent months. As people have been under consistent lockdown since August 5, 2019, there has been acute shortage of food and medicines. We have been part of a group that managed to distribute around 4000 food kits with essential items like rice, oil, pulses, flour and other essential items to families in need.  

Our work with youth has also continued. The armed forces including the local police have been destroying property and killing young boys. Youth are accused of being militants or harboring separatist sentiments, and a baseless accusation is enough for the forces to imprison, beat up and even kill the youth with impunity. 

There is no political structure. It has been decimated. No social structure. No legal structure. Unless a person actually explicitly shuns the separatist ideology, they will be punished. There was a recent High Court of Jammu and Kashmir judgment which explicitly said that people can be detained for having an ideology, even if they have not committed any illegal action.

We are afraid that the levels of anxiety and anger are so high that the youth will take to drugs and/or violence. When you are angry, hopeless, frustrated, and don't see any way, any future, what else will you do? Everything is being destroyed our language, land culture and our value system. 

We appeal to young Kashmiris with the message that to take up arms is to commit suicide. Nonviolent resistance is the only pragmatic path. It is important that we fight violence with reason and create a just system based on mutual understating and trust. 

Why are you committed to nonviolent resistance?

My firm commitment to nonviolent resistance comes from Islam. Violence is an option only in extreme circumstances when there is no other option. One may use violence to protect oneself or one's dear ones only in extreme circumstances. One should keep trying nonviolent methods as long as possible. 

For me, means are as important as the ends. If you use violence against violence, you lose your moral stand. You become the same as your aggressor. Violence begets violence and there is no end to it. What’s more, the fight here is with an ideology, a mindset -- in this case forces of suppression and aggression in India. Hindu nationalism is on the rise. One cannot fight ideology with violence but only with a better ideology and dialogue. 

Are there other sources of influence and inspiration for you?

Apart from the Quran, my inspiration is the life of the Prophet of Islam. In recent  history there have been inspirational people like Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan who could have opted for violence, but chose nonviolence instead.

Fauzia and I regularly discuss the the means and methods of nonviolence and the lives of people like Gandhi, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Martin Luther King and other American civil rights leaders with the youth in Kashmir. We also discuss Islam and the philosophy of sabr (endurance), which is the core of Sufism, and so important during these tough times.   

What is the response of the youth to such conversations? 

In spite of the frustrations we sense in the youth, there is also a wonderful energy and enthusiasm for dialogue and debate about matters of justice, spirituality, and the future. Young people want to build something positive and help their community. Survival is an achievement and if young people are talking about their hope for a free and fair world, that’s phenomenal. 

What Is the source of your hope for Kashmir?  

I am overwhelmed by the way people of Kashmir , even in the midst of this dehumanizing crisis -- have supported each other. Since January this year around 200,000 food kits were distributed by people, and as a result, no one in Kashmir sleeps hungry. It is a great achievement I believe.

How did you become the leader of Khudai Kidmatgar?

I was an organizer with the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) from 2000 onwards. My passion was always to work with youth. I devoted myself to this work from 2000 to 2009, focusing mostly on grassroots work in Haryana. For those nine years, I stayed mostly at a Shiva Temple in Ambala District in Haryana. Yogendra Yadav, Sandeep Pandey and Medha Patkar were leaders in NAPM who inspired and mentored me.

Khudai Kidmatgar (KK) was founded in 1929 by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, the “Frontier Gandhi. The KK movement did not continue with the same large numbers after Indian independence and the assassination of Gandhi. However, there were regular meetings on the lawn of the Constitution Club in Delhi until 1965. After that, KK pretty much disappeared. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was largely forgotten by Indians, and many youth weren’t even aware of his role in India’s history and liberation.  

The image of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was negative in the Muslim community. Muslims thought of him either as an irreligious communist. He was not a hero for Muslim youth. However, this was changing, and there was renewed interest in the role that Khudai Kidmatgar played during the Indian freedom struggle.

The idea for resurrecting the Khudai Kidmatgar movement was born in NAPM. And on January 20, 2011, the 23rd anniversary of the death of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, we relaunched Khudai Kidmatghar. (This NDTV news segment brings to life this moment in history.) 

