It is happening again. Another operation. Another escalation. I watched the news this morning; it is day 13 of the operation. More than 400 killed in Gaza and more than 13 Israeli soldiers killed since the operation began. I can’t believe this is happening once again. I feel pain, frustration, and confusion. I want to scream, I want to cry but I am watching the news and my tears are not ready to leave my eyes yet.
My tears ask me to choose only one side (as all the people surrounding me). You need to either cry about the people in Gaza or cry about the Israeli soldiers. You can’t do both. You need to choose a side. Suddenly I heard the sirens in my city, Ramla. I have never heard the sirens in previous operations. I ran to the shelter, I waited there for few minutes and I heard the explosion. Wow this time it was really close. I can’t imagine what could happen without our iron dome. We are very lucky. After few minutes I left the room and continued my day.
I opened my Facebook page. It was unbelievable. I saw hatred everywhere. “There is no hope for peace with the Arabs”, “Israel is killing innocent children in Gaza”, “Israel has the right to defend itself”, “Israel is doing crimes in Gaza”, “the people who live in the south don’t have life”, “4 children have killed while playing on the beach in Gaza”, “13 soldiers have killed last night in Gaza” and so on…
I remembered that my tears asked me to choose a side to be able to leave my eyes. My Facebook page is full of extreme opinions of both sides. Finally, I choose a side. I know that you are very curious to hear what side I choose. Well, I will tell you but first, let me share with you the process of choosing a side just in case you have assumed that it is easy and obvious. Let me share with you my feelings as an Arab Israeli:
I am a student at Bar-Ilan University in Israel at the department of political science. I have grown up in Jewish neighborhoods all my life and I have a lot of Jewish friends. Israel is a small country and all the Jews are obliged to go to the army when they turned 18 years old, whether they want to or not. If you do 1+1 you will understand that a lot of my friends were called to go back to the army, and some of them are in Gaza, trying to bring back the “quiet routine to Israel”. When I heard that 14 soldiers were killed during the night in Gaza, I prayed and hoped not to recognize any of the names. I didn’t recognize any, but one of my friends did. She lost her childhood friend. Again, I felt pain and frustration. Young adults, 21 years old, 22 years old, 27 years old soldiers, some of them have children, some of them still didn’t have the chance to go to university yet. They have lost their lives.
I turned on the TV and read more articles about what is going on in Gaza. People are dying; children are dying. 100, 200, 300, 400 most of them are innocent people. No future, no houses, no education, without the iron dome. Before this escalation, people lived in more or less the same conditions, but mainly without their freedom. When I heard in the news that 500 people were killed in Gaza, and the people are acting like this is normal, what can I say? Where are the human rights? Where are the children’s rights? Once again, I feel frustrated.
I am in the middle. I want to cry for my soldiers friends. I want to cry for the people that are dying in Gaza every day as a part of the routine. I want to cry because I need to explain to my 3 and 4 years old cousins what is the meaning of war and why we need to run to the shelter when we hear the sirens. I want to cry when I feel the hatred of people towards the Arabs living in Israel. I want to cry when I hear one of our Knesset members encouraging the killing of all the Palestinians and the Palestinians’ mothers. I want to cry for the death of the 3 youth few weeks ago, I want to cry for the child who were burn to death as a revenge.
This is my reality. These feelings accompanied me every day, every moment. I live in this frustration for 21 years. As an Arab Israeli I feel suffocated. It’s like I am screaming, and no one can hear. The hatred of people blinded their eyes.
My tears choose the side of peace. I don’t want to judge and say who is responsible for our reality, but I want to choose peace. We are tired to hear about more killings. We are tired to run every time we hear the sirens. We are tired from the hatred that is covering us these days. I am praying for this to be over. I am praying for peace. I want to ask you to join me in prayers. Don’t judge, pray. Pray for this to be over.
Bissan Salman is a student of Political Science and Communication at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. She is currently working as a social involvement coordinator for the Arab sector at a young adult center. Since a young age she was very active at a coexistence center called the “Open House”. She has joined various workshops and events organized by Arigatou International and GNRC. Last year, she completed her internship at the Israeli fund for UNICEF; during her internship she wrote a position paper for policy change for the Knesset (the unicameral national legislature of Israel).