One of Gandhi’s granddaughters Tara Gandhi, presided over the ceremony which took place at Birla House in Delhi, the place where Gandhi was assassinated on January 30, 1948.  Fifty young people from all around India gathered as members of the new Khudai Kidmatgar, and took the oath.  Our goal was to increase the membership to 5,000 within months. 

Why are you so inspired by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Bacha Khan)?

Bacha Khan worked continuously for social and religious reform, traveling from village to village -- in and around Peshawar, where he lived -- speaking to people in mosques and temples and schools. He believed that all religions exist for the service of humanity, and Khudai Kidmatgar was always an inclusive movement. The movement was mostly made up of Muslims, but it included Sikhs and Hindus as well. One can be a practicing Muslim. But the most faithful person, no matter their religion, works for humanity. One value that Bacha Khan insisted on -- and which is a core principle of today’s Khudai Kidmatgar -- was that true Servants of God should not ask for a reward.

Bacha Khan’s nonviolent and inclusive approach to societal reform was something he came to due to his deep faith. His movement was a parallel movement to Gandhi’s nonviolent freedom struggle. When the two great men met, they joined forces and worked together for India’s freedom. Gandhi added pragmatism to Bacha Khan’s nonviolent movement for social and religious reform. 

There was a particular massacre that took place in a market in the Qissa Khwani Market in Peshawar in 1930. This massacre was just like the more famous Jalianwala Bhag Massacre. British troops attacked Khudai Kidmatgar members who were peacefully protesting British rule. Although the official number is that 20 were killed, both Indian and Pakistani sources claim that over 200 were killed.  This massacre was a formative moment for Bacha Khan and his nonviolent movement for peace. Kudai Kidmatgar’s main goal was to make make India self-reliant, and the movement was allied with Gandhi till his assassination.

What has Khudai Kidmatgar been working on lately?

In recent months we have been devoted to relief work for India’s poorest during Covid19, those who have been most severely impacted by the lockdowns. Before that, our members all across the country were working towards interfaith dialogue during a time of great polarization - with many Indians taking to the streets to protest the Citizenship Amendentment Act (CAA) introduced by the government. We took pains to engage in dialogue with Hindu religious leaders and renunciants in ashrams and temples.  It isn’t easy to change people’s minds, but if we are genuine and sincere we will surely connect with people who have a different opinion to us.

If Service is one main pillar of our movement, dialogue or samvaad is an equally important pillar. 

Our work is complete when we talk to people who disagree with us. No one is our enemy. We engage with secular people and religious people, and we serve everywhere where we are needed. In October (2019) we did a cycle yatra from Delhi to Calcutta, and stayed in mandirs along the way. Our goal was to bring people together to talk about the lynchings that were taking place. If you speak to people with love, they will listen.

How is KK addressing this dark moment in India, with a Hindutva government threatening our very democracy?

Things are heated in today’s India. And our approach is like water, which cools everything down. People will not reject water in a heatwave. A fire cannot be put out with petrol, only with water. No one attacked us during our Cycle Yatra. This is proof that our method works.

There have been two attempts on my life. In 2013, I was in Uttar Pradesh trying to bring peace between Muslims and Bodos who were engaged in a violent conflict. A group of about 20 Bodo youth said they would kill me. In that moment, I decided that if I was going lose my life, I would die fearlessly, and while doing my dharma. And so I started reciting the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas, and translating. The youth were visibly confused, and saying, “Jaane do, Jaane do (let him go, let him go),” they freed me. In fact, they put me in an auto-rickshaw so that I could reach Sandeep Pandey’s Asha Ashram safely.

The other time my life was threatened was in Calicut, Kerala. I had just given a speech on Muslim fundamentalism, and returned to my hotel. Three youth from Karnataka appeared, and accused me of speaking against Islam. They threatened to kill me. Luckily, they became afraid when I simply walked to the hotel reception and started making calls, and simply ran away.” 

Of course I am very concerned about the state of the Indian democracy. It is a challenging time, I don’t deny that. A dark time. Some people think I am mad, but I maintain that the only way we will bring light to this darkness is with even more truth and love. Khudai Kidmatgar is doing it, but we need to do more. We must take from Gandhi’s example and Bacha Khan’s example, and go among the people with love and humanity. And the most important thing is to work with both Muslim and Hindu youth. 