Julian M ( 10/08/2014 09:09:30 )
Peace will come and your prayers will be answered when the Arabs recognize Israel’s right to exist and demilitarize and neutralize the existential threat to Israel.
Bottom line one is that Israel wants peace and Hamas wants genocide. It’s stated in their charter.
Stop crying, stop praying, and use your influence as an Arab to stand up for morality! That in my view would be brave. Straddling the fence, not being brave enough to choose between morality and terrorism, but rather try to stick your head in the sand and pray for peace isn’t brave, it’s wishful and futile.
Vinod Hallan ( 30/07/2014 07:07:22 )
Dear Bissan, thank you for being brave and sharing the reality of your life. I feel privileged to have met you personally at a GNRC event many years ago. Many of us have never lived in a conflict situation and get most of our information from news reports. We also wish peace for Isreali and Palistinian people and pray that there are no more deaths.
Rebecca Rachmany ( 25/07/2014 07:07:04 )
If we all looked at it on a more human perspective, we would all choose the side you have chosen. A very few people at the top (on both sides) benefit from the perpetuation of this situation. I believe, like you, that there is only one side to choose. All of us know people on both sides of the conflict, and all of us wish for the same thing: for it to end.
Hadar ( 24/07/2014 10:10:52 )
thanks for the inspiring words Bissan
BelindaFatima ( 24/07/2014 08:08:35 )
Bissan, I am so proud to call you a fellow Israeli Peacelover!
Jane Martin ( 24/07/2014 05:05:59 )
Bissan, Thank you for sharing your beautiful thoughts and know that we are all thinking of you. It is people like you who will bring Israel to a more peaceful state someday, and I am proud to call you my friend.
The post Growing up in the middle of conflict Part II appeared first on Ethics Education for Children.
There seems to be disagreement in the ways development is defined and measured. Governments and development agencies might have different conceptualizations than NGOs, academic institutions and individuals. Some might prioritize economic development while others might emphasize the importance of human development and human rights. However, we could say that there is a general agreement on the assumption that development should aim at improving the life of people and societies. But the understanding of well being and the ways of achieving this so called ‘development’ is something that raises a lot of debates, from the type of indicators used, the strategies needed, and who “does” development or for whom. Hence, these understandings have an impact on our goal to improve people’s lives and societies.
I often question myself why do people mostly understand development as a synonym of ‘aid’, ‘poverty eradication’, ‘international cooperation’ and so on? Fighting poverty may have a direct impact on development, but poverty eradication will not necessarily improve the societal development processes, as well as a focus on development will not necessarily lead to poverty eradication. Why? Because as far as I am aware of, poverty is not a top priority in the agenda of economic and political institutions that constantly deal with development and because these institutions approach the topic of development from a single angle without considering a holistic approach that encompasses not only the political and economical aspects but also the social one. In the same vein a focus on poverty may be valid but does it consider the economic, political and social angles, or only one of those?
I believe that these misinterpretations distance us from the awareness that we are all actors of development. And this is where Ethics Education (EE) has a role to play. How can we as individuals, and particularly as young people, understand our role as responsible citizens in society? Development is not something happening out there. We are all part of it regardless of our age, profession, cultural background, etc. By the simple fact of consuming food and electricity, using any type of transport, participating in civil society activities and so forth, we are impacting the development processes occurring worldwide. Then, the question arising is how can we ensure that our daily actions will have a positive effect on development?
EE opens up the possibility of challenging ourselves and reflect on our actions. It goes beyond awareness creation. By guiding us in a self-reflection process, EE confronts us to our individual and collective responsibilities as citizens of our societies. In a peaceful way, EE has the power of creating self-challenging mechanisms, which will empower us to translate our theoretical ideals into practice.
It is comfortable to believe that changes must solely happen at the political level. But societies are composed of individuals which are the motor of development. It is up to us to make a change. It can start from a simple smile to our neighbors and then continue by acting as ethical consumers. Examples are numerous and just waiting for action…
What can we do as young people living in multicultural and interconnected societies to support development processes at the local, national and international levels?
Given that the economy is a major motor of development, what can we do as youth to ensure that our participation in the economy will promote sustainable development?
Nicolas Meslaoui is a Master student in Development and International Relations at Aalborg University, Denmark. He is currently doing an internship at the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development in Bangkok. Apart from his studies, Nicolas has been actively involved in the activities of the GNRC Europe as well as participating in several workshops and events organized by Arigatou International. He graduated with a Bachelor degree in Social Communications in 2011 and worked as an international relations officer for the Corporación Infancia y Desarrollo (Colombia), between 2011 and 2012, before starting his master studies.
Tiago de campos ( 17/11/2013 11:11:58 )
Great text! Congratulations Nicolas.
When we read this text we stop to think about the holistic development and we come to a final conclusion, the governments, communities and the society in general don’t think this way. How Nicolas told, we think development like a economic improvement of households and the erradication of the poverty. But where stays the culture, the identity, the city, the mobility, the education? People need more spaces to express their identity and know how to value this. When I started to work with the city and her direct “sentimental connections” with our lifes, I noticed that the relationships that we do with the space where we live sometimes is more complex than we imagine, the city is our identity over the centuries, and the real development pass by this. We must take ownership of the space where we live and make all that we can to improve his situation. I think, the real development is this: the people live happy their lifes. The governments must to encourage the people to make difference, encourage social pacific moviments to intervene in the communities and show to people that they could be the change that they want! And, of corse, the society and the governments must to reduce the social inequality, the poverty and the hungry, charging more taxes from rich, reducing interest rates from the small businesses, encouraging the cooperativism, improve the educational system, those things which are responsability of the State.
And then these things and more ethical actions of human being, could realy make an holistic development.
Clara Mduma ( 10/11/2013 12:12:02 )
Great word from Nicola
I believe that everyone can create its own path towards development, there comes a point of sustainable development, and there come the role of youth to fight against poverty, fight against violence, economy and climate injustice,
There are many platforms for youth to bring changes to the society but are we ready to become the changes ourselves in our own society? This question will be different in different area but speaking of my society, many youth will say why should I be the one to do this?, we forget that the world today is suffering not because of the violence of the bad people but because of the silence of good people.
It’s true as Nicolas said Ethics education opens up the possibility of challenging ourselves and reflect on our own actions. That’s why ethics education play a great role to nature us youth leaders in bringing the positive impact, we should also see the importance of provide education that youth will not only wait for employment but we will be able to design and create their own projects for self-employment,
As we can see now unemployment has become great challenge to all nations around the world, but do our education system prepare youth to the self-employment? The answer will definitely be no to my society, we don’t have to wait government to change our education system it’s for us to act now
As us youth we can be part of the policy making, and budget preparation since all these are prepared from the local level, also we can lob and advocacy for important issues that we want our governments to do, we have that power and ability to bring a positive impact, and these can be done without violence or striking, I believe we can all be changes we want to see.
Asta ( 05/11/2013 09:09:33 )
Thank you for your great piece, Nicolas!
As a youth, I was for quite some time let to believe that we were the “golden”, “spoilt” generation that had nothing to complain about but also nothing to offer. You can imagine how depressing such a thought could be. But, I came to the realization, after just opening my eyes and seeing beyond what was given me to see, what harsh realities are out there. More than just wars, and general insecurities the world is nowadays facing, I think the most dangerous one is disinformation leading to deep rooted ignorance.
When talking about development, one should not only think about “going green” but also and mostly put himself under the spot, using the French philosopher Descartes’ method of reasoning by carefully examining our thoughts and beliefs. Because it is only then, once we are absolutely convinced of the true and solid foundation of our thoughts that our actions are more driven and can have more impact. And it is this reflection time that we are severely deprived of, living a fast paced life and poorly made choices.
Take action, yes, but take the time for reflection before!
Asta
Frank Mwasalukwa ( 02/11/2013 12:12:19 )
Education – this is very important to any society that seek any kind of Development, but not just education, but the right education that can be implementable to a particular society, here I mean (Practical Education). For instance, education system in my Country does not upkeep any primary or secondary school graduated student to engage him/herself in income generation activities because the education they get does not enable them to do so.
Our education should help us understand one another, how to live together since the world is now like a single village and societies are inter-connected.
As youth we should come-up with a movement that the policy makers and Education authorities can change the curriculums (esp. of those in developing countries.