Youth respond very well when we teach them about Meera and Kabir. When we teach them Sufi poetry and teachings. The youth is tired of all the fighting. We need to speak to the youth with love. This is the only way to root out hatred. 

During the “gharmi” (hot season), we drink juice and water. The love we bring to the youth is like water which will put out the fire of hatred. And no matter the size of the fire, whether is it is tiny or raging, the solution is always water. Similarly, the only solution to violence and hate is love. Only love.

When we meet youth, we don’t immediately talk about politics. We talk to them about their lives, their financial worries, their careers, their problems in love. In time, political issues come up naturally. But just that little bit of love is something our youth are starving for, and showing love means they join Khudai Kidmatgar willingly.

Today, Khudai Kidmatgar has grown from the first 50 to 50,000 members from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. The movement is as diverse as India, and not a single person receives a salary. A few people have managed to get fellowships with stipends to do this work, but Khudai Kidmatgar itself doesn’t pay anyone. 

The times are very dark, but I don’t accept that everything is finished.  We have a chance of making a difference. 

It was the mistake of secular progressive people to exclude religious people from the discourse. The country was in our hands for 60 years. Our omission led to the Hindu right to become strong. We must recognize our mistake and strive to be inclusive in everything we do. The challenges are many, but we in Khudai Kidmatgar are brave; we believe love can conquer hate; and that humanity will win.

Can you share your personal journey?

My parents were among the 70% of Palestinians forced to become refugees. Their village was among the 534 villages that were occupied and destroyed in 1948 by Zionists during the Nakba. Part of my family ended up in the Aida Refugee Camp, where I was born. or elsewhere in Palestine . Others are in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and many other countries. I split my time between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

People in the refugee camps started in tents but eventually built homes to keep their dignity and fulfill their humanity, and not be portrayed as recipients of charity. 

I was lucky. After getting my BA in Bethlehem University in Biology, I received a scholarship to continue my studies in France. I was in France for nine years, from 1985 - 1994, and I earned my PhD in Biological and Medical Engineering. During my stay in France I was confronted with my Palestinian identity. I was seen as a terrorist, interrogated by police in the street. It was then that the concept of “Beautiful Resistance” began to develop in my mind.

I came back to Palestine in 1994. While living in France, I deepened my work in painting, writing, photography and theatre.  I started working with my Biology degrees to earn a living, and also volunteered in the community to teach painting and theatre to children and youth.

What is Beautiful Resistance?

In 1998, along with others, I founded Alrowwad, which means The Pioneers. 

Hearing Palestinian kids say they want to die for their country shocked me despite the fact that in different countries people want to defend and die for their country, especially when under occupation. I realized that my thinking was different to everyone around me. I had been a stranger in France, but I had returned to feel like a stranger in my own country. I had left home and was able to look at myself from outside, and I now saw things in a way that didn’t fit.

Hearing children saying “I want to die for my country” was painful. We owe children life. We owe them every possibility so they can grow up and change the world and perform miracles, without thinking of dying or carrying a gun or blowing someone up or burning themselves.  Our children need to stay alive and do something they can be proud of.

This concept of Beautiful Resistance became a way to use the performing arts, visual arts, culture, education and media to seduce young people; get them to express themselves in a beautiful, creative and non-armed way; get them to think of living rather than dying for their country, and making a positive and long lasting change.

We started with theatre because I believe theatre is one the most powerful ways to express yourself in a truthful and unpolitically correct way.  To tell your version of your story. To shout as loud as you want. It can be a way to build peace within yourself. Because if you are not at peace with yourself, how can you make peace with anyone else? And if you are not truthful to yourself how can you be truthful with anyone?

Not everybody wanted to do theatre, so we added dance, singing, music, photography and video. We worked with kindergartens, schools, parents, and we focused a lot on mothers. I believe that it is women who change the world. It is so important to build the peace within the mother, within the family, within the community and in the whole world.

And of course it started to expand. We started Mobile Beautiful Resistance, with a van to circulate with our theatre trainer, dance trainer, music group, photography and video trainer, and even a play bus where we created our own wooden games to make education fun and not just memorization and dictation. We went all over the West Bank training the trainers and connecting with other Palestinian communities. Of course this was all happening with the backdrop of the second intifada and continuing oppression. Our activities were an act of resistance against this planned systemic segregation of Palestinian communities from each other.