Political – We as enthusiastic youth, we have a lot to contribute to the community, our contribution as youth is need since we have matters that concerns us directly, such as Un-employment, Health(HIV/AIDS), un-bounded when it comes to loans etc. So youth should without no fear engage themselves into politics whether by becoming politicians of right voters.
Volunteerism – Youth, we are the most powerful Group on Earth, in most societies, Youth lead in big number than any other group. If we volunteer to work for the betterment of our communities, we’ll prosper.
Sustainable Development – one must be crazy to talk about this, because sustainable development is when the societies grows and develop their current situation for present and future generation purposes. To talk about this, we should as well talk about Climate change, industrial development and Socio-economy Justice.
Countries with high development in industries, produces almost 80% of the pollution gases to the air which lead to the greenhouse effect hence Global warming and climate change as whole, most of the forests in Africa are cut down and transported to developed industrial countries, those forests were supposed to help in cleaning the Carbon-dioxide in the air. Now European Union established a project to save the Earth by giving funds to individuals in Africa will plant trees which purifies the air, the more one plants many trees the more he/she gets more funds, now what’s bad about this, while other think of food security and other developments, we Africans are told to stop cultivating in our natural fertile land and plant so called trees, and they will soon start to give us food as AID/GRANTS
Nicolas Meslaoui ( 09/11/2013 03:03:16 )
Dear Frank,
Thank you for your comment and for sharing with us your thoughts on the topic of development.
I fully agree with you on the important role played by youths. Although in the last years youths have been given much more space in the civil society arena, there is still an ‘understanding’ gap on the real power that youths have and their real impact on the society. I believe that this ‘ignorance’ does not only come from the outside, but also from the youths themselves. Indeed, many of our fellows believe that they can have a great impact on the different development processes occurring in the society only once they become adults. This is a major danger as youths become adults and often forget their ‘ideals’ during this transition. Youths are often considered as ‘idealist’, ‘dreamers’, ‘unrealistic’, etc. when reflecting about the alternative development models that could be implemented or created. Therefore we need to empower ourselves to find ways to materialize our ideals which, in my opinion, are not always unrealistic but well challenging.
I totally agree with your inputs on the importance of acting at the political and education level. However, I would add that there is a need to understand the society from a multi-level perspective where both ‘high levels’ actions (political, educational institutions, etc.) and ‘low levels’ actions (daily positive actions, ethical habits and consumerism, etc.) need to be undertaken simultaneously.
Thank you Frank and I look forward to hearing from your opinion on these points.
Nicolas
Maria Lucia ( 02/11/2013 01:01:12 )
Thank you, Nicolas, for your thoughts and reflections. It has been very relevant for me to read your thoughts about the links between development and poverty, the lack of a consistent and holistic agenda for development, and about the disconnect people have with the topic of development. I had not thought before how explicit ethics education could be in supporting development, and your comments are eye-opening and help visualizing a range of opportunities to bring ethics education to the education systems and to the development agenda. I like that you challenged the idea that development is in charge of economic and political institutions and that you see it as a responsibility of everyone!
I am not a youth but I would like to contribute my two cents to your questions with a few ideas on what could be done generally and in the economy:
Thanks for this thought-provoking piece and I look forward to hearing from more young people and from adults as well.
Maria Lucia
The post Development and Ethics Education appeared first on Ethics Education for Children.
When was the last time you thought about your behavior towards others? When did you last stop to think if you follow the opinion of others just to avoid feeling different?
When you live in a reality of ongoing conflict it becomes easy to go with the flow of hatred. I was born in Israel as a part of the minority group. In Israel, there are a lot of differences between people who belong to the minorities and those who belong to the majority group: political views, the education they receive, and their economic and social situation, including employment opportunities, etc.
The separation between the groups is clear. If you were born as a part of the minority, you might have to work harder in order to receive what you have the right to, in order to be accepted in the society and to get equal opportunities like everyone else.
“When children are born, they are free and each child should be treated in the same way”. Isn’t this written statement very meaningful? It sounds obvious, but do all the democratic nations to which this statement may seem obvious, implement this “obvious statement” in their own countries?
All my life I have worked for coexistence between Arabs and Jews. I was so immersed with this issue that I couldn’t see the real problem in my society; the intolerance towards others, towards everyone, not just between Arabs and Jews; intolerance that leads to the lack of respect and the lack of acceptance of the other.