And later on international people found us and asked, “How can we help? How can we support?” So we created Friends of Alrowwad in France, and then the United Kingdom. Some people supported financially, some came and volunteered. Some invited me and others to speak in their countries. Some organized theatre performances for us to tour with our shows.

We toured in a lot of countries during these 22 years: Sweden, Denmark, France. Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg, United States, United Kingdom and others. We participated in many festivals. This was an amazing experience because it allowed our young people to see normal life in free countries, whatever normal means.  

It allowed our young to connect. To see that we are all equal human beings. We share a lot of things that should bring us closer to each other. And we also have differences, and these differences are for me the most beautiful gift that God gave us, because it is a way to bridge us.

In Muslim faith, differences are a basic beauty of humankind. God created us different so that we can meet, interact, even get married to each other. To flourish in this universe and not suppress each other and eliminate each other. Our similarities and differences should bring us closer and enrich us. And once we have connected with others, we can defend what is just and what is right regardless of who is the oppressor and who is the oppressed.

I am Jewish if Jews are oppressed.

I am Muslim if Muslims are oppressed.

I am Christian if Christians are oppressed.

I am Hindu if Hindus are oppressed.

So that’s why we identify with every injustice in the world.

And now Black Lives Matter. Yes they matter the most in the United States because of what is happening. Now in India, Burma and China, Muslims lives matter the most. Indigenous Americans’ lives matter the most. Aborigines lives matter the most. We can’t only defend our own human rights and say that others deserve what is happening.

We have to be truthful with ourselves and about our values. Human rights are not elastic. They don’t change according to facts on the ground, or with this leader or that. This is the essence of it for me. Beautiful resistance can be undertaken in beautiful and non-armed ways to build the peace within.

Where do you get your inspiration?

On one side, I am inspired by my faith as a Muslim, by the Quran, and by Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). I am also inspired by all the prophets, and by some political figures like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, all those who identified injustice and resisted. 

One of the things I am not in agreement with Gandhi about is the expression of nonviolence against violence. For me, there is a difference between violence and armed struggle. Armed struggle is the legitimate right of any oppressed people. Every international law and every UN resolution gives people who are under oppression and occupation to resist the occupier by all means including armed struggle. Violence is wanton aggression against innocent people, and is condemnable. Armed struggle is not violence. It is not terrorism. Governments try to portray every resistance as terrorism. 

This is why I tend to  talk about armed and non-armed struggle rather than violence or nonviolence. Gandhi said:

“I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence... I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honour than that she should, in a cowardly manner, become or remain a helpless witness to her own dishonor.”

During the decades that Palestinians resisted British rule, how many Palestinians were armed and what weapons did they have? Armed struggle was born officially in Palestine when the PLO Palestinian Liberation Organization was created in 1964- 1965. One must look at the structure of the PLO. Though it promoted this armed struggle, 85% of PLO movement was an unarmed struggle in fact, and took the form of writers unions, workers unions, artists unions, students unions and medical unions, etc; and only 15% was allocated to armed struggle. 

You can come whenever you want to Palestine and you can see how many of us are walking in the streets with guns and how many are not. It has mostly been an unarmed struggle in Palestine. 

And of course we are attached to the terminology of violence and nonviolence. It might be more presentable to the international community. I used these terms for some time. But then I realized the difference between violence, which is illegal and illegitimate; and armed struggle, which is legitimate and therefore cannot be equal to violence. 

99% of Palestinians have never carried a gun in their life. If people believe that the only way to change the world is to carry a gun, then we lose our humanity. This is where we don’t want our children to go. We want to give them every possibility so that they believe that they can change the world and create miracles; so that they never think that they need guns. 

I would never dictate to our children what they should and should not do. I do not tell them not to throw stones. I am giving them every possibility so that they hopefully choose not to themselves. 

Now, if Sunita is going to tell them to go and throw stones, then I will fight with Sunita because it is not up to Sunita to send children to go throw stones. If Sunita wants stones thrown, them she should go throw them herself.  My role is to protect our children and give them a new horizon.  