This is how you feel when you live in a country with an ongoing conflict; at some point you start dividing the society into groups and treating people differently according to those divisions, because this is what you have been taught and learned from the people around you, from the media and sometimes even from the educational institutions.
These kinds of problems are everywhere, not just in Israel. We are so busy trying to make our own group in society instead of concentrating on working together to solve common problems. I don’t mean that there is no need for differences, the world would be a boring place if we were all the same, but I would say that it is not as easy as it seems – to forget the divisions we have been used to since a very young age and create a new perspective. We are responsible of our own behaviors and our behaviors affect the way our children behave.
We should stop for a second and look at how our own behaviors affect the people surrounding us. Think about your behaviors; try to reflect about them, and how they affect others.
Children are born innocent; the way in which we, young people and adults, design the world for them is the way they learn how to behave. Children are not a homogenous group and we need to provide them with equal opportunities for all, without discrimination on any type. How can we design an inclusive, equal and fair environment for all in a reality of ongoing violent conflict? How do we empower children and youth in these situations so they don’t learn to divide the society but instead to appreciate differences and respect one another?
Bissan Salman is a student of Political Science and Communication at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. She is currently working as a social involvement coordinator for the Arab sector at a young adult center. Since a young age she was very active at a coexistence center called the “Open House”. She has joined various workshops and events organized by Arigatou International. Last year, she completed her internship at the Israeli fund for UNICEF; during her internship she wrote a position paper for policy change for the Knesset (the unicameral national legislature of Israel).
Bissan Salman ( 14/12/2013 05:05:14 )
Dear Malu,
Thank you for your comment.
I agree with you that we have a lot of work to do; starting with the youth at schools and parents but the most important thing is to start with our selves, to continue working on our selves, especially in an ongoing conflict countries.
Yes, as a youth I have a very important role to play and I believe that we, the young adults and youth, have the power and the ability to change the world starting with the people who are surrounding us in order to make ripples.
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples”- this statement of Mother Teresa inspire me every time I read it and it reminds me my role in my society.
This is my presentation at the GA confrence in Israel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbBEFx71Smc
I hope it will inspire other youth.
Thank you again for your comment.
Hugs!
bissan salman ( 14/12/2013 04:04:29 )
Dear Frank,
Thank you for your comment . It is interesting to hear about your work with the Organization WCRP- Tanzania.
I agree with you that all religions teach how to live together with people of different faith and that we are all equal before the law. Unfortunately, the problem is when the people refuse to see this and prefer to exaggerate certain aspects of religion and change the real intention into a bad way. I also agree with you that children were born to a corrupted environment and that we have a lot of work to do in order to make the world a better place to be, especially in conflict countries.
Yes, we should talk to youth, leaders and religious leaders but also we should try to reach the people who never exposed to issues of equality and try to change the way they look at the children and the youth and make them look at the reality in a different way, not just in the way they were used to.
Thank you again for you comment,
Bissan.
Maria Lucia ( 08/12/2013 10:10:28 )
Dear Bissan, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and wisdom with us. Coming from a country that has been in war for more than 60 years I totally feel identified with what you are saying. Unfortunately violent conflicts teach us to divide people, to put labels, to make others our enemies, to become less accepting and more intolerant and disrespectful. You asked how we can create an environment that is equal, inclusive and fair in a situation of ongoing violent conflict I think by changing the structures in the educational systems, allowing children of all religions, tribes, cultures, beliefs, socio-economic strata to come together, by creating spaces for dialogue among them, by challenging violent narratives, by sharing stories, by developing projects together. I agree with Frank that conflicts are rarely caused by religion but rather by greed for power and yes – they can be fuelled by our religious beliefs and ideas, therefore, we should challenge our understanding of conflicts, and understand its root causes. We should challenge exclusivist views, starting from school, teach children to communicate and solve problems non violently, nurture values that help them reflect about their relations with others and appreciate diversity. We also need to work with parents
You, as youth, have also a very important role to play. You are role models for other youth and for children. Your stories of embracing others, working together for peace and reconciliation, for mutual understanding and respect, can change the world one by one. Please spread what you are doing to include others, to challenge violence and to bring about peace. I would like to hear more from others and hear your stories bringing about forgiveness, reconciliation and mutual respect.
Thank you, Bissan, for being a role model, for being a bridge between your people, and for reflecting about your experiences. Can you also share the presentation you made in Israel?
Hugs,
Frank Mwasalukwa ( 21/11/2013 02:02:52 )
Hello Bissan Salman,
It is nice to hear from your story and the way you wish the world would exist, it is great and give us the YouTh, the the world CitiZen a big challenge in the war against all kinds of discrimination and Stigmatization from any ones ideology (Tribe, Race, Religion, Social status, etc.).
Fortunately, I once worked with a certain Organization called World Conference on Religious and Peace (WCRP – Tanzania) under the project that was supposed to connect people of different religions to work together for the purpose of bringing change in Development.
There was a lesson that I leant from that project, and that is, if every one, ware to learn, the true teachings of his/her Faith/Religion and the rule of law, there will be no miss-understandings at all, since every religion teaches how to live together with people of different Faith from yours, and we are all equal before the law.
Children are born innocent, that’s true, but the environment surrounding them are corrupted already, conflicts, war, and rebellion, but if one look clearly, will see that most of the Conflicts in the world are either Religious, Bad Governance or greedy for power.
So, this means, we have a lot to do, especially, we the Empowered Youth, Go there, talk to fellow Youth, Leaders and Religious leaders and see what we can do to make the world a better place to be,
This is a call to everyone, please take a minute to talk about Ethics and Peace and how one with different ideology can co-exist.
The post Growing up in the middle of conflict and the role of ethics education for children and youth appeared first on Ethics Education for Children.
Have you ever wondered how many children remain deprived from education? Do you have any idea about how many people do not enjoy their freedom of expression? Have you ever tried to list at least ten of your human rights? It does not come up easily to your mind, does it? Most of the time, we take for granted the fact that we have rights, that very often we ignore what they are and how they apply to our day-to-day life.
Human Rights are the freedoms that everybody has for the simple reason of being human. They represent the way you expect and deserve to be treated as a person. However, getting to this conclusion was neither easy nor was it done over night.
This generation of youth was born in a context in which human rights were universally recognized. This context helped develop an authentic spirit to make one’s voice heard and to claim for those things we are concerned about. Such claims happen in all the spheres where we interact, and they represent a voice in favor of our development and participation as members of the society. Such claims happen at several occasions; for instance, when we demand to our parents to listen to us or when we take part of public manifestations to stand up for issues that affect us.
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) calls for freedom and equality in dignity. Although we appeal to our human rights to fight injustices, we do not always appeal to them collectively. How often do we act together to stand up for others’ rights? What kind of small or big actions make us human rights defenders? How do we promote human dignity in our societies? When we fight against injustices, we are actually asking for dignity. Indeed, dignity is what commits us to our ethical imperative toward equal opportunities to self-development. Regardless of gender, religion, or social condition, ethical actions will always take us to the protection of human dignity.
The most challenging aspect of Human Rights instruments is probably to bring the theory into practice, because words sound nice in paper but need to be part of our realities to actually change them. According to official data, in 2011 at least 57 million children remained out of school1, and by 2012, at least 230 journalists were put in jail for exercising their right to freedom of expression2.
We have the right to education, the right to life, the right to food and shelter, the right to health and security, the right to freedom of thought, the right to freedom of expression, and so forth. Why am I insisting on this? Because we all have the right to know our rights.
If no one can take away our human rights –as the Article 30 of the UDHR establishes–, Why don’t we get mobilized together for our rights and others’? What can be done as young people to promote and protect our rights and the rights of others for a world of greater justice?
1 See http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Pages/reaching-oosc.aspx
2 See http://www.cpj.org/imprisoned/2012.php
Ornella Barros is a Master student in Human Rights at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, program offered by the University of Oslo. Due to her active involvement in the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC) since she was very young, Ornella got inspired and determined to continue her studies and professional experience within the child rights field. As political scientist, she worked for the international NGO World Vision Colombia as National Advocacy Coordinator; and currently, besides her studies, she works for the European Wergeland Centre, a resource centre of the Council of Europe.
The post Ethics and Human Rights appeared first on Ethics Education for Children.