This is why our international tours are important. In the United States, in France, in other places, we meet people from different countries and religions. We meet with Jews who are supportive of the Palestinian cause for justice and do not want to be connected to Zionism and what Israel is doing. It is important that our youth see Jews other than the soldiers behind their door. So this is the richness of touring, and the richness of the arts. If you see a film or a play, or listen to music, or read a book, or see a dance, I don’t think anyone will say “I don’t like it because it is American or Indian or French or Japanese.” You like or don’t like art based on how much it touches you. This is where stereotypes disappear. And art puts us on equal ground as human beings. Through art, we can build bridges together to shape a better future based on equality and common values as human beings. And our bridges will enable generations to come to be connected and be enriched with similarities and differences.

What is your vision for Palestine’s Future?

I believe that diverse people can live together. Palestine was always, and will always be a country of multiplicity and diversity with Muslims, Christians, Jews, and others. I am a Muslim, but I cannot see Palestine as a country for Muslims only. This is a racist notion that doesn’t fit with the culture and identity of this country. I can’t accept a Palestine which is for Muslims only, or Christians only, or Jews only. Palestine is about inclusion and not exclusion. So that’s why, of course it should be a one state solution. We should all live together--but as equal human beings. 

I don’t care personally if the President is a Muslim or Christian or Jewish or whatever, as long as he or she works for the goodness of his or her country, and the goodness of the people. So long as he or she puts all people on equal ground, with no priority for this political party or that religion. I can’t see any hope for a two state solution. It is shameful that the countries that supported our peace process and applauded the Camp David and Oslo agreements, and yet did not put any pressure on Israel to make peace happen. And the modest and shy condemnation of Israeli annexation plans are simply not enough, since they do not ensure that Israel is made accountable for whatever they are doing.

Are you worried about Israel’s Annexation Plans?

All these years, Israel has been taking our land bit by bit. They have been creating more and more colonies, partitioning the West Bank, and erasing the possibilities for what they are calling two state solution. In fact, the two state solution was compromised 22 years ago. 

Israel has also managed to humiliate the Palestinian authority and continuously make it lose its credibility with its people. I cannot have faith in an authority that cannot protect me.  When we are threatened, we cannot find the Palestinian soldiers or police to protect us. We are face to face with the Israeli occupation, directly. The Palestinian authority cannot intervene because the Oslo Agreement gives Israelis the right to go wherever they want, kill who ever they want, demolish whatever house they want, arrest whoever they want, without any accountability. The Palestinian Authorities continue to call on international law, international organizations, to no avail. 

Under Trump, Palestinians have lost any support from the American government. Jerusalem was given as a gift to Israel. And the Americans have given the green light to Mr. Netanyahu for his plans for the annexation of the West Bank. Israel is afraid of carrying out the annexation; it is the American Ambassador to Israel that is pushing this plan forward since this is a golden opportunity with Mr. Trump in power to do something concrete.

Of course there is a lot of anger and frustration on the part of the Palestinian people, because there is no punishment for Israel for violating every law in the world.

When we toured in the UK in 2016 we were invited to the commonwealth office. Our British hosts wanted to hear our young people’s reflections about their visit to the UK. 

One of our young people asked, “Next year it will be 100 years of Balfour Declaration when you gave our country as a gift to European Jews. Would Britain consider apologizing to the Palestinian people for this?” 

The response from the British representative: “Oh you know, this is all old history, we are interested in moving forward.”

Our young person: “OK, so what are you doing to move forward?”

British representative: “Well, we express our concern to the Israeli government about house demolitions and the continual colonization.”

Our young person: “Ok, so concretely what do you do?”

British representative: “Well we asked them to stop the home demolitions and colonization.”

Our young person: “So how can you make them accountable?” 

British representative: “Well you know, we are politicians - this is diplomacy. We cannot  go to war against Israel, so we just talk to them.”

Our young person: “Ok, so what do you do for Palestinian people.”

British representative: “Oh well, we sent them humanitarian aid!” 

So on the one hand, you have the Israelis who have no accountability and countries just talk to them. And to shut the Palestinians up, they send humanitarian aid. They put some crumbs on the table and think they have done their duty and their conscience is clear. They have done something for these poor miserable people.

Palestinians are not a humanitarian cause. We are not poor because we are lazy or don’t have resources. We are put into poverty by this illegal occupation, and this segregation between Palestine, Jerusalem and the West Bank which deprives us of the right to circulate, to import, to export, to manufacture, even to fall in love with whoever we want.  And the international actors simply dictate to us what we should do rather than consult with us and support us to do what we need to do.

This is why my philosophy is: with or without money we do what we need to do. Those who want to support us financially or otherwise, can help us build an infrastructure to create jobs so that young people keep their dignity, and not just throw some crumbs to keep us poor for eternity. 

The US government has put a “Terrorism Act” clause on its USAID funding. They require us to have much tighter controls on who benefits from our projects. But I cannot turn away the children whose parents may or may not be members of Hamas or Fatah. I cannot do the policing for the Israelis, and those who support them. And now the Europeans are adopting a similar policy. So we have boycotted both USAID and European funding. They consider the Palestinian resistance as terrorism and we cannot accept that, and we cannot just compromise our rights. 

I chose my path. I know what I am doing. But I am not here to support what Israel is doing. They call our resistance terrorism, and all of their aggression is self-defense. Is it self-defense to kill innocent people in the street, to demolish our houses and give collective punishments? Is it self-defense to kill a one and a half year old baby?

This is state terrorism, and our resistance (armed and non-armed) is legitimate. With or without money we keep working.

The world will not change by good intentions only, it needs good actions. Miracles will not happen by themselves. We need to provoke them to happen. Everybody is a change-maker. We need to use our collective power, our strength, our coalitions to make change that is positive and constructive. 

How do you manage to keep hope alive?

I think there is a lot of despair in this world.  I think we are raising a generation that has lost hope. They are shocked by all these human rights violations, and by the hypocrisy of all these countries who promote freedom and justice and human rights values, but are the first to violate them. 

Even with that, my philosophy is that we we do not have the luxury of despair. We cannot succumb to despair. We must keep going on with resilience so that every day is more beautiful than the last. This is our commitment to our children. We cannot give them a future of despair and hopelessness. 

However, before we can share and build bridges between us, it is important that we build peace within ourselves. I cannot go and work with Israelis today because neither do Israelis have peace within themselves to be able to work with me, nor do our children have peace within themselves to be able to work with Israelis.

When the American government or European governments decide that they must do something for Israel and Palestine, they fund projects that bring Israelis and Palestinians together.  Everyone dances together, eats together, answer say hallelujah we need peace; and when the project is finished, everyone goes back to their side. Nothing changes and the politics continue.

There is a Hadith by Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). He said, “Support your brother whether he is an oppressor or oppressed.” His companions asked, “We will of course support our brother when he is oppressed, but how can we support him when he is oppressor?” Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) answered, “By preventing him from doing the oppression.”

So those who love Israel should prevent Israel from doing injustice and stop enforcing apartheid. They are dehumanizing themselves. We have resisted being dehumanized even after two centuries of oppression and occupation. They attack everybody who dares to criticize Israel, and call us anti-semitic. I am Semitic! I am more semitic than most Jews in the world. The Muslims, Christians and Jews who are in this area of the world are Semites. Europeans and Americans have nothing to do with semitism, regardless of their religion. 

Not every Jew is a Semite.

Not every Jew is a Zionist.

Not every Jew is an Israeli.

Not every Israeli is a Jew. 

Jewish Voice for Peace is an example of Beautiful Resistance. But America is criminalizing BDS activists. And the Israeli government only accepts Jews who support them. Other (self-hating) Jews are not accepted or welcomed in Israel. 

I am critical of my own Palestinian authority, and have my differences with it. I am critical because I care about my Palestine. I am critical of the American government and the French government where I lived for 9 years, because I care about the world that we want our children to grow up in. We want better role models than the ones we see in the media, and who represent us politically. Would your children see Mr. Trump as their role model for the future? Or Mr. Netanyahu? 

These days it takes a lot of courage for people to go against the current and defy the system. 

But at the end of the day we have to ask ourselves what we will say to our child, or any child in the world, when they look at us in the face and say, “What did you do to make a change? What heritage are you leaving us?”

I hope that we can tell them something. We cannot bathe in shame and say we thought our President or our Prophet (PBUH) would do something. I hope we can say we did something we can be proud of. That we paved a road which the next generation can be proud to continue on.